Labour Māori Manifesto 2020
We have much to celebrate after 3 years of Government. Together, Māori and Labour have walked a new path. One underpinned by partnership, based on the articles of the Treaty and the promise of equality.
Together we have started to tackle the big issues. We know that to get real results for Māori, to put an end to the disparity between Māori and non-Māori, we had to do things differently.
Racism in our schools, over representation of Māori in prisons, poor housing and health outcomes, the absence of Māori history and stories, the lack of Māori representation on boards. These are not issues that have arisen overnight. They are problems many governments before now have struggled to tackle. The difference between now and then is that we are not going to keep running the same programmes, supporting the systems and expecting different results. We are changing. We are doing things differently. It is the harder path to walk. That is why, from the outset, we knew we couldn’t walk the path alone.
We established the new portfolio Māori-Crown Relationships – Te Arawhiti, to strengthen the Māori-Crown relationship to ensure that the Crown can grow to be a better Treaty Partner, and enable stronger and more understanding partnerships between Māori and the Crown.
We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Māori Education, Te Kōhanga reo, Whānau ora, Papakāinga – all in partnership with Māori.
With iwi across the country we are going to finally teach our history in schools and are working hard to implement Te Hurihanganui with our communities, to remove racism from them as well.
Māori are over represented in prisons. So to get better outcomes we changed the way Corrections operates to get better results. Now we work with whānau, implementing Māori pathways through prison to ensure when Māori leave prison, they have the right support to never come back again.
We have already worked together to make great gains in employment, in Whenua Māori and we continue to work together to respond to COVID-19, but there is still much more to do. Our Māori Manifesto sets out our commitment to continuing on the partnership path with Māori and looks to take bolder steps to create the change we need to finally realise the promise of Te Tiriti – Governance, Rangatiratanga and equality for all.
Major policy commitments
Labour will commit to celebrating Matariki as a public holiday beginning in 2022.
Acknowledging Māori New Year by marking its occurrence with a public holiday has been called for by both Māori and non-Māori New Zealanders. It is an important part of growing a greater understanding of the Māori world and a big part of who we are as a nation. It also symbolises the Government’s willingness to acknowledge events and celebrations of importance to Māori, strengthening the Māori-Crown relationship.
Labour is committed to supporting Whānau Ora.
Whānau Ora moved swiftly and effectively, delivering over 122,000 care packages and supporting close to 160,000 whānau in response to the effects of COVID-19. We want to build on this work. We are committed to continuing our investment and support for Whānau Ora - because we know it works. To assist this we will support other agencies to implement the whānau ora model to get better outcomes from Māori, continue whānau-centred pathway to break the cycle of Māori reoffending, work with other Māori organisations like Te Kōhanga Reo, and look at ways we can expand the whānau ora model into communities.
Labour will strengthen Māori housing outcomes through collaborative partnerships, home-ownership models, and papakāinga provision.
Partnering with our people, applying Māori principles and solutions and drawing on the strengths of all the players across the system will provide us with the best opportunity to deliver better housing opportunities for Māori. We will continue to build on the work we have already undertaken with iwi across the country to build more papakāinga and to improve Māori home ownership rates.
Ensure Oranga Tamariki partner with iwi, hapū, and Māori organisations to find appropriate solutions for children in need.
Protecting our most vulnerable whānau, and our children has and will always be a priority for Labour. We know we have to do this together and that is why we are committed to growing the number of Māori organisations that partner with Oranga Tamariki to deliver prevention services to communities, take a holistic approach to supporting tamariki and whānau by combining multiple public services like Whānau ora, Health and Māori Development, Oranga Tamariki alongside whānau, hapu and iwi to provide the support needed to ensure the overall health and wellbeing of tamariki and their whānau.
Labour will support Whānau Māori enterprise and opportunities through a progressive procurement policy that would set a target for Māori business procurement.
We want to back our whānau in business and help build their financial, governance, and leadership skills. To help do this we will support whānau Māori enterprise and opportunities through a progressive procurement policy that would set a target for Māori business procurement and facilitate greater strategic alignment of business support for Māori SMEs. It would also consolidate targeted access to finance to grow Māori enterprise and support Māori to access and deliver training and development opportunities for existing and emerging employment or enterprise initiatives.
Labour will recognise the important role our Māori boarding schools play in growing our future Māori leaders by investing $20 million into a fund designed to provide them with financial support to continue to house, educate and manaaki rangatahi in their care.
Only 4 Māori boarding schools remain in Aotearoa; Hukarere College, St Joseph’s Māori Girls’ College, Te Aute College and Hato Pāora. Each of these school’s carry on a tradition that has grown many great Māori leaders. The rangatahi that attend these schools live and breathe tikanga, reo and grow a sense of whanaungatanga that can only be done inside these unique institutions. Many Governments have given up on Māori boarding schools – but Labour believes in the unique role they play, not just in educating rangatahi, but in installing Māori values in the next generation of leaders.
Our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Labour is committed to our obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and are committed to the articles of Te Tiriti, the role of the Government in article 1, the promises it makes to Māori and their Tino Rangatiratanga in article 2 – so that together we may achieve equality as promised in article 3.
As a Government we created Te Haeata, a searchable record of Treaty of Waitangi settlement commitments which we are using to ensure we uphold those commitments. This is the first time a searchable record has been created by government.
To help fulfil our obligations under Te Tiriti we will:
- Continue to invest in Te Haeata to monitor treaty settlement commitments.
- Continue to support the role of Māori Crown relations – Te Arawhiti in growing the capability and capacity of government departments and organisations to be better Treaty partners to ensure they can confidently work alongside Māori in the Māori world to partner and deliver better outcomes for Māori.
- Continue its work to settle historic Treaty of Waitangi claims.
- Continue to uphold the commitments made in Treaty settlements.
Māori response to COVID-19 and backing the Māori economy
Māori were at the heart of our response to COVID-19, and throughout the Alert Levels we heard heart-warming stories over and over again of the support iwi and marae gave to people. Early in the COVID response we announced a specific Māori response package which supported these efforts. We remain committed to working alongside Māori as we combat COVID-19 and the effects it has had on the health and welling of our communities, our businesses and our well-being.
To help rebuild the Māori economy we will invest in our people, create jobs and prepare for the future and by:
- Continuing our investment in the successful Mana in Mahi programme and He Poutama Rangatahi to get more Māori into work and training.
- Establishing employment initiatives that partner with Māori entities to deliver environmentally sustainable enterprise and jobs.
- Continuing to support Māori Tourism by strengthening NZ Māori Tourism’s role in supporting the industry.
- Providing free access to all apprenticeships and to many trades training courses for the next two years.
- Continuing to invest in regional New Zealand’s economic potential.
- Continuing business support, including extending the small business cashflow loans scheme.
- Expanding Flexiwage for up to 40,000 New Zealanders, and increase the average grant from $3,500 to $7,500.
COVID-19 also highlighted the need to do more to ensure our Health system works for Māori. That is why we will:
- Reform the health system, drawing on the recommendations of the Review of the Health and Disability System so that every New Zealander can get high quality health care when and where they need it.
- Establish a Māori Health Authority.
- Continue our investments in the strong public health response to COVID-19.
Growing ideas, business and procurement opportunities for Māori
We want to back our whānau in business and help build their financial, governance, and leadership skills. To help do this we will:
- Support Whānau Māori enterprise and the opportunities through a progressive procurement policy that would set a target for Māori business procurement.
- Facilitate greater strategic alignment of business support for Māori SMEs and consolidate targeted access to finance to grow Māori enterprise.
- Support Māori to access and deliver training and development opportunities for existing and emerging employment or enterprise initiatives.
Te Reo me Ōna Tikanga – Our Language, Heritage, and Identity
Māori culture, identity, and language is what makes New Zealand unique in the world. Labour is committed to growing Māori language, heritage, and identity, including:
- Recognising the important role our Māori boarding schools play in growing our future Māori leaders by investing $20 million into a fund designed to provide them with financial support to continue to house, educate and manaaki rangatahi in their care.
- Realising the aspirations set out in the Māori Language Strategy.
- Continuing to support and encourage more te reo Māori teachers and continue to integrate te reo Māori in our schools.
- Continuing to support the revitalisation of te reo Māori and implement the aspirations set out in Maihi Karauna.
- Integrating te reo into classrooms as we have a moral and Treaty obligation to protect te reo Māori.
- Ensuring that Māori have the ability to provide guidance on the way we tell Māori stories when we implement teaching NZ history in schools.
- Working with Māori to publicly acknowledge significant Māori leaders through statutes or symbols in places of significance.
- Supporting significant Māori events across the country – like Te Matatini and Waitangi Day and Matariki.
- Making Matariki a public holiday, beginning in 2022.
- Continuing to strengthen the role of public media and Māori media in the New Zealand community.
- Supporting the inclusion of indigenous collaborations agreements in the trade policy agenda that would create indigenous-indigenous opportunities.
Backing Whānau Ora
Labour is committed to continuing our investment and support for Whānau Ora – because we know it works. We will:
- Continue to roll out the Budget 2020 plan to boost Whānau Ora commissioning activities related to COVID-19.
- Support other agencies to implement the whānau ora model to get better outcomes from Māori.
- Continue whānau-centred pathways to break the cycle of Māori reoffending.
- Look at ways we can expand the whānau ora model into communities.
- Continue to work with other Māori organisations like Te Kōhanga Reo.
- Strengthen Māori housing outcomes through collaborative partnerships, home-ownership models, and papakāinga provision.
Strengthening Oranga Tamariki
Protecting our most vulnerable whānau, and our children has and will always be a priority for Labour. We know we have to do this together and that is why we are committed to:
- Ensuring Oranga Tamariki partner with iwi, hapū, and Māori organisations to find appropriate solutions for children in need.
- Growing the number of Māori organisations that partner with Oranga Tamariki to deliver prevention services to communities.
- Taking a holistic approach to supporting tamariki and whānau by combining multiple public services like Whānau ora, Health and Māori Development, Oranga Tamariki alongside whānau, hapū and iwi to provide the support needed to ensure the overall health and wellbeing of tamariki and their whānau.
Recognise the vital contribution of Mātauranga Māori
Labour will recognise the vital contribution of Mātauranga Māori (as an indigenous knowledge system) and respect the significant contribution that Mātauranga Māori can have on wellbeing, innovation, protection and restoration of natural resources, habitat and biodiversity. We will:
- Commit to progressing the findings of the Wai262 Claim ‘Ko Aotearoa Tēnei’.
- Support wider work in research, science and innovation to advance Mātauranga Māori.
Te Taiao – the natural world around us
We are the guardians of this land for our mokopuna. We must protect the natural environment, its indigenous biodiversity, and our marine ecosystem. To help us do this we will:
- Ensure Māori are involved in the development of a new Resource Management Act to deliver better outcomes.
- Continue to improve the health of New Zealand’s freshwater and coastal areas within the next five years.
- Focus on stopping further degradation of New Zealand’s freshwater resources.
- Address water allocation issues by working to achieve efficient and fair allocation for freshwater resources, having regard to all interests including Māori, and existing and potential new users.
- Continue to roll out the Jobs for Nature package which will encourage more Māori into environmental jobs.
- Implement the primary sector vision Fit For a Better World and develop the Te Taiao strategy.
- Build on the work we have undertaken with Te Ohu Kaimoana and Māori to resolve the outstanding issues surrounding the Kermadecs.
- Continue to work with Māori in the fisheries sector.
Ihumātao
We have worked hard with all parties at Ihumātao and are committed to finding a solution that works for all parties involved.