The BFD | What the PM Promised Maori at Waitangi

I have divided the Prime Minister’s speech to Maori at Waitangi this year into statements and promises. She only promised two things.

Promises:

1.[…] Doing things differently includes how we acknowledge our history. […] To see a commitment that we will finally have the teaching of New Zealand histories in schools.

2. Today marks the beginning of the formation of a national body for waka hourua that we are committed to establishing. A national body that will work together to form a strategy around the teaching of waka hourua Matauranga. That will include the Government supporting employees around the country so the next generation can learn the important knowledge of the navigational history that Sir Hek dedicated his life to teaching.

It is a right, not a privilege, that every child knows their history and their whakapapa.

The Prime Minister made no other promises so the only things Maori can hold her to account over next time are her commitments to put a left-wing version of history into our schools and to fund a national body for waka hourua dedicated to teaching Maori and Pasifika Navigational history.

Statements:

From all of the speakers today, for many of you there is much with which we agree: everybody hates GST. Except for Grant Robertson.

When I first came here, I said hold me to account and I will keep coming back here so you can do just that.

Maori unemployment is in some of its lowest levels in 10 years. But there is more mahi to do.

We have 8000 Maori, particularly rangatahi, who are in apprenticeships now. But there is more mahi to do.

We’ve just graduated 500 teachers and support workers who are out in our schools and our education system teaching Te Reo Maori, integrating it into everything they do. But there is more mahi to do.

We’ve helped more than 2000 more Maori families into public housing. But there is more mahi to do.

We’ve increased funding to Whanau ora. But there is more mahi to do.

The BFD. Photoshopped image credit Technomage.

The Provincial Growth Fund – I don’t need to tell you what’s happened in the North, you’ve seen it for yourself. More than $1.4 billion going into communities that will benefit Maori. But there is more mahi to do.

We’ve increased the minimum wage. We’ve put food in schools. We’ve increased paid parental leave. We’ve created increases in support for whanau.

But by our deeds you will know us.

[…] when I said hold us to account, I didn’t just mean what we do. I also meant how we do it.

[…]The way we do things matters.

beehive.govt.nz/speech/prime-ministers-2020-waitangi-speech

The last two years, we’ve worked hard to lift the representation as it should be of Maori at the seats where decisions are made.

For the first time, a small example, our district health boards fully represent the Maori population. For the first time. Twenty per cent of the appointments we have made have been Maori.