E te whānau whānui o Netball Waitakere, tēnā rā tātou katoa.

All of our members, schools, staff and community, I hope you have been keeping well in these difficult times. In these undercertain times, I am reaching out to you all with two important announcements.

Netball Waitakere Announces Appointment of New General Manager

On behalf of the Board I am very pleased to annouce the appointment of Murray Gardiner as the new General Manager of Netball Waitakere.

Murray has 20 years experience in leadership and Business management with a passion and certification in Te Ara Reo Māori.  He has held General Manager position’s across the hospitality (restaurants, hotels) industry & dental practices since 2010.  Currently in a General Manager role in the health & disabilities sector working in a Kaupapa Māori environment focused on delivering exceptional outcomes for whānau Hāua. Responsible for the overall operations including; Human Resources, Service Delivery, Quality Improvement, Business growth and analysis, Fianancial Management, Service contract management and Funder Relationships.

Murray has grown up surrounded by Netball and developed passion for the game at a young age. Over the past couple of years he has grown in Management and coaching roles across Club & school teams, with his most recent appointment this year on the Executive Committee for Tāmaki Makaurau Poi Tarawhiti, Auckland Māori netball representatives.  In addition to this he was also involved with the Netball Waitakere Representative season, in committee and management roles.

An advocate of diversity and inclusion in the workplace underpinned by a passion for Te Ao Māori principes, Murray will initially be tasked with redefining our strategic plan and purpose and looking at innovative and creative ways to grow Netball participation & development whilst in a constant changing environment.

(A message from Murray)

Tēnā koutou katoa,

Ko Mauao tōku Maunga

Ko Tauranga tōku moana

Ko whirinaki tōku awa

Ko Ngai te Rangi, ko Ngāti Ranginui, ko Tūhoe ōku iwi

Ko Mātaatua ko Tākitimu ōku waka

Ko Aria, raua ko Bella, tōku tāmariki

Ko Murray Gardiner tōku ingoa

He aha te mea nui ō te aō? He Tāngata, he Tāngata, he Tāngata! What is the most important thing in the world? The people, the people, the people.

Murray joins the Netball Waitakere whānau on Monday 13th December 2021 and, depending on COVID-19 alert level settings at that time, he will either be welcomed with a phyiscal mihi whakatau on the afternoon of Sunday 12th December or an online mihi whakatau on the morning of Monday 13th December 2021 (details to be confirmed). We would have loved to invited all our members and community to attend the welcoming to maangakitanga Murray, however subject to alert Level restrictions, this may not be possible.  

I would also like to acknowledge the current management team, and recognise their leadership, support and efforts in overseeing the running of our Netball Centre over the last couple of years especially in a pandemic, that has presented some very challenging times.

On-going Impact of COVID-19

At this stage, dependent on alert level settings, Netball Waitakere Board and Management are doing some Planning over the next week on what the Covid-19 framework and government settings means for us. This will be in conjunction with awaiting direction from central Government and Netball New Zealand.

Part of our Planning will be looking at how we fulfil our obligations in relation to providing a safe and healthy playing, sports and catering environment for all our members, schools and community, given the close proximity of contact we all have whilst at the Centre.    As a Board, we feel this is a responsible and appropriate health and safety measure to take for all concerned, as we think about gradually returning back to the courts.

Nō reira, kia haumaru te noho e hoa mā.

Danica Hape-Tiria

Board Chair
Netball Waitakere

Article added: Tuesday 16 November 2021