Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka ‘clarifying’ functions of Te Arawhiti and Te Puni Kōkiri

Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti, Tama Potaka. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Te Arawhiti, the Office for Māori Crown Relations, will be pared back to focus on negotiating Treaty of Waitangi settlements and Takutai Moana applications.

The move comes after reports the agency could effectively be shut down. Sources with information on the proposal told Stuff the Government was effectively closing the department, but Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka rejected this description when it was put to him by Stuff.

Meanwhile, Newsroom obtained an email sent to public service chief executives outlining plans to strip functions from Te Arawhiti that would be picked by Te Puni Kōkiri. As reported by Newsroom, Te Puni Kōkiri, the Māori development ministry, would pick up the responsibilities for:

• Monitoring and reporting on the Crown’s implementation of Treaty settlements
• Leading post-settlement relationships and co-ordinating significant events on behalf of the Crown
• Providing strategic advice on the distinct rights, interests and responsibilities of iwi, hapū and Māori, except as they relate to Treaty settlements and Takutai Moana matters
• Ensuring public service can engage effectively with Māori

In a statement on Tuesday, Potaka said the Government was “clarifying” the functions of the two key Māori agencies.

“Te Arawhiti will remain a departmental agency and continue its core role of progressing long-standing Treaty of Waitangi settlements and Takutai Moana applications.

“Te Puni Kōkiri will advise on policy to support the acceleration of Māori economic development, continue to support the revitalisation of Māori language and culture, and support Māori social development including through a social investment lens.”

Potaka said Te Puni Kōkiri would provide policy advice using the Treaty-based public policy framework Te Tautuhi ō Rongo, to ensure that the distinct rights and interests of iwi (as collectives) and Māori (as citizens) were recognised and provided for.

“It will also better monitor other agencies to ensure they are delivering adequate services to and for Māori.”

‘Another blow to Māori’

However the Public Service Association - the union for staff at Te Arawhiti - called the Government’s announcement “another disappointing attack on the place of Māori in Aotearoa”.

“The whole point of Te Arawhiti was to be a one stop shop for accelerating Treaty settlements, supporting Māori in the future so Treaty settlement commitments were implemented and strengthening the public service capability around the Treaty,” said Janice Panoho, Te Kaihautū Māori for Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi Public Service Association.

“The splitting off of functions means Te Arawhiti will lose the connection it had with the teams getting the settlements agreed and the context behind them. How is that efficient?”

The Greens warned cuts to Te Arawhiti will worsen relations between Māori and the Crown.

“This is another blow to Māori and another step backwards in relations between tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti,” said the Green Party spokesman for Māori Crown Relations Steve Abel.

“The decision to undermine the mana of Te Arawhiti is yet another example of the Government neglecting the relationship between Crown and Māori by denying tangata whenua rights to self-determination.”

In late May, 1News reported Te Arawhiti was facing a huge funding shortfall and its $12 million budget for the coming year would not be enough to meet demand.

Lawyers told 1News upcoming hearings in the High Court would likely need to be cancelled as they waited for invoices more than six months old to be paid.

“We’re waiting on an amount around three-quarters of a million dollars,” lawyer Darrell Naden told 1News.

Te Arawhiti, the Office of Māori-Crown Relations, was set up in 2018 under the then-Labour Government to negotiate historical Treaty of Waitangi claims. Its creation brought together several Government units, including the Office of Treaty Settlements.

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.