Lockdown response points to way ahead for Maori

Photo: Te Whanau o Waipareira.

Waipareira Trust chief executive John Tamihere says Māori don’t want things to return the way they were before COVID-19.

He says the pandemic has highlighted the inequality Māori face in education, health, jobs and income – and for the good of the whole country, those need to be addressed.

He says while the bureaucrats who have tried to make Māori the same as the white middle class, disappeared into their bunkers once the lockdown was declared, organisations like Waipareira stepped up to ensure their whānau and communities were safe.

"That has to be rewarded and we have to allow our own capacity and capability to build and it's better to have a Māori employed looking after another Māori than someone who arrived in the country two years ago knocking on your door, checking on a child notification that has been unfairly made against you as a parent – I'm talking about this Oranga Tamariki stuff," Mr Tamihere says.

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