March 10, 2014
Maori business optimistic but cloud on horizon
The first survey of what Maori business is thinking has found a high degree of optimism.
But changes in Government funding for research could make it harder for businesses to reach their goals.
The report Te Tirohanga Whanui is the first time Maori have been included in the ANZ’s annual Privately Owned Business Barometer, which the bank describes as New Zealand’s most in-depth business survey.
Of the 172 Maori business survey participants, 49 percent were optimistic about the next 12 months, while 70 percent were very optimistic about their prospects over the next three years.
Concerns include availability of skilled staff, lack of capital, and differing opinions between managers and shareholders or beneficiaries.
Four times as many Maori non-farm businesses saw investment in research and development as contributing to performance than non-Maori businesses.
Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples, who launched the report in Auckland yesterday, says that makes the decision to cease funding the centre for Maori research excellence, Nga Pae o Te Maramatanga, so alarming.
"They have missed the connect that Maori have in their society, that it’s a whole organism. It’s like we regard a river: sure you’ve got banks, you’ve got water, you’ve got the river bed, but for us, you’ve got the cultural and spiritual side as well, so it’s a living organism. The same thing applies to Maori society, that we are a moving organism, and each bit takes us forward, and little bits take us back, but it’s totally connected," he says.
Dr Sharples says Te Tirohanga Whanui sets a useful benchmark for future measures of Maori business activity. www.anzbarometer.co.nz
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