May 14, 2024

Social investment needs Māori in driving seat

Peter Verschaffelt Posted On May 14, 2024

Peter Verschaffelt Prue Kapua | Social investment needs Māori in driving seat

Māori Womens Welfare League immediate past president Prue Kapua says there's no guarantee Māori will be better off from the Government's social investment policy.

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Māori Womens Welfare League immediate past president Prue Kapua says there’s no guarantee Māori will be better off from the Government’s social investment policy.

Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis intends to reshape the previous government’s Social Wellbeing Agency into the Social Investment Acency.

Ms Kapua says evidence-based social investment sounds positive in theory, but the only way the model will work for Maori is when Maori are involved in the decision making.

Past programmes have failed to address the needs of Maori because the government agencies collecting the data and setting the standards have no idea what Maori communities need – and there’s no indication this will be any different.

“It seems to be something that’s going to be another standalone government agency and they’re going to set the standards. It’s still more of the ‘government knows best’ and that will open the door to agencies that are no focused or have an understanding of our communities so we are back at square one,” Ms Kapua says.

Without clear protocols on how data is collected and used, some of the progress made with Stats NZ and Te Kahui Raraunga on data sovereignty will be lost.