Human Rights Commission

Purpose

Nā te whakakotahi, ka ora ai ngā tangata. Working together we improve our community.

The Nelson Regional Intersectoral Fora (RIF) began when central and local government and iwi signed Terms of Agreement in 2001. There was a further agreement made in 2008 that the parties would meet twice a year.

Background

The iwi involved are: Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Toa, Te Atiawa, Mataa Waka, Ngāti Kuia and Ngāti Rarua.

There are 22 central and local government agencies involved in the RIF including the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), the ACC, NZ Police, the Nelson City Council, the Tasman District Council, Child Youth and Family (CYF), the Department of Labour, Ministry of Education, the Department of Conservation, Housing New Zealand, Te Puni Kōkiri, Career Services, Ministry of Justice, Work and Income, the Tertiary Education Commission, Nelson and Marlborough District Health Board, the Inland Revenue Department and the Department of Corrections.

Roles

The Crown’s role is to organise, host and facilitate hui to discuss Māori issues. This is done by a working group of representatives from MSD, the Police and DIA. Representatives from the other central and local government agencies attend the hui.

Mana whenua iwi and ngā mataa waka are invited to attend and their role is to bring issues and opportunities to the hui.

What happens

Collaborative working groups from both Crown and Māori organisations are established at the hui to work on the issues presented by the iwi. These groups meet outside the forum, reporting back to the next meeting on the issues that have been highlighted and suggesting potential ways forward.

There are five working groups:

Recruitment

To promote opportunities to Māori such as recruitment seminars, scholarships and cadetships.

Education

To improve early intervention for Māori children and to address the high rate of Māori who disengage from the school system and leave early.

Access to services

To ensure that Māori receive all the assistance that might be available, e.g. rehabilitative assistance through ACC.

Māori /Mahi

To define the ‘fit’ of Māori staff in government departments, for example, attendance at hui, tangi etc, to acknowledge the importance of having government departments ‘on board’, present and in support at such events and to stress the importance of this connection for relationships.

This group will also address the difficulties of being Māori in government agencies and provide training for agency managers in tikanga/kawa/protocol for tangi, koha, etc.

Input into central government strategic and business

To improve the consultative process – being able to read strategic and operational plans and see responses to Māori issues and to include tangihanga attendance etc in agency plans and policies. This will build on previous RIF working group knowledge and use examples that are working well.

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Article 23 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is relevant to the RIF initiative where it states that “Indigenous peoples have the right to be actively involved in developing and determining health, housing and other economic and social programmes affecting them.”

What is working well

Procedural and policy changes have happened at local government level as a result of these hui. A local government agency has also changed its practices and understanding of tikanga Māori because of this forum (by increasing Māori input into the current Long-Term Council Community Plan). A central government agency has also made provisions for tikanga Māori training for staff.

The best thing, however, is that the forum has become an opportunity for relationships to grow and be nurtured as iwi are able to meet the regional managers from the different organisations. Relationships between mana whenua and local and central government continue to be strengthened or are being developed. Working groups as a result of the hui are building further relationships between the government and tāngata whenua and there is a feeling of goodwill amongst all participating.

Looking ahead

It is essential that iwi are invited to make suggestions on how they would like to provide input.

There are still changes and understanding to be gained from this forum. The issues identified at the hui may influence future agency planning. As long as the lines of communication and collaboration remain open there is every reason to expect that this will happen.

Last updated 15 July 2009