January 24, 2024
Policy climate tough on Māori public servants
There’s a warning the coalition Government’s approach to Māori policy is making life tough for Maori public servants.
Bill Te Huia Hamilton, an advisor to the Iwi Chairs Forum, says public servants need to give free and frank advice, but Governments have a bad habit of not listening to that advice.
“Māori who have given that advice get pilloried, they get marginalised within the organisation or they get ridiculed by some of their seniors saying ‘we can’t do that’ despite them getting the advice that says ‘if you don’t do that, you are putting government at risk,'” he says.