Report on Waitangi Tribunal claim progress released

As an example of the shift towards contemporary and kaupapa (thematic) Treaty claims, the ‘Hauora: The Report on Stage One of the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry’ (Wai 2575), was one of two reports released this year.

Government's second report on Waitangi Tribunal claim progress, released today, highlights the importance of emerging contemporary claims as well as historic claims.

In releasing the latest Section 8I Report (1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019), Minister for Māori Development Hon Nanaia Mahuta says that in approaching the conclusion of historical Treaty claims, the Tribunal was able to increasingly focus on current contemporary matters raised in a range of kaupapa claims.

"We must continue to respond to the challenge of realising the aspirations of Te Tiriti and the future our tūpuna envisage," she says.

As an example of the shift towards contemporary and kaupapa (thematic) Treaty claims, the 'Hauora: The Report on Stage One of the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry' (Wai 2575), was one of two reports released this year.

"In September, the Prime Minister announced that New Zealand history will be taught in all schools and kura by 2022, which will include Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the New Zealand Wards and our full history.

"This commitment recognises there is a need to rectify omissions in our historical discourse that have affected how we see ourselves as a nation.

"At the same time, as we approach the conclusion of historical Treaty the Tribunal is able to increasingly focus on contemporary issues, and in doing so, to keep improving how the Crown approaches Treaty issues and the way we respond to Tribunal recommendations."

Contemporary kaupapa inquiries on Māori military veterans, the Takutai Moana Act and Mana Wāhine, are underway.

"The Government is committed to creating the conditions for a productive, inclusive and sustainable economy that realises the value of te ao Māori, and this report is an example of that.

"I am confident that the report I am tabling today will continue to be a rich source of knowledge, information and context to understanding the issues that define our identity as a nation," Minister Mahuta says.

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)