Māori Issues Policy

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Vision

The Green Party envisions a nation where Te Tiriti o Waitangi is accepted and celebrated as a founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand and the status of Māori as tangata whenua is recognised and respected. The many dynamic aspects of Māori life and culture are enhanced for the benefit of us all. We seek a future where tikanga is respected and enabled, where racism is eliminated, and where the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual effects of colonisation on our people are healed to create a healthy society where everyone thrives.

Key Principles

1. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a living and fundamental constitutional document and the indigenous language version of Te Tiriti is the legitimate text of an agreement that described the rights and responsibilities of hapu and the Crown, and which:
   1. gave the Crown the right to kawanatanga,
   2. confirmed the chiefs' tino rangatiratanga,
   3. gave Māori the individual rights of British people, and
   4. confirmed their religious, spiritual and customary rights.
2. The rangatiratanga of mana whenua, set out in Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Article 2), is a collective human right protected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
3. Resolution and restitution for all outstanding historical and contemporary breaches of Te Tiriti must be found.
4. All citizens of Aotearoa / New Zealand should be aware of the unique role of Te Tiriti in our nation.
5. Māori are entitled to equitable access to secure employment and decent income
6. Local economic development by, with and for tangata whenua is essential
7. Tangata whenua must be recognised and supported both in their role as kaitiaki and in protecting their taonga and tikanga against negative impacts
8. The kaitiakitanga of hapu, and shared decision making with mana whenua in all matters involving conservation and water management, waste, transport development and the marine environment must be supported and respected.
9. Iwi and hapu rights under Te Tiriti o Waitangi to manage and develop their resources within the constraints of sustainability must be recognised and supported in the transition to a sustainable future.
10. The status of health as a taonga to Māori must be recognised.
11. Elevate and celebrate unique taonga of toi o Māori and the contribution it makes to the identity of Aotearoa New Zealand.
12. The Crown has a responsibility to ensure the protection of taonga, including Māori Arts and culture and must support and contribute to the revitalisation of toi Māori, tikanga Māori and te reo Māori.

Specific Policy Points

1. Respecting Rangatiratanga

The rangatiratanga of mana whenua, set out in Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Article 2), is a collective human right protected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Green Party will ensure that rangatiratanga is enhanced and will work with Māori based organisations and representative groups to develop a programme of enhancing rangatiratanga at all levels, and provide adequate resources to support this. The Green Party will:

1. Support and implement the Declaration of Indigenous Peoples Rights, with the interests of tangata whenua as the principal consideration of its implementation.
2. Support the entrenchment of the Māori seats so that there is guaranteed Māori representation in Parliament
3. Enable Māori voters to change from the General to the Māori roll, or vice versa, at any time.
4. Ensure that there is a public information campaign to highlight the opportunity for Māori voters to enrol on the Māori roll prior to the general election
5. Promote and support guaranteed Tangata Whenua participation in local governance
6. Ensure the relationship established by Te Tiriti o Waitangi is given effect in planning by central and local government.
7. Promote and support
   1. The development of a diversity of models for restitution and nationally sustainable compensation over time
   2. Māori claimants being allowed ample opportunity to consider any legislation for setting a timeframe for lodging and settling claims, and the government ought not to proceed with legislation in the absence of widespread Māori support for the legislation:
      1. If a timeframe is set it must be mutually agreed between Crown and Māori, and be accompanied by a clear commitment of resources (including people, money, and information) and a schedule that reveals how all claims will be dealt with within the specified time; and if it becomes apparent through monitoring of progress that the deadline is not going to be met, the timeline must be extended.
      2. All claimants having the opportunity to have their land and resources returned to them. Otherwise, a timeframe is nothing more than a raupatu.
      3. That only historical claims (i.e. pre- September 1992) are included in any timeframe legislation.
      4. That funding, resources and expertise are made available for claimants to properly prepare their claims.
8. Develop a framework for human rights education to empower people to understand the relationship between the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Human Rights.
9. Support a public information and awareness programme on Te Tiriti O Waitangi that includes the context, intent, wording, adherence to and violations of, Te Tiriti O Waitangi; and a shared understanding of Pakeha culture and values, and its fair and practical implementation, particularly in rural areas.

2. Affirming and supporting Kaitiakitanga

The Green Party acknowledges and affirms the fact that Māori have kaitiakitanga. This means the exercise of stewardship by the tangata whenua of an area in accordance with tikanga (Māori custom) in relation to natural and physical resources. The Green Party believes that this must be respected and supported and that this is an integral part of part of honouring Te Tiriti. The Green Party will:

1. Recognise ancestral land ownership and kaitiakitanga in rural areas.
2. Support an increased role for tangata whenua as kaitiaki of their rohe.
3. Support the present practice of returning to iwi sites within the Conservation Estate that are of high value to tangata whenua, such as waahi tapu.
4. Reject the use of the Conservation Estate as a cheap source of land for Treaty settlements.
5. Develop models for shared guardianship with iwi and hapu of protected areas, building on successful models that already exist, and support an ongoing dialogue as to how shared guardianship can be developed to protect and enhance our natural heritage.
6. Include and fund a process to enable mana whenua to exercise their kaitiakitanga over the marine environment, including their customary and commercial fishing resources.
7. Require regional councils to recognise the kaitiaki role of hapu when developing regional coastal plans and aquaculture management areas.
8. Provide research support for tangata whenua to investigate methods of managing their customary fishing resources.
9. Encourage the development of taiapure and mataitai/reserve initiatives searching for win-win solutions that respect both ecosystem protection and customary rights
10. Pass the Marine Reserves Bill, currently before Parliament, in the first 6 months in office, with appropriate amendments, including the facilitation of the co-location of reserves and Māori traditional management areas (mataitai and taiapure) to address Māori concerns about the loss of customary fishing rights
11. Ensure Māori are recognised and supported in their role as kaitiaki of their taonga and tikanga by:
    1. ensuring culturally appropriate disposal of sewage;
    2. supporting Māori efforts to protect sites such as customary food gathering areas and waahi tapu from the negative impacts of waste and pollution.
12. Recognise the cultural heritage value of traditional Māori plants and animals, such as the kiore, and develop strategies to ensure these species are conserved in areas where they will not seriously threaten indigenous species.
13. Increase funding to help private and Māori landholders actively manage and protect indigenous habitats and ecosystems (i.e. the Biodiversity Condition, Biodiversity Advice, Nga Whenua Rahui, Nature Heritage and QEII Trust Funds).
14. Respect Māori concepts of the sacred nature of mauri (the life force) and of whakapapa (ancestry or biological heritage).

3. Ensuring Access to Economic Prosperity

Māori need to be able to have equal access to economic resources, work and employment.The Green Party will:

1. Support equitable access for Māori to secure employment and decent wages.
2. Increase resources to enable Māori and those in precarious employment to access information on employment rights and unions.
3. Encourage research to help identify discriminatory workplace and institutional practises.
4. Support effective equal employment opportunities programmes, training and support to encourage Māori and other statistically lower-paid groups into higher-paid areas of employment.
5. Support Māori initiatives to create ecologically sustainable employment for Māori.
6. Recognise the importance of local economic development by, with and for tangata whenua.
7. Preserve the right of tangata whenua to protect themselves and their taonga from trade and investment related exploitation
8. Support Māori protection of cultural and traditional knowledge, and intellectual property rights, from bio-prospecting and other means of misappropriation. This will assist the use and development of indigenous species in Māori agricultural enterprise.
9. Develop a brandmark system to authenticate tourism products and services based on cultural heritage. This would be developed in association with tangata whenua to ensure consistency with their intellectual and cultural property rights.
10. Work with iwi and hapu to facilitate the use of iwi-owned forests and forestry waste for biomass.
11. Facilitate iwi and hapu involvement in the development and use of geothermal energy and in the planning of small hydro projects, where these projects involve water resources within the rohe of the iwi or hapu.
12. Ensure that the development of incentives, disincentives, ratings, carbon credits and other economic instruments take multiply-owned Māori land owners into account.
13. Support Māori land use through methods such as requiring banks to make credit available for use on multiply-owned Māori land as if it were singly-owned.
14. Ensure that the Crown covers the full cost to the taxpayer of deforestation for this current harvest cycle of non-Kyoto forests on any Crown land with crown owned forestry leases that has been returned to Māori as a Treaty settlement
15. Propose negotiations take place between the Crown and Māori quota-holders about establishing an equivalent process for rentals that will be paid by Māori quota-holders and managed by Māori.
16. Support papakainga and local iwi and hapu third sector housing.
17. Support the development and study of traditional Māori knowledge within the public science system. Such work can only occur in partnership with local Māori, may involve new science structures and must ensure that intellectual property rights remain with Māori.
18. Support initiatives to support businesses in Māori communities.
19. Provide ongoing support for Māori service providers such as Te Wananga O Aotearoa to provide free or low cost small business training and to assist students to access start up capital for their ventures.
20. Encourage Māori business people to become business mentors in their communities, and support existing Māori business networks with a record or the potential for success in those communities.
21. Support intra-community lending initiatives for Māori businesses.

4. Supporting Matauranga Māori and Whanaungatanga

The Green Party acknowledges the value of whanaungatanga; a sense of belonging and system of family and community relationships, to Māori . We recognise and respect the importance of traditional learning systems of tangata whenua including kohanga reo, kura kaupapa and whare wananga. We support the education system providing opportunities for kaupapa Māori education as alternative learning institutions and to enhance kaupapa Māori throughout mainstream education. The Green Party also recognises health as Taonga.The Green Party will:

1. Support Māori to have control of their education and contribute to the education of all New Zealanders.
2. Work towards te reo and tikanga Māori being taught in all schools and available to all learners.
3. Support Māori communities, whanau, hapu and iwi to work with schools so that:
   1. Children's participation at kura and kohanga reo is increased.
   2. Schools develop locally appropriate knowledge of tikanga Māori.
   3. Teachers are supported to assist in developing cultural competencies.
4. Investigate ways that kaupapa Māori can contribute to the mainstream education system.
5. Increase funding levels so that there are adequate resources in te reo for kura, kohanga reo, and other full immersion and bilingual learners.
6. Provide specific incentives to encourage teachers to train for and teach in kura, kohanga reo, full immersion and bilingual schools to meet demand.
7. Increase the number of places and scholarships available annually for the training of Māori teachers and teachers able to teach in te reo.
8. Support teacher professional development to strengthen assessment in kura and kohanga reo.
9. Increase the number of Māori advisers and resource teachers.
10. Support and expand programmes that focus on cultural activities, such as kapa haka.
11. Work with Māori to ensure provisions for appropriate tertiary education services to Māori, within the public system, are improved, and Māori initiatives of alternative and/or parallel systems, identified by Māori as more appropriate for the delivery of services to Māori people, are adequately resourced, supported and encouraged.
12. Support community based initiatives for Māori language education to allow non school-age learners and those who study at home an opportunity to learn te reo Māori.
13. Support the critical role that kuia and kaumatua have within matauranga Māori.
14. Remain committed to a dedicated Māori Television broadcasting service to play a major role in revitalising language and culture that is the birthright of every Māori and the heritage of every New Zealander.
15. Recognise cultural differences around concepts of 'volunteering', and acknowledge the right of tangata whenua of each hapu to define what 'community & voluntary sector' means to them.
16. Recognise the diversity of tangata whenua roopu within the Tangata Whenua, Community and Voluntary sector, from Māori defining themselves as working within the community and voluntary sector to hapu and iwi based tangata whenua activity based on tikanga and rangatiratanga.
17. Support hapu and iwi based initiatives through COGS and Lotteries.

Māori Justice

The Green Party acknowledges and supports the effort within the Māori community to develop working models of Māori justice processes. The Greens recognise there is benefit in borrowing from both restorative justice and Māori justice models. Tikanga based justice is as an expression of sovereignty under Te Tiriti and can be a more effective way of reducing re-offending.The Green Party supports:

1. The development of wananga to transmit and extend such knowledge, and funding for the implementation of such processes.
2. Ensuring that tikanga and reo programmes, prepared and delivered by Māori, are readily available in all prisons and youth justice centres.
3. Facilitating hapu and iwi collaboration in prison management.
4. Funding the development of Māori focus units in all prisons and youth justice centres.
5. Requiring prison officers to undergo training to ensure they are responsive to the cultural backgrounds of inmates, including basics such as pronunciation of names or understanding of tikanga.

Wahine Māori

Wahine Māori are more likely than non Māori women or Māori men to do unpaid work outside their household. Wahine Māori play an important role in protecting our natural heritage and culture. The Green Party supports the strength and energy of wahine Māori and recognises their contribution to society. The Green Party also recognises that wahine Māori, in particular, have suffered from the effects of colonisation which has undermined their leadership, spirituality, knowledge and rights.The Green Party will work with wahine Māori to:

1. Recognise and support the leadership of wahine Māori on both social and environmental issues.
2. Resource a series of nation wide hui of wahine Māori to discuss and determine their priorities and needs for the future.
3. Implement programmes and policies to reduce existing social and economic disparities between Māori and non-Māori women.
4. Ensure that all health, education and other government policies and priorities recognise and aim to improve the well being of wahine Māori.

5. Health as Taonga

The needs and preferences of Māori and their whanau, from the beginning of life to the end of life, must be recognised and respected in the development and delivery of health services. The Green Party will:

1. Facilitate and support the development of research partnerships between Māori and non-Māori researchers to meet the urgent need for research that benefits Māori health.
2. Increase accessibility of health services to Māori through increased provision of community and marae-based services.
3. Ensure Māori representation and consultation at all levels of the health service.
4. Support additional funding for health research resources to be directed at Māori health issues in order to address the continuing disparities in the standards of health between Māori and non-Māori.
5. Further build the capacity of Māori to manage their own health needs and provide Māori specific services.
6. Support rongoa Māori (traditional Māori healing) practitioners and practices, including traditional breastfeeding and birthing practices.
7. Facilitate the development of linkages between rongoa Māori and other health services.
8. Accelerate the training and development for Māori healthcare workers.
9. Continue the work of the Māori Health Strategy (He Korowai Oranga).
10. Work with iwi and Māori to ensure that all Māori children are able to access culturally appropriate care and treatment in both primary and mental healthcare services
11. Support and extend targeted smoking cessation programmes for Māori women.
12. Support tangata whenua initiatives to supply high quality and culturally appropriate mental health care.
13. Encourage and resource tangata whai ora to have ongoing input into the mental health sector at all levels.
14. Require all service providers to document that families/whanau and other significant people in the lives of tangata whai ora have provided input into treatment planning.
15. Honour the commitment to rangatahi under Te Tiriti o Waitangi as well as UNCROC.
16. Establish effective systems for the development and co-ordination of services for tamariki and rangatahi Māori. This should be done in partnership with tamariki and rangatahi, whanau, hapu, and iwi.
17. Amend the Ministry of Māori Development Act 1991 to include specific responsibilities to promote the rights of tamariki and rangatahi, and provide an annual report to Parliament on the state of Māori rangatahi.
18. Expand the responsibilities of the Commissioner for Children to include promoting understanding of the rights of rangatahi under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.