Māori Participation and Representation: An Investigation into Māori reported experiences of Participation and Representation within the policy process post-MMP _____________________________________ A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Political Science Josephine Clarke _______________________________________ University of Canterbury 2015 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT iv LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi GLOSSARY vii CHAPTER ONE Introduction and Literature Review 1 CHAPTER TWO Methodology 23 CHAPTER THREE Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 37 CHAPTER FOUR Marine and Coastal (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 65 CHAPTER FIVE Whānau Ora 86 CHAPTER SIX Conclusion 108 APPENDECIES A Māori Research Advisory Group Form 135 B Unstructured Interview Prompts 137 C Information Sheet 138 D Consent Form 140 E Regional Boundaries 142 BIBLIOGRAPHY 143 iii Acknowledgements There are a number of people and organizations that I would like to thank for their assistance during the writing of this thesis. Most importantly I would like to extend my gratitude all those who imparted their individual knowledge, experiences, perceptions and wisdom to this research as participants. I am especially grateful to Sue Rudman, the Bream Bay Trust and all the E Tu Whānau team who took me to Waitangi and facilitated not only countless interviews, but also gave me a remarkable experience of seeing Whānau Ora funding in action. Similarly I would like to thank another person, who wishes to remain anonymous, who went above and beyond to assist a fellow student in facilitating countless invaluable interviews within the South Island. Thanks also to Lindsay Te Ata o Tu MacDonald, Ripeka Tamanui-Hurunui and Abby Suszko for providing cultural guidance. To Associate Professor James Ockey who provided me with stability throughout the many challenges of this thesis, your support and theoretical guidance has strengthened the backbone of this research. To Associate Professor Bronwyn Hayward I am grateful for your encouragement and enthusiasm throughout this pursuit. The collaborative input from both of you as supervisors has been fundamental to both supporting me as a student, and this thesis as a body of work. To the New Zealand Business and Parliamentary Trust and the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Federation of Graduate Women I cannot overstate the importance of your financial support. Without the financial backing of these two organizations I would not have had the resources required to undertake such a thorough interview regime. And finally I would like to thank my friends, family and fellow students who have supported me through the last eight years of study that has culminated in this work. iv Abstract This thesis seeks to understand Māori experiences of representation and participation in the policy process of New Zealand Government. The introduction of an MMP electoral system came with a promise of more effective representation for Māori. This study aims to investigate whether Māori who have participated in the public policy process feel their participation has been effective and whether the policy process is consistently open to Māori across different fields and stages of the policy process. This thesis will apply the social movement theory of Kitschelt (1986) to analyze Māori participation within the policy process. This western framework will be implemented under the Kaupapa Māori practices of being guided by advisors and participants, in order to conduct research that is both useful and beneficial to Te Ao Māori. Focusing on two case studies of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 and Whānau Ora this thesis reports on the experiences and perceptions of 29 interviews with Māori policy makers, advocates and community leaders. These key interviews were supplemented with complementary discussions and secondary literature to understand the experiences of Māori participating in the public policy process. This thesis aims to identify possible improvements that could be made to the policy processes to achieve the goals of Māori participation and representation which are necessary to uphold the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. The results of this research suggest that the change in electoral system brought about very limited changes for Māori participation and representation. It was hypothesized that differing policy fields would have different degrees of openness; however, what was found was that both case study policy fields remained closed, identifying the government’s ability to close input structures as the greatest barrier to Māori participation and representation. The findings of this research offer an understanding of the policy process as perceived and experienced by Māori. These findings provide suggestions for improving the policy process to enable more effective Māori participation and representation to shape policy early on. It is argued that greater attention to reforming opportunities for input will reduce the need for costly and exhausting confrontation and help New Zealand begin to create policies that move our society towards that nation which the Treaty of Waitangi envisioned. v LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1 Political Opportunity Structures: Nature and Position in the Policy Process 12 TABLE 2 Kitschelt’s hypotheses about the relationship between political 13 opportunity structures and the dynamics of social movements TABLE 3 Participant expertise and roles/responsibilities in the policy process 34 TABLE 4 The relationship between Political Opportunity Structures and the 117 Effectiveness of Māori Participation and Representation vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS DHB District Health Board FPP First Past the Post HEC Human Ethics Committee MMP Mixed Member Proportional MoH Ministry of Health MP Member of Parliament MRAG Māori Research Advisory Group MSD Ministry of Social Development NEP Non-Electoral Participation NGO Non-Government Organisations NUMA National Urban Māori Authority NZPHDA New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act PHO Primary Health Organisations POS Political Opportunity Structures RLG Regional Leadership Groups RMA Resource Management Act TAG Technical Advisory Group TOKM Te Ohu Kai Moana/ The Waitangi Fisheries Commission ToW Treaty of Waitangi TPK Te Puni Kōkiri- Ministry of Māori Development UN United Nations UNCERD United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination UNDP United Nations Development Programme vii GLOSSARY AHI KĀ Those Who Have the Right to Occupy the Land AOTERAROA New Zealand HAPŪ Sub-Tribe HAUORA Well-being, Spirit of Life, Health HIKOI Walk, March, Peaceful Protest HUI Meeting IWI Tribe KAITIAKI Guardian, Minder, Custodian over Natural Resources KAITIAKITANGA Guardianship, Accountability KAIWHAKAHAERE Director, Manager, Supervisor KAUMATUA/ KAUMĀTUA Elder/ Elders KANOHI Face KAPA HAKA Māori Performing Arts KAUPAPA A Principle or Policy, Theme, Philosophy, Ideas, Topic KAUPAPA MĀORI Strategy Based on Māori Philosophy KAWANGATANGA Governance KŌRERO Talk, Speak, Discuss, Discussion KOROWAI Traditional Cloak KUIA Female Elder MAHI Work MAHINGA KAI Traditional Food Sites/Gathering/Interests MANA MĀORI Māori Jurisdiction viii MANA WHENUA Local Authority Over Land MANAKITANGA Respect, Mutual Trust, Concern MĀORITANGA The Very Essence of Being Māori MAMAE Sickness, Pain, Injury, Hurt MARAE Meeting Place MIHI Greeting MOKOPUNA Grandchild PĀKEHĀ A Person Predominantly of European Descent RANGATAHI Youth RANGATIRATANGA Sovereignty REO Language RŪNANGA Council of Collective Hapū to Manage Affairs TAIHOA Wait, Hold up TANGATA WHENUA People of the Land TAONGA Something of Value, Treasure TAUTOKO Support TE AO MĀORI The Māori World, Cultural Identity TE PUNI KŌKIRI Ministry of Māori Development TE REO MĀORI The Māori Language TIKANGA MĀORI Māori Customs and Practices TUPUNA Ancestor, Grandparent TINO RANGATIRATANGA Absolute Sovereignty TŪRANGAWAEWAE Home Land, A Place to Stand ix WAHINE Women WAIATA Song, Singing WHAKAPAPA Genealogy, Cultural Identity WHAKARONGO Listen WHAKATAUKI Proverb WAIRUA Spirit, Soul, Attitude WHĀNAU An Extended Family or Community of Related Families WHANAUNGATANGA The Relationship of Māori with their Ancestors WHENUA Land 1 Chapter One Introduction This thesis investigates Māori participation and representation as perceived and experienced by those Māori attempting to influence public policy. I would like to begin by reinforcing that this research belongs to Te Ao Māori. As a Pākehā researcher I have made every attempt to be guided by, stay true to, and reflect, the opinions of those I interviewed. As I will discuss further in the methods, this research in no way attempts to speak for Māori, nor does it claim to encapsulate all Māori voices. This thesis offers a way to listen to the experiences of Māori taking part in two high profile policy issues over time, and reflects on the extent to which institutional reform has assisted Māori to be heard and to achieve input into policy in a way that may further values and concerns of Te Ao Māori. In 1993 New Zealand underwent major electoral reform, undertaking a substantial adjustment to the electoral processes on a scale that is rarely seen within modern western democracies (Lijphart 1999). It is rare to see politicians introduce a change to the electoral process that saw them enter power. In the case of New Zealand this can be argued to have occurred, in part, as a result of a political blunder (Renwick 2007). After the release of the 1986 Royal Commission on Electoral System