Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T07:12:39.708Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does having an Indigenous Political Party in Government make a Difference to Social Policy? The Māori Party in New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

LOUISE HUMPAGE
LOUISE HUMPAGE*
Affiliation:
School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1001, New Zealand email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Indigenous Māori in New Zealand have had significant opportunities to influence mainstream politics and policy since 2008 when the Māori Party began negotiating supply and confidence agreements with the conservative National Party in return for progress on Māori Party initiatives. This article assesses whether the Māori Party has made a difference in social policy. It argues that the holistic, whole-family-focused Whānau Ora strategy and initiatives aiming to revitalise the Māori language are significant policy innovations that uniquely embed Māori cultural values and governance into mainstream policy frameworks. A Ministerial Committee on Poverty, established as a result of National-Māori Party negotiations, put Māori politicians at the decision-making table and led to some important housing and health initiatives but fewer gains are evident regarding income/employment policies that address the disproportionate material disadvantage of Māori. Ultimately, the Māori Party has provoked policy innovation and there is some evidence of improving Māori outcomes. But political constraints inhibit opportunities for significant and lasting recognition of indigenous rights and radically improved socio-economic outcomes in the social policy arena.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 46 , Issue 3 , July 2017 , pp. 475 - 494
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Auditor-General. (2015), Whānau Ora: the first four years, Wellington: Office of the Auditor-General.Google Scholar
Bargh, M. (2015), ‘The Māori seats’, in Hayward, J. (ed.), New Zealand government and politics, 6th edition, Melbourne: Oxford, 300–10.Google Scholar
Bedwell, Q. (2014), ‘Agreement between the Māori Party and National Party welcomed’, http://www.Māoriparty.org/agreement_the_Māori_party_and_national (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Central Intelligence Agency. (2016), ‘The world factbook’, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2098.html (accessed 30 September 2016).Google Scholar
Clark, T. (2002), ‘New Labour's big idea: Joined-up government’, Social Policy and Society 1, 2, 107–17.Google Scholar
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2016), ‘Ministerial Committee on Poverty’, http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/dpmc/publications/mcop (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
English, B. (2016), ‘Summary of initiatives in Budget 2016’, http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/2016/summary-initiatives/b16-sum-initiatives.pdf (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Flavell, T.U. (2014), ‘Last speech in the 50th Parliament on 31 July’, http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1408/S00006/maori-party-last-speech-in-the-50th-parliament.htm (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Flavell, T.U (2016), ‘Kua whakaaetia te ture reo Māori (Parliament passes historic reo Māori law),’, https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/kua-whakaaetia-te-ture-reo-m%C4%81ori-parliament-passes-historic-reo-m%C4%81ori-law (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Fox, M. (2015), ‘Māori Party delivers for vulnerable whānau’, http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1505/S00361/Māori-party-delivers-for-vulnerable-Whānau.htm (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Gobbett, H. (2016), ‘Indigenous parliamentarians, federal and state: a quick guide’, http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1516/Quick_Guides/IndigenousParliamentarians (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Godfrey, M. (2015), ‘The search for stability’, in Johansson, J. and Levine, S. (eds.), Moments of truth: The New Zealand General Election of 2014. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 252–263.Google Scholar
Gustafsson-Wright, E., Gardiner, S. and Putcha, V. (2015), The potential and limitations of impact bonds: Lessons from the first five years of experience worldwide. Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Harawira, H. (2011), ‘Hone Harawira's statement on his caucus suspension’, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10704905 (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Hayden, C. and Jenkins, H. (2014), ‘“Troubled Families” programme in England: “wicked problems” and policy-based evidence’, Policy Studies, 35, 2, 631–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Head, B. and O'Flynn, J. (2015), ‘Australia: Building policy capacity for managing wicked policy problems’, in Massey, A. & Johnston, K. (eds.), The international handbook of public administration and governance, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 341–68.Google Scholar
Hobson's Pledge. (2016), http://www.hobsonspledge.nz/ Google Scholar
Humpage, L. (2006), ‘An “inclusive” society: a “leap forward” for Māori in New Zealand?’, Critical Social Policy, 26, 1, 222–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Josefsen, E. (2010), The Saami and national parliaments: Channels for political influence, Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union and United Nations Development Programme.Google Scholar
Leahy, H. (2015), Crossing the floor. Wellington: Huia.Google Scholar
Levine, S. and Roberts, N. (2010), ‘Exit, voice and loyalty in action: Māori representation in the New Zealand Parliament’, in Bargh, M. (ed.), Māori and Parliament: diverse strategies and compromises, Wellington: Huia, 115–48.Google Scholar
Lum, Z-A. (2015), ‘Canadians elect record number of indigenous MPs to Ottawa’, http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/10/20/canada-election-indigenous-mps_n_8339106.html (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Māori Party. (2008), Policy priorities: He aha te mea nui?- he tangata, Wellington: Māori Party.Google Scholar
Māori Party. (2011), Our whānau: Our future, Wellington: Māori Party.Google Scholar
Māori Party. (2013), Māori Party constitution, Wellington: Māori Party.Google Scholar
Māori Party. (2014), Māori Party policy manifesto, Wellington: Māori Party.Google Scholar
Marriott, L. and Sim, D. (2014), Indicators of inequality for Māori and Pacific people. Business school working paper in public finance 09/2014, Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington.Google Scholar
May, S. (2013), ‘Indigenous immersion education: international developments’, Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 1, 1, 34–69.Google Scholar
MacDonald, L. and Muldoon, P. (2006), ‘Globalisation, neo-liberalism and the struggle for indigenous citizenship’, Australian Journal of Political Science, 41, 2, 209–23.Google Scholar
Mitrou, F., Cooke, M., Lawrence, D., Povah, D., Mobilia, E., Guimond, E. and Zubrick, S. (2014), ‘Gaps in Indigenous disadvantage not closing: A census cohort study of social determinants of health in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand from 1981–2006’, BioMed Central Public Health, 14, 201, 1–9.Google Scholar
Moore, C. (2014), ‘A whakapapa of Whānau Ora: A new way of delivering social services in Aotearoa/New Zealand?’, unpublished MA thesis, University of Auckland.Google Scholar
Mulholland, M. (2015), ‘The Treaty of Waitangi’, in Hayward, J. (ed.), New Zealand government and politics, 6th edition, Melbourne: Oxford, 120–130.Google Scholar
National Party and Māori Party. (2008), Relationship and confidence and supply agreement between the National Party and the Māori Party, Wellington: National Party & Māori Party.Google Scholar
National Party and Māori Party. (2011), Relationship accord and confidence and supply agreement with the Māori Party, Wellington: National Party & Māori Party.Google Scholar
National Party and Māori Party. (2014), Relationship accord and confidence and supply agreement with the Māori Party, Wellington: National Party & Māori Party.Google Scholar
New Zealand Parliament. (2016). Members of Parliament, https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/members-of-parliament/ (accessed 30 September 2016).Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2015), Integrating social services for vulnerable groups: Bridging sectors for better service delivery, Paris: OECD Publishing.Google Scholar
Peck, J. and Theodore, N. (2015), Fast policy: Experimental statecraft at the thresholds of neoliberalism, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Perry, B. (2015). Household incomes in New Zealand: Trends in indicators of inequality and hardship 1982 to 2014. Wellington: Ministry of Social Development.Google Scholar
Powell, M. and Miller, R. (2014), ‘Framing privatisation in the English National Health Service’, Journal of Social Policy, 43, 3, 575–94.Google Scholar
Radio New Zealand. (2014), ‘Poverty committee not fully supported – Turia’, http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/242116/poverty-committee-not-fully-supported-turia (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Smith, K. (2010), ‘Māori political parties’, in Mulholland, M. and Tawhai, V. (eds.), Weeping waters: The Treaty of Waitangi and constitutional change, Wellington: Huia, 207–17.Google Scholar
Statistics New Zealand. (2016), ‘2013 QuickStats about Māori’, http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-about-maori-english/maori-language.aspx (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Sykes, A, (2010), ‘The politics of the brown table’, Bruce Jesson lecture, Auckland, 19 October.Google Scholar
Taskforce on Whānau-Centred Initiatives. (2010), Whānau Ora: report of the Taskforce on Whānau-Centred Initiatives, Wellington: Ministry of Social Development.Google Scholar
Te Puni Kō; kiri. (2014), Te rautaki reo maori: Maori language strategy. Wellington: Te Puni Kōkiri.Google Scholar
Te Puni Kō; kiri. (2015), Understanding whānau-centred approaches: analysis of Phase One Whānau Ora research and monitoring results, Wellington: Te Puni Kōkiri.Google Scholar
Thoburn, J. (2013), ‘“Troubled families”, “troublesome families” and the trouble with Payment by Results’, Families, Relationships and Societies, 2, 3, 471–475.Google Scholar
Tolley, A. and Flavell, T.U. (2016), ‘Funding and programmes for whānau-centred services transferred to Whānau Ora’, https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/funding-and-programmes-wh%C4%81nau-centred-services-transferred-wh%C4%81nau-ora (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Treasury. (2016), Vote Social Development, http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/2016/estimates/v10/est16-v10-socdev.pdf (accessed 3 October 2016).Google Scholar
Turia, T. (2006), Speech to ACT National Conference, http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0603/S00443/turia-speech-to-act-national-conference.htm (accessed 13 June 2016).Google Scholar
Turia, T. (2014), Whānau Ora achievements report July 2014, Wellington: Office of the Minister Responsible for Whānau Ora.Google Scholar