Dialogue: Survival: cultural integrity and economic well-being

WHAIMUTU DEWES* says a lack of collective confidence and
a well-articulated vision are impediments to growth and
prosperity for both Maori and Pakeha alike.

Does New Zealand have what it takes to grow and prosper? A short question, but one that seems to have us confounded. The answer has to be yes, not only because anything else is to accept failure but because we have the resources, the tools, the will and the examples in the community.

What we have not had recently is a well-articulated vision, at the national level, of who we are and where we want to be in 20 or so years. Nor have we a collective confidence in our own resources.

Survival is the baseline goal. That is, full cultural integrity and economic well-being. This is an explicit driver for the Maori community. It is equally the vision that the nation seeks, but we have been too preoccupied with immediate issues to keep glancing at that horizon from time to time.

We have the tools. We need to build on them to gain global prominence so that our businesses and lifestyle are maintained on a sustainable level of growth. Many of our businesses are building on a comparative advantage, establishing partnerships to cover gaps in resources or skills and working toward achieving long-term growth.

Ngati Porou landowners did that by entering a joint venture with Hansol Forem to establish large-scale production forestry. Ngati Porou have big areas of suitable land and forest development and management skills. Hansol provided the financial capital that Ngati Porou did not have.

The project is based on sustainable development. It will provide soil stability in catchments seriously affected by erosion, work for a community with high unemployment, provide opportunities for the new cadre of management and be an asset that will contribute to the economic independence of future generations.

Furthermore, the vision of large-scale production forestry is one of the means of survival for Ngati Porou. A key ingredient is that the development is by Ngati Porou and for Ngati Porou.

Movement up the value chain of wood fibre-based products is envisaged as well as the use of returns in different areas. The increase in human, financial and social capital will create opportunity for ideas to be developed and new projects started.

Some 120 years ago, refrigeration technology revolutionised New Zealand's place in the world economy. Whatever the next wave is, Ngati Porou and a host of other businesses and communities, through hard work and clear vision, will be on it.

Four simple questions state the essence of what we are grappling with: ko wai koe? (who are you?); na wai koe? (who is your family?); no hea koe? (where are you from?); e ahu ana koe ki hea? (where are you going?).

These questions are routinely asked in Maori communities and not always competently answered. Total confidence in answering should be the goal because it is attainable.

The questions can also be applied in the general community and the same success rate should be sought. How do we ensure that we retain our cultural integrity, economic sovereignty and political viability? That is the unspoken desire of New Zealanders, Maori and non-Maori. Our ability to give rapid, complete answers to these questions is an indication of success.

We have a distinct identity. This generation has a duty to nurture that and to pass it on. The parallel with the Maori cultural values is not a mere coincidence.

Let us stop quibbling over gaps and dive headfirst into the pool of a bicultural New Zealand. That is what we are and what we will be even more emphatically in the future. Make it an explicit part of the vision. The story then turns on how we achieve it, not how much should we pay out at this stage.

A flourishing Maori language is a contribution to the cultural, economic and political capital of the nation, not a concession wrung from the majority and paid under sufferance. Settlement of historical issues becomes a platform for new relationships and growth, not a plank for one part of the community to beat other parts.

We have the tools to do the job. Fiscal surplus, productivity growth, enterprise culture and other terms that apply in our quest for economic prosperity are among the essential measures for success. They should all be taken as such - as givens rather than their necessity debated. We need to concentrate on what we have, what we do well, and then do better with all of that to achieve growth in economic, cultural and political capital.

We need to concentrate resources in areas that give us most leverage. Decision-making by those most affected by the decisions and consistent with historical and legal frameworks will do that.

The debate over Maori fisheries allocation is a case in point. All the research overseas, and New Zealand experience, shows that clear governance - separating commercial from political decisions - will give better decisions in the long run. Where the benefits of good decisions and the pain of bad ones are felt closest to the decision, initiative will be encouraged and risk assessment more relevant.

Another area for concentration is education. As a nation, as communities, families and individuals, we need to pour resources into the education of our young and not so young. The fact that graduates from tertiary education have three times the earning capacity of those who do not speaks for itself.

We have some way to go to agree on who should pay, yet education is the most critical investment we can make. Everybody benefits from a better-educated population. We are small and robust enough to take gigantic strides in this area.

Hard work is to be valued, not decried. E moe i te tangata ringa raupa (look for someone who works hard for a spouse) was a constant recitation of the old people with whom I spent time as a youngster. It encapsulated their value and represented the incentive structure they applied.

New Zealanders work and play hard. The fashionable veneer of ostensible sophistication that says that insouciant indolence is better should be actively dispelled. Our heroes are the men and women who work hard every working day to provide more opportunity for their dependants than they had.

We should welcome new people. We should be secure enough that the xenophobic restrictions on immigration are eliminated and we achieve a larger, more vibrant population. Let new people bring their new perspectives and skills.

Similarly, our economic sovereignty: in a global economy we will be subject to global tides. Subjugating our currency to a larger economy reduces us to mere driftwood, unable to exert any influence on the speed or direction of movement.

We might have only a small motor but it is better than none.

* Whaimutu Dewes chairs Ngati Porou Whanui Forestry. He has worked for legal, Government and commercial institutions, including Fletcher Challenge, and as a Treaty of Waitangi fisheries commissioner.