John Tamihere Speech: The Maori Continuum – Where will we be 10 years from here?

Speech to the Sixth Young Maori Leaders Conference, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellingon, Tuesday, 17 June, 9am

The next 10 years will be a make or break period, and it will be a period in which Maori leadership will have to stand up and make sure that we make it, and not break it.

OUR YOUNG POPULATION Why will the next 10 years be so vitally important? First of all, because of you: young people. The Maori population is a very young population: 75 per cent of Maori are under the age of 25, and 55 per cent are of school age.

In the next 10 years that young generation will be coming through as our future workforce, our future leaders and our future movers and shakers, and we urgently need them to come through as positive and progressive members of our society. Over the coming decade Maori will be part of an increasingly ethnically diverse population. In 10 years we will be well on the way towards reaching projections by Statistics NZ that show that by 2021 the Maori population will have grown by 28 per cent to nearly 750,000, and will make up 17 per cent of New Zealand's population, up from 15 per cent today. By sheer force of demographic fact, we're a growing force.

Those figures, and increasing levels of intermarriage between Maori and other ethnic groups, mean that policies of separatism are on a hiding to nothing. Statistics show that nearly half of all those who identify themselves as Maori also identify themselves as belonging to another ethnic group, including a third who identified themselves as being both Maori and European. I'm a pretty good example of that myself, identifying as being of Maori, Irish and Scots ancestry.

WHERE WE ARE SITUATED

Another factor that will shape the coming decade is the fact that Maori will continue to be overwhelmingly urban. In 2001, 84 per cent of Maori lived in towns or cities. And more than 70 per cent of Maori live outside their traditional iwi boundaries. Those figures have significant implications for how gains flowing through to Maori are distributed.

For the majority of Maori, the traditional iwi model has little connection with their day-to-day reality. Nationwide, 112,000 Maori - more than 18 per cent - are described as "non-tribal", which is defined as those who are of Maori descent but do not know their iwi affiliations. Many urban Maori like myself may know what their iwi affiliations are, but in terms of their day-to-day reality, have little social, economic, cultural or political connection with them. There is as much sense of support and belonging, and as much reality of "whanau", in an urban kapa haka group or touch rugby team as there is between many urban Maori and iwi.

The reality is that Maori society has moved away from an exclusively traditional, iwi-based structure. Evidence of this can be seen in highly successful initiatives such as kura kaupapa and kohanga reo that have arisen across tribal boundaries.

Urban Maori authorities are better able to accurately reflect the interests, views and experiences of urban Maori because they are based where most Maori live, they work with Maori in a range of services such as health, employment, education and training.

They represent the modern, urban Maori reality. They are multi-tribal and multi-cultural, progressive and forward-looking. They are proud of their Maoritanga, but will not follow a separatist path because of it. And urban authorities must have a role and a share in the considerable assets that are now moving into Maori hands.

TRANSFER OF RESOURCES

We have reached a crucial point in the history of our nation in which opportunities for the advancement of Maori prosperity are now occurring at an unprecedented level.

The next 10 years will be crucial because it marks a coming of age in our history in which significant resources and opportunities will become available to us. With those resources and opportunities will come a responsibility to make sure that we use them to our best advantage, and that the benefits that must flow from them are available to all. That responsibility lies not with the Government or anyone else, but with Maori.

It is only now that we have reached this crucial point because as a nation we have delayed our nationhood debate - and the role in our nation of the Treaty and Maori – till about 20 years ago. Although the Treaty of Waitangi drew a clear line in the sand in 1840, it wasn't until 1975, with the Treaty of Waitangi Act, that the Treaty debate really got started.

The Motonui decision in 1982 was the first time a Government actually took cognizance of the 1975 legislation, and the Lange Government took things radically forward in the 1980s in taking Treaty claims back to 1840. The settlements reached through the 1990s, and the continuation of that process under this Government, mean that every iwi grouping has now reached, or is signed up on progress towards, a full and final settlement. That nationhood debate may have been long deferred, but once we got going, we really got going, and look at the results.

According to the Office of Treaty Settlements' quarterly report to March this year, more than $637 million has already been committed to full and final settlements. Ngai Tahu and Tainui settlements were each worth $170 million, and a number of other lesser but still significant sums have since been paid out in settlements, and more are now coming through the system and will reach settlement before too long.

Settlements are now coming through on average of about one every six months, and Government projections show we expect to spend about $100 million a year on Treaty settlements between now and 2006. Add to that a fisheries settlement worth the thick end of a billion dollars and a forestry settlement worth about $700 million, and you've got some pretty serious resources flowing into Maori communities.

Include significant funding also being spent on Maori-related health, education and employment areas, and we are talking not just millions, but billions of dollars. In education alone, in the year to June 2000, the Ministry of Education allocated $66.7 million to spending targeted solely on Maori. There are now about 650 kohanga reo, 59 kura kaupapa, and more than 140 Maori health providers around the country providing social services to Maori, and whose assets are worth about $200 million.

Full and final means just that: full and final. And for the first time we can truly say that settlements are fairly full and final. For the first time, it cannot be said that this is an unconscionable process. If you look at the process Maori have had all the lawyers, all the accountants, economists and everyone else they need to ensure they are negotiating on an even footing, on equal terms.

HOW FAR WE HAVE COME

When looking forward to what we forecast to be happening 10 years from now, it helps to look back over the last few decades to see how far we have come. When you look at progress in terms of what we have now, compared to what we had 20 years ago, when not a single Treaty claim had been settled, you can see that things are very different than they were then. Which means that maybe it's time we had a bit of a stocktake, to assess those changes – and how our mindset and our game plan might need to adjust in relation to those changes.

Because when you look back on the last few decades, you can see the progress we have made has been extraordinary. In 1984, at the time of Hui Taumata, we had: no kohanga no kura no wananga no Maori providers in health, welfare or justice no Treaty settlements no Treaty clauses in legislation

Since then, we've done a pretty amazing job. The first nation Canadians visit here regularly to look at what we have done; so do the Torres Strait aboriginal people and the Hawaiians. We've got an international, indigenous network that marvels what New Zealand has done – it's only New Zealanders who don't. So we owe ourselves a pat on the back, because it's something we tend not to do as Kiwis, or as Maori.

Perhaps just as importantly as the achievements through the Treaty settlement process, things are moving dramatically outside Parliament in attitudes towards things Maori. Sure, there are some people who still view Treaty settlements with suspicion or hostility, and the situation is not helped by politicians who exploit separatist policies for their own short-term political gain - but those are attitudes that can only be improved through better understanding – something that the Treaty education campaign announced in this year's Budget may help address.

But the attitudes I see more and more out there in the community are much more positive. I go to schools where perhaps 80 per cent of the kids are Pakeha, but they are participating in activities like kapa haka, piupius and all – and their parents are really proud. Theirs is a generation that is starting to have a different appreciation, respect and tolerance of Maori. There is a whole new genre of Kiwi who are very comfortable with Maori culture, perspectives and partnership. I accept that in many areas Maori are not well-represented in the socio-economic statistics. Maori unemployment, while improving, is still twice as high as non-Maori unemployment. Maori educational achievements, while also improving, are still lower on average than non-Maori achievements.

I could continue to name other negative statistics concerning Maori in areas such as health and justice, but I'm the sort of person who likes to accentuate the positive and not dwell on the negative. I can see the huge potential in a youthful population that is ready to move forward. We now have the resources and the means to deal with those issues and inequalities, so let's start doing it. Let's start challenging our leadership to make sure it happens.

MAORI LEADERSHIP – THE CHALLENGE

So the next 10 years should have less focus on what rights Maori are entitled to, and more on what responsibilities we now have with respect to those rights. We have now gone through that remarkable Treaty process and nation-building process, and are coming out the other end.

Maori leadership must now stand up and be held accountable for ensuring that the gains and rewards that flow from that process are used in the most effective way to advance the interests of all Maori. Should we ask the Government to ensure that happens? No. It is a responsibility for Maori to meet, and there are no longer any excuses for blaming failure on others.

Over the next 10 years, Maori will own an increasing share of New Zealand's natural resources, its lands, forests and fisheries. Ownership of these resources, if managed properly, will ensure economic development of Maori that will bring increasing security. Economic development is the key to accessing better health, housing, education and business opportunities. It will also underwrite Maori culture.

Already we have seen marked improvement in Maori economic development in the last decade. Maori commercial assets were worth more than $5.2 billion in 2000, mostly concentrated in the primary industries of farming, forestry and fisheries, with significant Maori investment also in property and tourism. Maori economic success stories exist in almost every business sector, from primary production to IT. With increasing resources coming into our hands, we must sure it brings sustainable economic development in Maori communities that bring prosperity to all Maori.

So the situation I see Maori in – or hope to see Maori in – in 10 years is one of greater equality, vitality, prosperity, success and participation. The challenge is getting there, and it is a challenge that lies with Maori leadership. It's crunch time. We have the potential, we have the resources, we have the determination and the ability. So that's the challenge I put to you, because in 10 years' time, whether we have succeeded or failed will be down to us.

The present Maori leadership has done a pretty good job at talking the talk, but it is one thing to articulate your people's grievance, and another one to have the skills to lead the solutions to that grievance. Maori leadership – those who control the Maori asset base in the name of Maori – must be prepared to deliver on the solutions in the next 10 years, and that's the challenge I lay down to you today.

TAMIHERE'S TOP 10 FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS

If you are successful, I look forward to seeing the following performance indicators for Maori in 10 years time:

Maori brands leading our export growth in regard to goods and services. Maori succeeding in education all the way from pre-school level, right through to tertiary education, where they will be participating and performing on merit, without the need for affirmative action quotas. Pakeha people as proud of us as we are of ourselves. Renaming and re-using Ngawha Prison, through lack of demand on its original purpose, as the newest wananga for Ngapuhi. Maori will be lead innovators in health, welfare, education, broadcasting and IT to such an extent that other communities will be seeking our services. Maori leading aquaculture development, and consolidating themselves as leaders in the fishing industry. Maori culture will build on the number one position it holds in attracting international visitors to New Zealand. Maori income, employment and business participation exploding to the extent that we reach parity with non-Maori. Energetic and effective Maori representation from school boards of trustees and community boards, through to local and regional councils and area health boards up to national level. And last but not least, a Maori team will win the World Cup – and we won't even need Christian Cullen to help us.

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