Under Labour, the Māori economy went from strength to strength according to the latest report released by MBIE.

“The report shows that over Labour’s time in Government the Māori asset base exceeded expectations by $26 billion, growing from $69 billion in 2018 to $126 billion in 2023. Māori contribution to the economy has grown from $17 billion in 2018 to $32 billion in 2023. This is a massive achievement for Māori businesses and for New Zealand,” Labour acting Māori economy spokesperson Peeni Henare said.

“It shows the policies we introduced such as Progressive Procurement; Treaty provisions in Free Trade Agreements; and targeted approaches to funding and supporting Māori initiatives, innovation, and ideas work,” Peeni Henare said.

“For the first time, more Māori are employed in high-skilled jobs compared to those in low-skilled jobs. Māori who are self-employed surged a massive 86 percent, and the number of Māori employers grew by 91 percent.

“Unfortunately, Christopher Luxon’s Government does not show the same enthusiasm, scrapping programmes that encourage entrepreneurship like Progressive Procurement, and undermining iwi and Māori organisations with policies that remove Māori interests from legislation.

“Māori businesses and exporters deserve more than wishful thinking and hollow promises that don’t even mention the contribution of Māori to the economy.

“Our concern now is that the gains and momentum we have seen in this report will be undone because of the choices of this Government. When you choose not to invest in growing Māori businesses and continually undermine the Treaty, as this Government is doing, the future doesn’t look bright for whānau who want to contribute more to the economy,” Peeni Henare said.