This year has been one of the most challenging periods Māori have experienced for decades – a year marked by Government actions that have been damaging and divisive for our people.
We’ve seen the rise of racist rhetoric, attacks on Māori, and a disregard for the use of te reo Māori. The Government has proposed changes to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, including the possibility of a referendum on our constitutional agreement, which threatens the foundation of our nation's identity.
On top of this, as a country we face relentless announcements of job losses and funding cuts. The impact on Māori has been profound, with continuous assaults on our rights, and cutbacks on services created by and for Māori. These policies undermine the progress we have fought so hard to achieve.
The disestablishment of Māori specialist roles across our community and public services is highly damaging. These roles ensure the country’s institutions reflect
Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and bring our unique Māori worldview to the forefront of policy, practice, and care.
This Government is slashing and burning the very services that uphold our well-being, our mana, and our whānau. If they continue down this path, what will be left for our tamariki and mokopuna?
The attack on te reo Māori and our culture
It’s not just jobs they are attacking – it’s our culture, our language, and our dignity. This Government wants to erase the use of te reo Māori in community and public services, strip te reo from official parliamentary correspondence and government agency branding. Te reo Māori is the heartbeat of our culture and a reminder of our history. To remove it from our public spaces is to deny Māori our identity, and our place in this land.
Treaty Principles Bill
The Treaty Principles Bill, which disregards Māori rights and Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a foundation document of our country, has just been introduced to Parliament.
PSA members and staff rallied in support of the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti as it passed through their regions on the way to Parliament. PSA members were out in force, marching, waving flags running sausage sizzles and posting on social media, to increase pressure to kill the Treaty Bill.
The PSA is also supporting other efforts to have the Bill voted out and is giving members the opportunity to submit their opposition to it when the Bill advances to the Select Committee stage.
As well as riding roughshod over the rights of Māori and the role of Te Tiriti, the Bill, if it were passed, would make it easier for the Government to sell off public assets. Treaty principles have acted in the past as a brake on corporatisation and privatisation. Te Tiriti protects all New Zealanders from corporate exploitation. This Bill isn’t about equality—it’s about corporate greed and profits versus all the people of Aotearoa, Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti.
Kotahitanga – solidarity
Our tūpuna fought for the recognition of our language and culture, for the signing of Te Tiriti, for our place in Aotearoa. We will not allow their legacy to be destroyed by political games.
He waka eke noa – we are all in this together. We stand together, Māori and Tāngata Tiriti, workers and whānau, to protect what is rightfully ours. We will not be divided. We will not be silenced.
Kia mau te mana. Kia manawanui. Ka whawhai tonu mātou, ake ake ake!
Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.
Janice Panoho
Te Kaihautū Māori o Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi