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Tamaki Makarau MP Peeni Henare says the Independent Maori Statutory Board’s new Auckland Report has confirmed the emergence of a growing Maori middle class, and that will affect policy needs.
The report updates progress towards the goals set in 2012 in the board’s 30-year Auckland Plan.
It found just 15 percent could hold a conversation in Maori, and Maori had the highest rates of 15 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training.
But it also identified a median household income across Maori households of just over $80,000, and 80 percent of Maori said they were satisfied with their life.
Mr Henare says the needs and wants of the population are changing.
He says international research shows a growing middle class can lead to a disconnection with culture.
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