Joanne Whakatope

Tu Tangata, Issue 30, 1 July 1986, Page 53

Joanne Whakatope

Tu Tangata introduces a series about people working in the accounting and finance side of the Department of Maori Affairs

JOANNE Whakatope was born in Wairoa with Tuhoe and Ngati Porou parentage. She sees herself as Ngati Kahungunu and was brought around the marae of Taihoa.

Her school life was at Wairoa College where she enjoyed learning maori and taking part in the school culture club. After sixteen years she left for the lights of Poneke staying first with an aunt in Porirua. After a few months she moved into the Anglican run Pendennis Hostel in town then run by house parents, John and Rongo Brown.

Jo enjoyed her time there and through Mrs Vera Morgan, a mainstay of the hostel, Jo started work at Maori Affairs as a receptionist.

Jo says the job was a good grounding in getting on with people, especially as she was dealing with the community kokiri groups. She remembers the month she started as July 1983, under the then boss, Paul Quinn.

The staff rotation system saw her transfer to the staff personnel section where she says she got a bit frustrated with not being given enough responsibility. She says, “I wanted to know how the system worked, learn the ropes. I started doing this by watching others although I was just a receptionist here also.”

The time was right for Joanne to move into the finance section, into trust accounts, that is matters relating to the Maori Trustee. “I hadn’t worked with figures before so I found it challenging. However I have mastered the calculator now.”

Joanne’s bright personality found a vent in amongst the money matters and she says staff here were much more open and willing to talk about their work. “I suppose in the personnel section it was due to the secrecy necessary when dealing with staff files. This meant little sharing took place about the job.” This was not so in accounts and

Joanne took to the work. She says her trust work did bring her into some conflict with her immediate boss, who had only learnt the job himself. Jo says their similar ages and this newness to the job for both of them meant a few hot words were exchanged at times but supportive work mates and a desire to see the job through saved the day. Jo now has a new job, that of cashier, which means looking after the money for the day to day running of the Maori Trustee and Maori Affairs accounts.

Jo makes light of the work and says it’s a matter of getting yourself organised into a system. That’s the main thing she’s learned about this job.

Taking up the new position also meant she had to resign as treasurer for the social club because of the inflexible hours of the cashier, i.e. not being able to attend social club meetings at the hours called. That hasn’t stopped Joanne from putting her kaha into social club extra curricula activities, such as the department’s Tu Tangata sports tournaments in recent years at Auckland and Wanganui.

She reckons last year’s Wanganui tourney was better because Wellington honorary cheerleader, John Paki made sure that the Christchurch office group crowd mixed in with the normally reserved head office lot.

Work-wise, Joanne doesn’t give brilliant marks to the training backup she’s received but says she’s pleased that current head office accountant, Fred Holmes intends introducing regular times when his staff can talk about how their work is going.

Right now Joanne should be taking a break from work in sunny Australia with a friend. She planned to stay with her uncle John Chase who lives in Queensland. Her parting words about how she felt her life was going, was that she’s, “got it sussed”.