Acumen Republic Business Breakfast
te-pati-maori
Thu Jul 29 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Acumen Republic Business Breakfast
Thursday, 29 July 2010, 10:47 am
Speech: The Maori Party
Thursday 29 July 2010; 7.30am
Acumen Republic Business Breakfast,
Wellington Hon Tariana Turia, Co-leader of the Maori Party
When I was first invited to speak to this Business Breakfast, I admit to being somewhat apprehensive at what I could possibly say that would fit with the corporate culture of your organisations.
What would the Maori Party have to offer an organisation that in the last quarter attracted revenue of approximately $1.27 billion; $100 million of that as pure profit?
How would our strategic goals apply to those who are specialising in human resource management; in tax and transaction; in infrastructure?
Then I returned to the policy priorities that we took into the last campaign - he tangata, he tangata, he tangata - the people, the people, the people In essence we have much more in common than immediately evident.
Whether we are a managing director, a chief executive, a partner or a politician, our interest is in investing in ourselves to lead us to productivity on a grander scale.
For me, that productivity is all about whanau.
As business leaders, you would appreciate the crisis of confidence that would occur in your workplace if certain sectors were succeeding and others were consistently failing to perform.
What the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedom of indigenous peoples found, was that in the business of Government, Maori are being restricted by the extreme disadvantage manifest in their social and economic conditions. Considering that only 170 years ago they were politically, economically, socially, and culturally intact and in control of this country, it is a major change in position.
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
In education, for example, new Qualifications Authority data shows that while 80% of European students are achieving level one of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement, only 57% of Maori are.
Or in health, we see unacceptably high levels of rheumatic fever in Maori, Pacific and high deprivation communities.
In housing only 33% of Maori households own their own homes; and of course the continued and persistent high levels of incarceration of Maori individuals are a blight on our nation that cannot be ignored.
So how do we address the system meltdown; the dysfunction of a policy infrastructure which continues to perpetuate inequalities?
I want to talk about two possible models which have made me optimistic about our capacity to see progress which will translate into meaningful outcomes.
Outcomes such as the Treaty honoured; thriving whanau and communities; a clean environment; an identity which is truly of the Pacific.
The first approach is that of whanau ora. Whanau ora is about building fitness: developing whanau capability, and nurturing resilience. It is about investing in our whanau and lifting all our children - to feed their minds, to nurture their creativity, to restore our whanau to the essence of who they are.
It is the way forward to whanau determining what is in their best interests It is about supporting them to reach their potential, to trust in their own locally developed solutions.
The key focus is on best outcomes for whanau - rather than activities and outputs.
And in the climate of continuous improvement, an action research, evaluation and monitoring approach is being developed with a wide range of whanau and Whanau Ora Navigators to understand best whanau outcomes, and to refine the systems, processes and programmes that are delivered to support whanau to achieve their goals.
It is demonstrated by firmly placing whanau at the centre rather than the passive recipients of services, or clients marginalised from mainstream provision.
The second approach is in working co-operatively and collaboratively with iwi so that iwi can achieve a greater degree of control over their resources, prosperity and future.
Government has been proactive in working with iwi on key issues such as water, climate change, infrastructure and public/private partnerships; foreshore and seabed and whanau ora.
There is plenty of scope for further engagement. In terms of the educational crisis I opened with, I believe that Government has now appreciated the vital and strategic importance of working alongside iwi as the Treaty partner and to develop their capability and capacity as such to assume a key role in the education of their uri.
There are some 45 Iwi partners working alongside the Ministry of Education - and we are keen to encourage greater flexibility to support whanau, hapu and iwi models of education.
These are just two approaches which are part of my priorities in helping our nation to move forward.
But by far the most critical step in building nationhood will be in the long conversation we need to have with all peoples who now call Aotearoa home.
Tena tatou katoa.
ENDS
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}
Using Scoop for work?
Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.
Join Pro Individual Find out more
Find more from The Maori Party on InfoPages.