Introduction from the Chief Executive

Ka takea mai tō mātau ingoa Māori i ngā kupu o te whakatauki nei, 'whatungarongaro te tangata toitū te whenua'.

Ka mau ki roto i tēnei kōrero, 'toitū te whenua', te wāhi nui ki ā mātau mahi. Ko te whenua te pūtake o tō tātau tuakiri ā-motu, ā, ko tō tātau tūrangawaewae hoki. Ko te whenua te pūtake e tipu ai tātau – he tipuranga ohaoha, tuakiri ā-motu anō hoki – ka toitū i muri mai i a tātau.

Ka aro te kōrero nei ki tā mātau kaupapa e kī ana, ahakoa te toitū o te whenua, me āta poipoi kia tika ā muri ake nei. Ko ā mātau mahi hei tautoko i te ohaoha, tuakiri hoki, me whai painga mō Niu Tireni, tō tātau whenua, ā muri ake nei.

LINZ takes its Māori name from the last three words of the proverb, 'whatungarongaro te tangata toitū te whenua' – 'people pass on, but land remains'.

'Toitū te whenua' captures why our work is so important. Land is central to who New Zealanders are and where we belong. Land is the foundation for our growth – both economic growth and growth in our national identity – but it will remain long after we are gone.

'Toitū te whenua' speaks to LINZ's recognition that, while the land is permanent, it must be managed sustainably. Our contribution to economic growth and national identity for the people of New Zealand will also be done for the future benefit of New Zealand, the land.

Over the three years prior to 2008, we concentrated our capability and strategy on being valued as the Government's centre of electronic land information and expertise. By the end of 2008, LINZ will have completed the major achievement in attaining this vision: the move to 100% electronic lodgement of all land title transactions and surveys, a world first.

LINZ's core work of maintaining and building confidence in property rights in land and geographic information remains. Even though our economy is currently ranked first in the world for registering property as an indicator of the ease of doing business, LINZ will not rest on the status quo. As regulators, managers of land, and providers of land information, we seek to improve – we can aim to be better, faster, cheaper.

Beyond improvements to our core work, LINZ now looks at how we can create additional value. With our land information and expertise, we seek to enhance and build on our contribution to the Government's themes of 'economic transformation', 'sustainability' and 'national identity'.

To that end, this Statement of Intent outlines a new outcome to the existing three outcomes – 'enhanced economic and social transformation through facilitation of connections in land information markets'. This fourth outcome reflects an emerging focus on encouraging land information markets to develop and mature.

LINZ is still in the stage of examining the framework and concepts for this new fourth outcome. In this Statement of Intent, we outline at a high level how our capability and business strategies are being fine-tuned to incorporate this new focus – remembering that while people pass on, the land remains.

KEVIN D. KELLY
Acting Chief Executive