On Thursday Statistics New Zealand released labour market statistics for the quarter ending 30 June 2019. Median weekly income from wages and salary has increased to $1,012 per week, up $12 per week from June 2018. For Māori, median wage increased by $36 per week, rising to $928 per week.
Author: Panui Admin
This week the Health Select Committee heard submissions for the Smoke-free Environments (Prohibiting Smoking in Motor Vehicles Carrying Children) Amendment Bill. This Bill seeks to amend the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 to prohibit smoking in motor vehicles carrying children and young people. If enacted into law the Police will have
On Thursday the Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana / Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill, was introduced in Parliament. This Bill recognises and addresses the crimes against the Tūhoe prophet, Rua Kēnana and his community of Maungapōhatu. In 1916 Rua was arrested and charged with
This week Shaun Keenan – former CEO of Ngāti Te Whiti Whenua Topu Trust was sentenced to three years and 8 months imprisonment in the New Plymouth District Court for 46 charges related to the theft of circa $480,000 from the Trust. This theft has impeded a marae-hub development project the
This week the Minister for Corrections, Kelvin Davis, released a new strategy – Hōkai Rangi – focused on reducing the number of Māori who are imprisoned. Minister Davis states, “our corrections system has not worked for the majority of Māori. We’ve all seen the statistics and they are so enduring
United Nations Review and Guidance This week the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations released their report on the rights of indigenous peoples in New Zealand. This is essentially a report that offers guidance and advice on how to implement that United Nations Declaration
This week we also reviewed the social housing register data for the quarter to 30 June (just released). It shows over 5,600 tangata Māori and their whānau are in need of a house, and qualify for assistance – which is 46% of those registered. (This excludes another 1,000 Māori who
We have reviewed the new employment strategy and first action plan, both of which read well. Essentially, the goal is to promote opportunities for all New Zealanders to fulfil their employment potential with better education, better utilisation of skills, and higher productivity and wages. As with many Government strategies, the
On Tuesday Moriori leaders initialed a Deed of Settlement with the Crown, as a step towards settling historic grievances. The settlement includes financial redress of circa $18 million and the transfer of sites of significance back to Moriori. www.govt.nz/assets/Documents/OTS/Moriori-Deed-of-Settlement-initialling-version.pdf
Last week we reviewed Statistics New Zealand unemployment data, and again noted critical gaps in matters relevant to Māori from this Department. (For example the Department failed to produce Māori youth unemployment data, which is actually what is needed for the Government’s new Strategy and Action Plan, see items above.)
This week the draft Terms of Reference for the Independent Māori Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki were released. The proposed purpose of the Inquiry is to; ‘identify, examine, and report on the matters in scope. (The scope of the Inquiry is the historical and contemporary incidence of removal of Maori children
This week a high-profile item in Parliament was the introduction and first reading of the Abortion Legislation Bill. (It passed the first reading, 94 ayes to 23 noes). The bill’s stated purpose is to decriminalise abortion, better align the regulation of abortion services with other health services, and modernise the
Last week Statistics NZ published data for Injury Work Related Claims for the 2017 year. The data shows in 2017 28,000 claims by Māori workers were accepted by the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). This represented 12% of all claims and 10% of the total Māori FTE workforce (274,000). We advise that
This month the Chief Victims Advisor to Government (Dr Kim McGregor) released a survey report to the Government, entitled Strengthening the Criminal Justice System for Victims. This position, and advice given, is part of the Government’s strategy to reduce criminal offending (‘the Hāpatia te Oranga Tangata / Safe and Effective
Also released last Thursday was a peculiar one-page from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on He Kai Kei Aku Ringa / E Rere – which is the Government’s Māori economic strategy. The main peculiarity isn’t so much a strategy with two different Māori names, it’s understanding why