I could understand if, in the year when the cost of living increased alarmingly, our subscriber list had shortened. Fortunately, this has not been the case in 2023-2024. Subscriptions to our award-winning magazine have remained stable. However, Tui Motu is competing in a world where print publications are disappearing. Tui Motu is now the only national Catholic print magazine in Aotearoa. Also, it is one of only two national Catholic print magazines in Australasia. We are keen to keep publishing and the loyal support of our subscribers is ensuring this. Thank you!

During the year we published 11 issues and distributed them around Aotearoa New Zealand, to Australia and further afield in the world. I am grateful to Ann Hassan, an enviable colleague in the Tui Motu endeavour. We share an appreciation of the mandate for the magazine and a vision for bringing it to print. I am grateful, too, to Lilly Johnson who transforms the files each month into a beautiful print-ready issue. I acknowledge gratefully Makareta Tawaroa's guidance in the kaupapa of the magazine and for encapsulating the theme in te reo Māori each month. And we are all grateful to Christine Crowe who, month by month, gives us the benefit of her proofreading skills. Getting an issue to the printers is just the first part of the process. Once the magazine arrives in boxes from the printer, our many volunteers in Dunedin and around the country get to work packing the magazines for distribution and promoting it far and wide. Thank you!

The total amount of donations to the magazine, highlighted in the financial statement, is stunning — truly providential generosity. Thank you!

I am grateful to the Board — officially the Independent Catholic Magazine Board – for the expertise, wisdom and energy they bring to governing the Company and supporting the staff. We have all appreciated their interest and the way individual directors assisted us when needed. We give heartfelt thanks to Neil Darragh, Rita Cahill and Shane Gallagher who completed their time as directors on the Board.

The shareholders of the Company, the Dominican Sisters, the Dominican Friars and the Sisters of St Joseph, have also made significant contributions to the Company as well as to the operation of the magazine. Thank you!

And, we give thanks to the Tui Motu Foundation who assisted with our Freebie marketing promotion which contributed to the maintenance of our subscription list this year. Thank you!

In July 2023 we passed a significant milestone in Tui Motu’s history — our whakapapa — with the death of the founding editor, Rosminian priest Michael Hill. Michael, together with Francie Skelton, published the magazine and built its reputation from 1997 to their retirement at the beginning of 2010. Michael left big footsteps for following editors to walk in.

All the support noted above and throughout this report suggests why my role as editor is worthwhile and satisfying. I am surrounded by colleagues who share the vision for Tui Motu. The challenges of the year have been outweighed by our commitment and enjoyment in producing the magazine. It is at times like this when I reflect back on the year that I appreciate more the blessings of the whole Tui Motu community. Thank you!