5. Strengthening partnerships with and opportunities for Māori

Te whakapakari i ngā pātuitanga me ngā āheinga mō ngāi Māori

We recognise and respect Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Building strong, meaningful and enduring relationships with Māori is one of the foundations to ensure our infrastructure works for everyone.

The way Māori interact with infrastructure is growing and evolving.

Māori are users of infrastructure, relying on the services it provides to access work, recreation and education, as well as to run their businesses and provide opportunities for entrepreneurship. Māori are also investors, developers, partners, governors and owners (see Figure 7). For example, Te Ōhanga Māori (the Māori economy), is growing. It accounted for $17 billion in production GDP (6.5%) in 2018.²⁶ Māori are also involved in building infrastructure, with 12% of the Māori workforce employed in the construction sector.²⁷

In these different roles, Māori bring a depth of knowledge, experience and values that can expand the knowledge base of all infrastructure providers. Building mutually empowering relationships with Māori will enrich the knowledge of the entire sector and unlock opportunities for Māori.

Figure 7: The many roles of Māori in our infrastructure system

A strategic approach is needed to build mutually empowering relationships.

These mutually empowering relationships must be based on agreed values and principles. We’ve drawn on those established in Te Ara Kotahi (the Waka Kotahi Māori Strategy)²⁸ as the basis for a proposed approach (see Table 2).

Three areas for action: partnerships, unlocking opportunities and incorporating mātauranga Māori.

Drawing on the Waka Kotahi framework, we’ve prioritised three areas for action:

• Creating stronger partnerships with Māori across infrastructure planning and delivery.
• Unlocking opportunities for Māori across the infrastructure system.
• Incorporating mātauranga Māori into infrastructure design, planning and delivery. These weave into all aspects of this strategy (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: Weaving Māori objectives into the strategy

Strengthening partnerships with Māori.

Across infrastructure planning and design, a partnering approach ensures that Māori values and aspirations are reflected in infrastructure projects from the beginning. This might involve deciding on the location of a hospital, recognising and supporting the potential for iwi investment, or understanding the way changes to a water network might impact the mauri of local waterways. In these ways and many more, partnering with Māori can ensure that a project has the greatest benefit for the community it’s designed to serve, unlocking economic, environmental, social and cultural benefits.

Strengthening partnerships requires effective engagement that starts early, uses best practice and is proportional to the issue, nature and strength of Māori interests. It must also recognise and provide for cultural heritage, identity and mātauranga Māori. The development of a framework for building stronger partnerships during infrastructure planning and delivery is an important step in this process. The framework must be based on tikanga Māori, recognise that different partnership models will be appropriate for different types of infrastructure and must be consistent with an all-of-government approach. The development of this framework would be guided by a joint advisory group. This would need to be developed in a way that’s consistent with other government partnership approaches currently being considered under various policy reforms.

We must provide the time and resources for partnerships, as well as proactive, clear and timely dialogue on the direction of infrastructure investment. Many iwi suffer from intense demands on their time, which is often given voluntarily, as they’re invited to consult and partner in an increasingly complex environment. The government is currently leading major reform across water, health, and local government, as well as historic levels of infrastructure investment. This places a significant burden on iwi resources, time and personnel. At the same time, many government agencies and infrastructure providers vary in their understanding of engagement with Māori and their capabilities to do so. For these reasons it will be important to build the capacity and capabilities for a successful partnering approach throughout the infrastructure system, as well as within iwi. It needs to be built in a way that’s sustainable and enduring. This work has started with the development of the Māori Crown Relations Capability Framework.³⁰

We must provide the time and resources for partnerships, as well as proactive, clear and timely dialogue on the direction of infrastructure investment. Many iwi suffer from intense demands on their time, which is often given voluntarily, as they’re invited to consult and partner in an increasingly complex environment. The government is currently leading major reform across water, health, and local government, as well as historic levels of infrastructure investment. This places a significant burden on iwi resources, time and personnel. At the same time, many government agencies and infrastructure providers vary in their understanding of engagement with Māori and their capabilities to do so. For these reasons it will be important to build the capacity and capabilities for a successful partnering approach throughout the infrastructure system, as well as within iwi. It needs to be built in a way that’s sustainable and enduring. This work has started with the development of the Māori Crown Relations Capability Framework.³⁰

Unlocking opportunities for Māori.

Infrastructure can have a major impact on wellbeing, whether it’s providing access to hospitals and schools, powering our workplaces or creating jobs in construction. However, we know that the outcomes for Māori in many of our infrastructure sectors are poor (see Figure 9) and that it’s important to identify opportunities where infrastructure can have a role in improving Māori wellbeing. These opportunities include:

• Caring for the environment and supporting Māori to exercise kaitiakitanga (environmental stewardship/guardianship).
• Promoting employment opportunities^31,32 (see Section 7.5).
• Improving diversity across the infrastructure workforce (see Section 7.5).
• Enhancing social wellbeing through access to infrastructure services. For example, through telecommunication and internet services that improve connectivity in places where Māori live, transport infrastructure that brings employment opportunities closer and education that improves economic opportunity.
• Establishing an effective process for partnership within regional spatial plans (see Section 6.2).
• Identifying ways the infrastructure system can support an equitable transition for Māori, for example in the transition to clean energy required to deliver net-zero carbon emissions and informing a fair transition (see Section 6.1).
• Using procurement as a mechanism to unlock opportunities for Māori. For example, in 2020 the government announced that it would require mandated agencies to ensure that at least 5% of relevant contracts are awarded to Māori.
• Recognising and respecting Māori rangatiratanga while supporting iwi aspirations, plans and goals.

Figure 9: Māori outcomes can be improved across our key infrastructure sectors

Incorporating mātauranga Māori into infrastructure design, planning and delivery.

Mātauranga Māori, the knowledge, skills and concepts developed by Māori over centuries of living in Aotearoa, has made important contributions to health, social policy and many other fields. However, the potential for mātauranga Māori to contribute to the development of infrastructure is only just being realised within the sector. We can work to grow information and advice about how mātauranga Māori informs infrastructure planning, policy and delivery, as well as decision-making on infrastructure priorities.

Strengthening the mātauranga knowledge base requires a research agenda. This can draw on best practice from previous projects (see Case Study 1). Building a strong evidence base of what works will support better strategy, planning and project delivery across the system.

5. Recommendations