Northland Inc: Māori economy holds some of greatest potential for regional growth

The Northland Inc team at Kohewhata Marae. Photo / Supplied

COMMENT

A Treaty-based approach to regional Māori economic development makes sense.

The core Treaty principles of "Partnership", "Participation" and "Protection" of assets are fundamental principles which drive successful business growth and development.

However, for Northland tribes and rangatira, a fourth principle was at the heart of why they agreed to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the first place - which is the principle of shared "Prosperity".

They could never have perceived a time in the future, such as we have arrived at today, where their mokopuna would be nearly half as likely to own their own homes, and almost twice as likely to be unemployed in Northland.

They would also have never perceived a time where their tribal estates would have been dwindled away to a small proportion of what they were when they entered into a Treaty relationship with the Crown.

The situation for Māori in Northland is not one that embodies a Treaty-based history of economic "Partnership", "Participation" and "Protection" of assets, nor does it meet the promises given to these rangatira for shared "Prosperity". As a region this is where we need to put our focus, to change the picture and outlook for Northland Māori.

The Māori economy in Northland holds some of the greatest potential for regional growth, and this economic focus is already starting to shift towards Māori all by itself. In addition to the growing tribal asset base, whenua Māori provides some of the greatest unrealised opportunities economically for our region and there has been a large amount of investment recently in the Mid and Far North, by Māori, to capitalise on this.

From a demographic perspective, rangatahi Māori make up one of the fastest-growing proportions of the population and they will be the future workforce and next generation of our regional entrepreneurs and business owners.

Our financial institutions are already aware that the Māori economy provides ample opportunity to invest in fast-growing enterprises. They have begun to establish dedicated Māori account managers and units within the banks.

This isn't being established out of some philanthropic gesture of social goodwill towards Māori, this is purely a business decision by the banks based upon the opportunity for returns. Where there is growth, there is a need for capital and an opportunity for profit, and all banks want a share of that opportunity.

It's simply not a matter of if we will be seeing an increase in Māori economic activity in Northland, it's a matter of how fast this will happen and what support can we provide to assist this development.

As the regional economic development agency for Te Tai Tokerau, Northland Inc has acknowledged the Te Tiriti o Waitangi relationship Northland Māori has with the Crown.
As a result, we have committed to the principles of "Partnership", "Participation" and "Protection" as we form our regional economic development activity and shape our future workplans.

This isn't some left-leaning commitment to Māori, these principles are the foundational principles of doing any sort of business. No business owner would enter into a relationship or agreement with anyone who didn't respect these principles, so why would we expect Māori to if we don't live up to them as well?

In addition, alongside iwi and other agencies, we need a focus on how well our region is doing addressing the fourth principle of "Prosperity". We also need a clear model for regional Māori economic development, which assesses these principles against a lens of opportunity and positively shifting the socio-economic outcomes for Northland Māori.

Government's commitment to a 5 per cent procurement target for agencies and local government provides an opportunity for small to medium Māori business growth and development.

That's a great start, however, as 50 per cent of the population in the Far North District and more than a third of our entire region are Māori, we should be more aspirational in setting regional targets if we are truly serious about addressing the current prosperity disparities in our region.

Our approach to setting regional economic priorities will be achieved in partnership with Māori, several of which hold and manage significant regional asset bases in forestry, horticulture, farming and industry and employ large numbers of our regional constituents.

Northland Inc will be setting our own targets for supporting Māori business development and these will be in line with our regional population demographics for Māori. Supporting the ecosystem of Māori business networks and partnering with them to assist growth and business start-ups is something Northland Inc is committed to doing.

Taking this focus to Māori economic development should attract both the left and right of our political spectrum. No one wants a reality in Northland where a significant number of Māori subsist solely on government benefits.

The only viable alternative to that is one where Māori are economically independent and are future business owners who help to drive the economic development of our region.

A Treaty-based approach to regional economic development isn't just the right thing to do, it makes sound business sense for our region and our nation.

• Piripi Moore is the GM Māori for the Northland regional economic development agency Northland Inc.