HŪHANA LYNDON: FROM EDUCATION TO HOMELESSNESS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES FACE MĀORI SCRUTINY

Green MP Hūhana Lyndon is weighing in on a turbulent week at Parliament, with the treatment of Māori in education, Move-On Orders, military-style youth academies and the political fireworks inside the House all coming under scrutiny.

The latest development is a significant Waitangi Tribunal finding that the Crown breached multiple principles of Te Tiriti through its national curriculum reforms.

The Tribunal found breaches of partnership, active protection, equity and good government, including inadequate engagement with Māori and insufficient protection for te reo Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori. It also found the Crown failed to sufficiently consider the aspirations of whānau, hapū and iwi for tamariki in Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori education.

The Tribunal concluded the changes caused prejudice, including damage to the Māori-Crown relationship, diminishing the mana of iwi and hapū and sending a message to Māori students and whānau that Māori knowledge was somehow less important. It has recommended the Crown return to genuine partnership with Māori in designing Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori curriculum through Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

The findings are particularly relevant for Lyndon, who holds the Greens’ Māori Education and Māori Development portfolios and has previously challenged the Government’s direction on education and Te Tiriti.

At the same time, Lyndon is challenging the Government over Move-On Orders, amid concerns about homelessness and whether shifting vulnerable people from public spaces addresses the underlying shortage of safe housing.

She is also questioning the Government’s military-style youth academies, with the wider political argument centred on whether punishment and greater state powers will reduce offending or whether greater investment is needed in whānau, housing, health, education and early intervention.

Taken together, Lyndon says these debates go to a much bigger question for Māori: is government policy addressing the causes of disadvantage, or increasingly responding to vulnerable whānau after they have already reached crisis?

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