Hon Parekura Horomia
Minister of Mäori Affairs
Nation Building and Mäori Development Conference - Waikato University
Thursday 30 August 2000
Kia ora [Ministers Mihi]
Introduction
I want to commend the School of Mäori and Pacific Development - Te Pua Wananga ki Te Ao and the University of Waikato
for organising this forum so that we could all come together to discuss a future path for Mäori in the 21st Century.
I believe that Mäori will have a more prosperous future in Aotearoa if we embrace the new millennium with passion and
commitment for the betterment of whänau, hapü, and iwi. Indeed we must for our tamariki!.
As Minister of Mäori Affairs, I am in the nation building “business” if I can call it that. And during my time with
you I want to share some key themes in Government policy that are seeking to strengthen this nation of ours. These three
themes are:
(1) the Government’s commitment to closing the gaps;
(2) building the partnership between Government and Mäori through capacity building; and
(3) the imperative of Mäori economic development as a driving force in improving our overall economic and social
situation.
Partnership
The Government believes that the pathway towards securing a prosperous future for Mäori begins by strengthening its
relationship with Mäori as Treaty Partner.
We are Tangata Whenua and partners in the Treaty of Waitangi. Our leaders had a vision for our future and in signing
the Treaty. They put their trust in the Crown’s hands to ensure that Mäori and non-Mäori would prosper and grow
together.
Sadly, this trust was ignored and Governments over the past decades have continued this neglect which has had serious
implications on the current status of Mäori.
I am proud to say that this Government will work to meet its Treaty obligations to Mäori. We recognise our obligations
and will endeavour to work with Mäori to find solutions. But to be successful, they need to be solutions “by Mäori for
Mäori.”
There are two important policies which have the potential to strengthen the partnership between Mäori and Government
more than any other in recent times. These are this Government’s commitment to closing the social and economic gaps
between Mäori and non-Mäori and its Mäori capacity building policies.
Closing the Gaps
Closing the gaps is about focusing the collective resources and harnessing the energy of the Government and Mäori to
improve Mäori economic and social results. It is not about capping your aspirations to those of non-Mäori. You will find
that the policy is about working from a Mäori base to exceed your own expectations and exceed the achievements of
others. In doing so, the Government has a very focused role in supporting you in this aim through its closing the gaps
strategy.
I want to draw your attention to a number of recent initiatives which underpin the Government’s commitment to closing
the gaps, and promoting Mäori economic development.
Firstly, the Government has set-up a high powered committee chaired by the Prime Minister called the Cabinet Committee
on Closing the Gaps.
The main objective of this committee is to provide Mäori communities the opportunity to control their own development
and achieve their own objectives.
The Government’s policy for closing the gaps between Mäori and non-Mäori includes:
i) Increasing accountability for Government performance in closing the gaps;
ii) Improving the effectiveness of Government spending on Mäori; and
iii) Building the capacity of Mäori communities to determine their objectives and achieve their own goals.
State sector performance
The Government has devised new policies that will make government agencies more accountable for spending on improving
outcomes for Mäori and closing the gaps.
There is an expectation that all departments are going to be measured against the strategies they have in place to
close the gaps. The performance of Chief Executives and their departments will be assessed according to these measures.
We are sending a clear message to all Government departments to perform and strive for the betterment of Mäori.
To ensure that this happens, the Government has added effectiveness auditing to the role of Te Puni Kokiri. This will
strengthen the ability of Te Puni Kokiri to assess the effectiveness of specific programmes for Mäori.
The sorts of questions the auditors will ask will be:
1 Is the programme relevant to current or emerging needs or problems?
2 What kind of results is the programme achieving for Maori?
The auditing process will be result driven.
These new mechanisms are intended to make sure the Government lifts its game in a measurable way in closing the gaps
for Mäori.
Capacity Building
This Government has made a clear commitment to building capacity within whänau, hapü, iwi, Mäori organisations and
Mäori communities. The government has set aside $243 million to close the gaps of which $113 million (over four years)
has been allocated to government departments for capacity building for Mäori and Pacific peoples.
My colleagues and I are working to ensure that Ministers and mainstream Government departments respond appropriately
and effectively to the capacity building policy.
Capacity building is a process which seeks to strengthen the ability of whänau, hapü, iwi, Mäori organisations and
Mäori communities to build the strategies, systems, structures and skills that they need to control their own
development and achieve their own objectives.
Capacity building is about building on the strengths of Mäori communities and aligning these strengths to the needs of
their people.
The traditional approach focused on Mäori as a client. And in fact we’ve been case managed to death.
It’s about bottom-up development from the communities that need the assistance most. It’s about targeting the pohara
ones in our communities. Pohara in the sense of poor health, housing and educational situations. It’s about making sure
there is wide participation and benefit from the policy.
The Government’s new approach will empower and enable Mäori to solve their own problems. It is about, “by Mäori for
Mäori.”
The government has set in place a national strategy for Mäori capacity building. Our role is to resource the people to
build their capacity, with information, policy, programmes, and funding - not to dictate terms.
Under this approach, the government will contribute to Mäori development with a “whole of government approach”. We
don’t want to see 20 different agencies sending 20 different cars to the same community for different purposes. The
whole of government approach is critical to the policy’s success.
Te Puni Kökiri has a crucial role in the capacity building policy. Te Puni Kökiri is to coordinate and lead the state
sector in a whole of government approach to Mäori capacity building.
There are now 3 new fora crucial to making this work. There is the Chief Executives’ Forum, the Senior Officials’
Group, and Regional Inter-sectoral Fora convened by Te Puni Kökiri who will engage with Mäori communities in the
collective sense. The role of these fora is to ensure other agencies are responding appropriately and effectively to the
needs of Mäori communities.
Most important is how these fora engage and involve Mäori. It is for Mäori to determine how that interaction will
occur.
National Mäori organisations such as the New Zealand Mäori Council and the Mäori Women’s Welfare League have an
integral role to play. So too do our tribal organisations such as runanga and trust boards, as well as established Mäori
provider organisations.
These organisations are crucial to engaging with our people to ensure they are aware of the various opportunities
available to them through the capacity building policy.
It’s about bringing the people together so that information from government gets presented to our people in the most
lucid form possible.
Let me be clear about this. If we get this policy right, it has the potential to reshape New Zealand as we know it. It
is fundamentally about strengthening the partnership between government and Mäori to turn the negative statistics
around. It is about empowering and enabling Mäori to lead their own development. But we also need to build partnerships
amongst ourselves to meet the challenge. A stronger Mäori nation, is a stronger New Zealand nation overall.
Te Puni Kökiri’s capacity building programme
As well as leading the national strategy for Mäori capacity building, beginning in September Te Puni Kökiri will be
delivering its own capacity building programme. This will target whänau, hapü, iwi, Mäori organisations and Mäori
communities with strategic facilitation and support, including funding assistance. The assistance will include funding
for capacity assessments and capacity building initiatives that target those least likely to participate in this type of
policy.
Te Puni Kökiri’s 13 regional offices will be the primary delivery vehicle for this programme. They will work with
other agencies to support the capacity building aspirations of Mäori communities with information, advice, and some
funding assistance. If you wish to pursue this path I urge you to contact your nearest TPK regional office.
Other agencies are in the process of developing their own capacity building programmes around specific areas such as
employment and education. More information about these will be available soon.
Mäori economic development
I want to turn now to Mäori economic development. We’re working hard on a whole range of social issues including
health, education and justice.
However, social and economic development are not mutually exclusive. We need to develop the economic capability of
Mäori to support and enhance our social make-up.
The Government has instigated a number of economic development initiatives to progress overall Mäori economic
development.
The Mäori commercial asset base is worth around $5 billion and I believe that it can increase if it is nurtured and
utilised through business development.
The Government has committed itself to initiatives aimed at improving Mäori business development. I will now outline a
few of these.
Mäori Business Facilitation Service
One of these initiatives is the Mäori Business Facilitation Service.
In the 2000/2001 Budget, the Minister of Finance announced the establishment of a Mäori Business Facilitation Service
(MBFS). This service, due to start on 1 September 2000, is part of the coalition Government’s commitment to improving
the “commercial” capacity for Mäori to participate successfully in business.
The service will provide business mentoring that will cater for the various stages of business.
The MBFS will be able to offer different services according to each client’s needs. The following services will be
provided:
i) Pre-commercial facilitation - guidance on how to set up a new business;
ii) Facilitating access to grants and finance such as those available from the Poutama Trust, Industry New Zealand
or private sector banks for example;
iii) Post-commercial assistance for established businesses;
There will also be a focus on promoting an enterprise culture by encouraging and assisting Mäori business networks.
The regional offices of Te Puni Kökiri and the Mäori Trust Office will provide the “shop-front” of the MBFS and
third-party contractors will deliver the specialist business advice to Mäori business clients.
Mäori with commercially viable business ideas can now access a specific service designed for Mäori and delivered by an
organisation that is familiar to Mäori.
Industry New Zealand
The Government has recognised the lack of support for industry and budding entrepreneurs and firms with significant
growth potential. Our size in the world market and location makes it difficult to compete in the international arena.
I believe that the current range of business development programmes cannot provide adequate support for businesses to
compete with overseas producers.
Therefore Government has, through the Ministry of Economic Development, established Industry New Zealand. It has the
aim of increasing the international competitiveness of New Zealand’s business environment, in order to generate more
wealth, create more jobs and promote New Zealand as an attractive place to invest and do business.
The Government will boost the amount of money available for industry assistance, by allocating $34 million in the
current year, $73 million in 2001/2002 and reaching $112.5 million in 2002/2003.
Industry New Zealand will be responsible for managing and administering these funds to provide a range of industry and
regional initiatives.
Regional Development Programme
The Government’s Regional Development Programme will provide financial support for the development of local and
regional economic development strategies and for undertaking strategic audits, including pre-engagement support for
building local partnerships.
Major regional initiatives will be funded up to $2 million with a minimum of 25% local part-funding or in-kind
contribution.
These initiatives will support the ‘whole of government’ approach that will underpin the building of sustainable
communities in the regions.
Regions with a high level of unemployment often have a high proportion of Mäori and I believe that this programme will
help to create jobs for Mäori in these areas.
Industry New Zealand is developing these initiatives and will be working with Te Puni Kökiri to consult Mäori on how
they will operate.
As an initial step, the Tairawhiti regional development initiative, spanning the Wairoa and Gisborne districts, is the
first region identified by Government.
This initiative will be driven by the local community and supported by an integrated Government approach. This means
ensuring Government’s policies are integrated with regional strategies determined by local stakeholders.
The Tairawhiti Development Taskforce is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Jim Anderton, and includes myself as
Minister of Mäori Affairs, with the two local mayors, the local MP, chairpersons of the local runanga and a range of
business people.
The Taskforce is committed to developing sustainable strategies while taking the opportunity to endorse a diverse
range of actions and activities that will enhance development in the region.
A local Taskforce Secretariat has been established and will act as a focal point for the community submissions, liase
with stakeholders, and communicate developments.
Government will identify other regions for development later this year.
Final comments
I realise the extent of the work that needs to be done to close the gaps between Mäori and non-Mäori and I also have a
good understanding of the difficulties we face in trying to close these gaps.
The Government cannot work alone. Instead it must work alongside Mäori by facilitating access to the necessary
information, resources and other assistance for whänau, hapü and iwi to make their own decisions, set their own goals
and to achieve their own aspirations.
As I have outlined today the Government has a number of initiatives to achieve this, including Capacity Building,
Industry New Zealand, and Regional Development.
As Tangata Whenua it is our duty to build this nation of ours and to be at the forefront of developing a brighter
future for our tamariki in the 21st Century.
I believe the Government’s policies of capacity building, under-pinned by the drive to improve Mäori economic and
social results, will strengthen the long term partnership between the Government and Mäori people.
The policy has been agreed and set by Government - that battle has already been won. The challenge now is for you to
seize the opportunity to improve the lives of our whänau, hapü, iwi, Mäori organisations and Mäori communities.
I thank the organisers, the participants and distinguished guests for the opportunity to address you at this important
conference. I trust that the dialogue, debate and whakaaro nui that is to follow with the impressive line up of speakers
will strengthen our cause.
Kia ora tatau katoa.