Appropriation (2024/25 Confirmation and Validation) Bill

Committee of the whole House—Annual Review Debate Māori Development CHAIRPERSON (Teanau Tuiono): The Minister for Māori Development is now available until 10 p.m. to respond to members’ questions. I’ll give the first call to the chairperson of the Māori Affairs Committee. DAVID MacLEOD (Chairperson of the Māori Affairs Committee) (21:20): Thank you, Mr Chair. As the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee, I present the major findings of the Te Puni Kōkiri in-depth annual review, December last year. During the period, Te Puni Kōkiri published their strategic intentions for 2025-2029. Their strategic vision continues to be thriving whānau, and it says that when whānau are thriving, so too are their communities, hapū, iwi, and all of Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Puni Kōkiri’s policy approach is Te Tautuhi o Rongo, which is a framework for the Public Service to ensure that high-level decision making considers both the collective and individual rights of iwi and Māori. Their delivery approach is whānau-centred, locally led, and Government enabled. Te Puni Kōkiri employs the equivalent of 423 full-time kaimahi, with two-thirds of them having Māori descent. Outside of Wellington, there are 15 regional offices. Auditors provided a modified audit opinion, with them being satisfied with the financials and that they were fairly presented, with one exception relating to the non-departmental estimated costs and related provision associated with the Wakatū court case. Further details of that are within the report. In February of 2025, Te Puni Kōkiri took over some functions from Te Arawhiti, now known as Te Tari Whakatau. The transferred responsibilities include advising the Government and the Public Service on the distinct rights, interests, and responsibilities of hapū and Māori, and, secondly, leading post-settlement relationships with post-settlement governance entities and monitoring the Crown’s implementation of Treaty settlement commitments. ORIINI KAIPARA (Te Pāti Māori—Tāmaki Makaurau) (21:22): Mr Chair, tēnā koe. I’m going to get straight to an area that is of huge concern to me and to other members of this House, and that is Māori broadcasting—Whakaata Māori specifically—and reports of cuts to Māori Television in Budget 2024 as part of more than $300 million in Māori-specific reductions. What advice did the Minister for Māori Development receive about the impact of the $5.5 million in expiring funding for Whakaata Māori during the period under review? Can the Minister confirm whether any of the $5.5 million in time-limited funding has been replaced with ongoing baseline funding? What assessment has the Minister made of how Whakaata Māori will maintain current levels of content production after losing 20 percent of its budget? Did the Minister receive any warnings from officials about job losses or service reductions resulting from this funding expiry? Finally, what criteria did the Minister use to decide not to renew the time-limited funding that Whakaata Māori relied on for digital transformation and for staffing? Hon WILLIE JACKSON (Labour) (21:23): Just further to those questions from Oriini Kaipara, I’m interested in whether the Minister for Māori Development has a strategy around Māori broadcasting. The previous Government had a full Māori broadcasting strategy, and we have yet to see any Māori broadcasting strategy from the Minister. In fact, we haven’t seen anything from the Minister, if I’m being honest, in terms of a future for Māori broadcasters, particularly Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori, who are feeling that they are under major attack at the moment, with Māori radio stations looking at funding cuts of up to 25 percent. So has the Minister got a strategy in place to address that? I think the previous questions in terms of baseline funding are very relevant questions for whoever the Minister is, whether that Minister comes from National or Labour, or any Māori Minister—baseline funding is always a challenge in the Māori area, because whatever the Government, they always seem to have problems in terms of driving through baseline funding for Māori. So I ask the Minister: what is the strategy, given that he has not put together one extra cent for Māori broadcasting over the time he has been the Minister for Māori Development—not one cent has come through Te Māngai Pāho or Te Puni Kōkiri. Given that Māori broadcasting plays such an integral role in terms of the whole area of Māori development, it is also concerning given that we have 21 Māori radio stations who are facing massive cuts. Is there a strategy that the Minister is looking to roll-out with the Budget coming up in May? What is his view? We have Whakaata Māori who have been cut back in terms of funding and don’t know where they’re going. There are redundancies. We have Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori now in a position where they may have to make major redundancies. Has the Minister got a strategy in place for the upcoming Budget? Will we see an increase in the Māori broadcasting area, or will he return a zero Budget as he has done in the previous two years? STEVE ABEL (Green) (21:26): Minister, how does it reflect that under your watch, we have lost a national Māori news service. CHAIRPERSON (Teanau Tuiono): Just direct your comments through the Chair. STEVE ABEL: Mr Chair, pardon me. I wonder if the Minister for Māori Development can answer how it reflects on his record that the nation has lost its national Māori news service—and what is he going to do about it. How is it consistent with our nation upholding our founding agreement, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, to see Māori broadcasting in such a challenged state because of the actions of this Government in terms of its failure to appropriately support Māori broadcasting and its funding? ORIINI KAIPARA (Te Pāti Māori—Tāmaki Makaurau) (21:27): What modelling has the Minister for Māori Development seen on the cumulative impact of $9.5 million in expiring funding on Māori broadcasting capability? Further to that, what planning has the Minister undertaken to address the further $4 million in funding that expires for Whakaata Māori in the following financial year? Now, I want to move to Te Māngai Pāho. While Te Māngai Pāho’s baseline funding was maintained this year, what advice has the Minister received about the $16 million in time-limited funding that expires after 2026? Further to that, what steps is the Minister taking now to prevent Te Māngai Pāho from facing from facing a fiscal cliff when that time-limited funding ends? Has the Minister sought Cabinet approval to convert any of Te Māngai Pāho’sexpiring funding into ongoing baseline funding, and what impact analysis has been completed on how the expiry of this funding will affect te reo Māori content production nationwide? Hon WILLIE JACKSON (Labour) (21:28): Further to the question from Steve Abel with regards to national Māori news: does the Minister think that te ao Māori should have national Māori news on radio? If you look at mainstream, New Zealanders have quite the selection and opportunity in terms of accessing news. We have TVNZ news, which was built on taxpayers’ money for 44 years before Māori Television started in 2004. So we had 44 years of taxpayers’ money as a headstart in terms of mainstream television. We had Newstalk ZB, Radio New Zealand—all built on taxpayers’ money. Cameron Luxton: Is the member making a case for selling? Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Oh, you listen and you might get it through your thick head. Hon Members: Oh, Willie! Hon WILLIE JACKSON: That upset you, did it? I’m just saying the obvious. You have no idea in terms of what I’m talking about Radio New Zealand was built on taxpayers’ money. I want to know from the Minister—we now have no national Whakaata Māori news on the hour. Do Māori deserve to have that opportunity? It comes back to a strategy in terms of a Minister being able to outline a strategy. The Minister will be aware that the previous Government allocated $100 million over two years in terms of Māori broadcasting, and this Minister has yet to produce one cent. I would like to know, when will he produce one cent for Māori broadcasting and play a part in the development and strategy going forward? When will he start giving some of our broadcasters some assurances and some tautoko that there’s a brighter future for them, and he’s not just going to sit back and keep delivering zero budgets at Budget time? Hon TAMA POTAKA (Minister for Māori Development) (21:31): E te Tiamana o te komiti o te Whare nei, tēnā koe. Tātou e hui tahi nei i te pō nei, tēnā tātou katoa. [To the Chair of the committee of the whole House, thank you. To all of us assembled here tonight, greetings to us all.] Te reo Māori is part of the DNA of our country, Aotearoa New Zealand. We all recognise that we as whānau Māori who are committed to te reo, but also the Crown, have a very active duty to protect and tautoko te reo Māori. Literally hundreds of millions of dollars go to kaupapa Māori in te reo Māori, whether or not it’s through the education system or through the four Māori language entities, or a wide variety of other initiatives—for example, Te Matatini. Performances on Matatini stages are nearly entirely in te reo Māori. Just to recalibrate some of the confusion that members opposite have laced our Parliament with this evening: there have not been cuts to the baseline budget for the four Māori language entities. Yes, there was time-limited funding, instigated by the former Minister for Māori Development. Questions or comments around cuts to the budget, I think, ignore the fact that there was time-limited funding, and that time-limited funding has come to the end of its time. Any suggestion that I have been responsible or the coalition Government has been responsible for cutting budgets on te reo Māori, I think, is distant from the reality. The second thing is it’s absolutely fantastic to see hundreds of thousands of reo Māori speakers, and we continue to encourage that in many, various ways. The funding that is allocated to the four Māori language entities is, for the most part, in the operational decision making, governance, and management of those entities. If Minister Potaka decides he’s going to jump down the governance and management throats of those entities and start dictating to them, like an adult to a child, how they should spend the money, I think that disrespects the role of those entities, which were established with much conviction and much fight over many, many decades of commitment to te reo Māori. I think it’s very important to really clarify the role of the Minister and the role of the Government before some of the scarier suggestions are put on my shoulders that I should be telling Te Māngai Pāho how much money they should give to each and every individual Māori radio station. That is not my role—it’s not. We do set up the framework; we do provide funding; and we do encourage all those entities to get on the same waka—to be very clear about a national direction for te reo Māori, rather than having their own individual directions. There was mention of the Māori news service. Actually, the funder of that service and the decision maker of that service—for the Opposition member who asked that question—is not the Minister for Māori Development. It is the funding authority, and they are set up to do that job. Again, just to remind everyone, we shouldn’t be confused by some of the assumptions and the implications and connotations that are coming through some of the questions. I am very clear about my role. My role is to support the Minister of Finance in relevant allocations for funding in these four Māori language entities; to encourage those that are involved to get together and make sure they’re on a single waka in terms of the fundamental kaupapa across those organisations, kia mauri ora te reo [so that the language be healthy]—and, of course, to help get started a refresh of the Maihi Karauna, which is now under way. One final observation I’d make, just in the short time I have available, is that communications and broadcasting today are not like they were in the days of Radio Wha Waho—they’re just not. They are very different, and broadcasting and comms has to be far more agile. A lot of our reo Māori feed is actually not through Whakaata Māori or radio stations; it’s through social media. Te Māngai Pāho, as the main broadcasting funding agency, recognises that. There may be different allocations of funding made at that authority level. That’s their operational responsibility. I see absolutely wonderful reo Māori feeds on social media—and, indeed, some of that reflects the personalities that sit in this House this evening. Hon WILLIE JACKSON (Labour) (21:36): Clearly, the Minister is confused about his role after that terrible explanation about the state of Māori broadcasting. Somebody needs to inform the Minister that as the Minister of Māori Broadcasting as well as the Minister of Māori Development, his brief is not just te reo Māori. His brief is Māori language and culture. He’s got this thing about the reo, absolutely, as a priority, but the Minister’s brief is about Māori language and culture. Most of the most successful programmes through the last few years, in terms of Māori programming, have been Māori programmes in English. Native Affairs is a classic example of it; Marae has been a perfect example of it. Hon James Meager: Eye to Eye. Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Oh, yes, Eye to Eye—that’s a good one, too. That was a few years ago. Plenty of these shows, Moana’s show—80 percent of these are in English, funded by Te Māngai Pāho (TMP). The Minister is confused—very confused, as he’s revealed himself tonight—in terms of what his brief is. His brief, I agree, is not about telling TMP what to do—of course he doesn’t tell TMP what to do. His brief is to advocate for TMP, which he is not doing. That’s my question to this Minister: when are you going to advocate for your agency, advocate for Te Māngai Pāho, advocate for Te Puni Kōkiri? Where is your Māori strategy? No one expects you to go in and tell Larry Parr what to do, but we expect you to tell Nicola Willis what to do. We expect you to challenge Nicola Willis—or don’t you say a word? Are you just like James Meager, who runs around trying to do the numbers and fails every time he does it? Are you just like that Māori over there who can’t count? CHAIRPERSON (Teanau Tuiono): Redirect your— Hon WILLIE JACKSON: We want a Minister—well, I’m just saying, there’s another Māori over there who’s useless in terms of counting. He couldn’t put a coup together if he fell over one. I want to say to the Minister again, what is the Māori strategy around broadcasting? Is it about saying, “Oh, I support this, I support that. I’ll do this, I’ll do that”? When is he going to challenge his Cabinet and Nicola Willis to provide some real money, funding, and resourcing for Māori broadcasting? I want to come to Whānau Ora—and my colleague over here Shanan Halbert will as well—which is another kaupapa, because the Minister has failed miserably— Hon James Meager: I know one number: 0800 723 465. Hon WILLIE JACKSON: —in terms of his responses with regard to Māori broadcasting—you just learn how to count, James. In terms of Māori housing, I want to come to the area of Māori housing now for the Minister. We have lost $800 million, as the Minister knows, and as Chris Bishop has admitted to me—$800 million has gone from the pūtea Māori and to mainstream providers. That is another black mark against this Minister, who is saying, “Yes, Māori can get to it” and “My mate Jamie, well, he’s doing all right, and Willie’s doing all right.” But it’s not about Willie and Jamie doing all right— Hon James Meager: How’s JT? Has he got a new job? Hon WILLIE JACKSON: —it’s about all the Māori providers getting an opportunity. I want to ask the Minister: where are we going in terms of Māori housing? How many Māori providers are being tied back into that Māori strategy? How many Māori providers have shut up— Hon James Meager: When’s the trial? Hon WILLIE JACKSON: —because, again, you—like James Meager over there—are not doing your job in terms of advocating for our people. SHANAN HALBERT (Labour) (21:40): Tēnā koe e te Heamana, me ngā mihi ki a koe e te Minita, me ngā mihi ki ngā kaimahi o Te Puni Kōkiri. [Thank you, Mr Chair, and thanks also to you, Minister, and thanks also to the staff of Te Puni Kōkiri.] I want to cover off some initial questions to set the scene for Whānau Ora this evening. I appreciate that I am new in picking up this particular portfolio, but I wanted to kick off understanding from the Minister: what was the difference in funding in this financial year, 2024-2025, to the prior year, and what was the Minister most concerned about in the implications of those Budget decisions in that annual review period? STEVE ABEL (Green) (21:41): Te Māngai Pāho: we did a review of it at the Primary Production Committee. One of the things we found, Minister, was that consistently there’d been a failure to have steady and consistent funding. The time limited funding that you referred to is exactly part of the problem for the constancy of the ability of these institutions to provide a certainty of tenure. These are things—Minister, would you agree?—that we want as a permanent fixture in our society. Therefore, will you commit to baseline funding that, at least, is adjusted to inflation so that there is not this uncertainty every three years or every two years as to whether there will be a continuation of funding or a renewal of the commitment to fund something as important as Te Māngai Pāho? Hon TAMA POTAKA (Minister for Māori Development) (21:42): Tēnā tātou. Thank you, Mr Chair. I’m not here to “Roast Bust” any comments from the Opposition either. These comments are in relation to the role of the Minister, and the role of the various Māori language entities are very wayward. The member opposite suggested it’s my role to go and have a beat-up with the Minister of Finance on these issues and then run around making demands to give some sugar-rush input into the entities. Hon Willie Jackson: That’s what you have to do. Don’t sit there— Hon TAMA POTAKA: No, that’s not my role. It may have been his role under the former finance Minister, but that’s not my role in the current Government. I can assure the members opposite and also the members of the coalition Government that I’ve been very determined to ensure that we fortify the baseline funding. We set that two years ago, we set that last year, and we continue to support te reo Māori and culture in a variety of ways. Now, in relation to the baseline funding, the baseline funding has been secured. There’s a suggestion that we should be inflation-proofing any baseline funding in the future, but decisions are made, and the decisions will be made in this Budget as well, and that will be up to the Minister of Finance to announce in sure course. At this stage, the process that has been undertaken by Te Māngai Pāho in relation to allocation of funding to radio stations and others has not been finalised. It will be finalised after the Budget, and Te Māngai Pāho will make its announcements accordingly. I certainly, as the Minister and as a strong supporter of te reo Māori and ngā tikanga Māori, am not going to make any premature comments before that time. It’s the role of Te Māngai Pāho to make decisions and make them in a prudent way. Now, there were some observations in relation to Māori housing and, again, some fuzzy math by someone who maybe couldn’t put an iskender together in a kebab shop around Māori housing providers. If you take the time to drive around and fly around the country and, as necessary, catch a bus or train or go with auntie, you’ll find that there is a whole range of Māori organisations, iwi organisations, and others who are involved in building and establishing houses. Whether or not it’s Ngāti Kurī, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, and Ngāpuhi just in Northland alone—where is the Minister for Northland, actually? He’s usually hanging around here at 9.45—or Ngāti Rangitāne, Ngāti Kahungunu, and Toitu Tairawhiti and others on the eastern seaboard, up where whaea Dana Kirkpatrick is from and whaea Cushla—she left early; she didn’t want to ask me questions—or Ngāti Rangi and Te Kūmete o Paerangi and others in the central North Island; or, of course, our friends over in Rotorua and the Eastern Bay of Plenty in places like Ngāti Whakauē and Ōwhata 2B and 7 on Te Ngae Road in Rotorua or Whakatōhea out of Ōpōtiki. There’s a whole host of Māori housing providers—oh, Te Pouahi; I’ll put them in too. Many of these providers have been absolutely thrilled to work on a mahi tahi basis with the Government to build and establish not only houses but also the right supports for their people, the right tautoko for the right house in the right place with the right tautoko for those in need. That’s contributed in a remarkable way to ensuring that those whānau and communities that are in need are supported. I’m pretty enthusiastic about that ongoing work because it’s a long way to close up, as I said yesterday. Of the 1,000 or so homes that were contracted under the previous administration, maybe between 700 and 800 had finished and got code compliance certificates (CCCs), but there’s still several hundred to go. The administration left the office in October or November 2023 and sometime in the next nine or 12 years might come back. When you look at the 1,000 or so that have been indicated to be contracted under this Government, about 200 to 300 have been completed with CCCs. There are still hundreds of homes to be built by these organisations, and we shouldn’t think for any minute that because some funding has been stopped, all the work has stopped, all the mahi has stopped. No, actually, it’s ongoing. We continue to support the likes of Ka Uruora and others who are doing some sterling and diligent work in our communities—places like New Plymouth, Ngāmotu, up where David MacLeod’s from and right throughout the country. I’m very energised by the opportunity to go and visit iwi, such as Ngāti Rangi, and Māori organisations, such Whakauē up at Wharenui Rise in the eastern outskirts of Rotorua, to see what they’re doing, to tautoko what they’re doing, and also to inhale the reimagination of their communities and their small to medium enterprises and their aspirations. SHANAN HALBERT (Labour) (21:47): I’m just waiting on a response to my Whānau Ora questions, but I’ll continue on because I do want to understand, effectively, where the buck stops with the Minister in his responsibilities to Whānau Ora, given the significant cuts to this particular area and the structural changes. I’m happy for the Minister to provide an answer, and then I can continue with my questioning, if he would prefer. No? Hon Tama Potaka: I’ll give the answer shortly. SHANAN HALBERT: I do want to come back to the procurement process for the commissioning agencies and understand from the Minister what his involvement was throughout that process. I understand that, at the first stage of procurement, Te Puni Kōkiri received about 30 registrations of interest. Did he have a role in decision making in that? What was the advice that he was provided from staff and that he provided to staff that finalised those particular decisions? Hon WILLIE JACKSON (Labour) (21:48): Just following up on that. I think those are relevant questions. The minister still hasn’t answered previous questions in terms of where the Māori strategy is, and also this question, I think, would be good to get from the Minister answered tonight: has he actually increased the Māori development budget by one cent since he’s been the Minister for Māori Development? I’d just like to know: over the last three years, has there been an increase in the Māori development budget or any Māori funding whatsoever? On top of that, over 100 roles—21 percent of Te Puni Kōkiri’s entire workforce—have been cut or have been proposed to be cut since the Government took office. How does the Minister expect the Crown’s principal adviser on Māori wellbeing to do its job when we’re talking about a fifth of its people being cut? This is Te Puni Kōkiri, who are already under attack. TPK, Te Puni Kōkiri, are the Minister’s principal advisers. Then the latest round of TPK cuts specifically targets Māori capability roles, and the people who the Minister proudly advocates for and supports—and I acknowledge that—the people responsible for te reo and tikanga competency within the organisation, are getting axed. Does the Minister accept that axing those roles directly affects the ministry’s ability to engage with te ao Māori? Just a few questions in those areas to follow up on the Whānau Ora pātai. Hon TAMA POTAKA (Minister for Māori Development) (21:50): Just in relation to a couple of the issues that have been raised and questions that have been raised, I’m advised by the officials that there was no material change in the level of funding for Whānau Ora in the relevant periods announced; that it is around $170 million to $180 million that is dedicated to the Whānau Ora initiatives. I’m sure that the member opposite who asked that question will be even more informed when he comes to visit me to discuss that in the next week or so. In relation to my role with Whānau Ora, unlike, perhaps, others who have been in this role, I’ve been very clear, number one, to secure the funding and the commitment from the Minister of Finance over the forthcoming years in the Budget period, but also to ensure that the process of recommissioning or renewing the Whānau Ora contractual arrangements was undertaken in a defensible and credible manner. It’s not my job to jump in and say who’s hot and who’s not and to pick winners but to ensure that I provide the relevant ministerial support for Te Puni Kōkiri to make that operational decision. What a fantastic decision that was made to appoint— Rima Nakhle: By a fantastic Minister. Hon TAMA POTAKA: Yeah, well, hey, my head’s growing as you speak. To see that there are four renewed commissioning agencies, three of which, of course, have a very strong iwi basis, with Māhutonga, Ngāti Toa Rangatira; Te Tauraki in Ngāi Tahu; the Rangitāmiro kaupapa, which has engaged with various iwi Māori partnership boards across Northland, Auckland, and Waikato; and our Pacific brothers and sisters at Tātou Collective, with Ulu Aiono and others—absolutely brilliant. My role, again, is to make sure that the funding is in place, to make sure that the process is followed, and to provide the type of ministerial support—which may have been different from previous Ministers, whether or not they were Ministers of Whānau Ora, often intervening in the Whānau Ora process. Now, there was a question of whether or not there has been anything added to the Ministry of Māori Development - Te Puni Kōkiri budget over the last couple of years, and, actually, there has been. As we know, the previous administration didn’t really fund the Māori Women’s Welfare League or Māori wardens as much as we have. We’ve come out and said, “Smell the oily rag.” That’s the type of organisation that’s been doing some fantastic things for wāhine Māori and wātene Māori. They’re always at all those hui that we go to, whether or not they’re at poukai or Te Matatini or elsewhere. But we support the Māori wardens. We support the Māori Women’s Welfare League. I’m happy to report again, if you didn’t see it already, that we gave additional support to those organisations. Isn’t that great? Isn’t that good mahi? There have been some ins and outs, no doubt. There have been in and outs of the Māori development budget, but that’s par for the course on most portfolios across Government. Of course, some portfolios have had a lot more money. I’d just acknowledge Minister Brown, who was here before, in the health portfolio; police and defence and education—sure, because that’s what we believe in. Actually, those portfolios support Māori communities as well as all New Zealand communities. As a Government, we’ve been very clear that we need to see better Kāwanatanga performance across those core portfolios like education and health. It’s absolutely shocking that when we arrived here, one out of three Māori kids would go to school regularly. I think that’s absolutely underwhelming, and that’s not the type of standard or achievement or target that we want to have for our young people. Now, it has improved a little bit. We want to see it improve a lot more. But what we’re not going to do is see one out of three Māori kids go to school, no matter what school it is—if it’s a kura kaupapa, wharekura, State school, State integrated. We want to see kids going to school and encourage them to go to school. I think that, yes, some portfolios have had a reduction in funding, and we acknowledge that, but other portfolios—that are absolutely dedicated to the health, wealth, and wellbeing of Māori and all New Zealanders—have been supported more, and that’s what we’re into. I know I’m not confused about that, because I want to see particularly State schools do absolutely everything they can to support the success of rangatahi Māori, as I’m sure the Opposition members would like to see also. ORIINI KAIPARA (Te Pāti Māori—Tāmaki Makaurau) (21:55): I thank the Minister for mentioning Māori education. That’s where I’ll focus my question. Cuts to Māori education programmes, including Māori resource teachers and kaupapa Māori pathways, have been widely reported. Kura and wharekura in Tāmaki-makau-rau have raised concerns that these changes will reduce access to specialist support for their ākonga. What assurances can the Minister give that Māori-medium learners in Tāmaki-makau-rau will not experience a decline in support or outcomes as a result of these reductions? Urban Māori in Tāmaki-makau-rau, many of whom are disconnected from their iwi or live far from their rohe, have expressed concern that the removal of targeted Māori programmes will widen existing inequities. How is the Minister ensuring that the voices of urban Māori are reflected in decisions about funding, programme design, and the future direction of Māori development? Finally, on that note, on Māori economic development and Māori business support, reports indicate that hundreds of millions previously allocated to Māori economic development have been removed or reprioritised. Now, Māori businesses in Tāmaki-makau-rau, particularly small whānau-owned enterprises, have said that these cuts reduce access to capability funding and advisory support. What analysis has the Minister undertaken on how these changes will affect Māori business growth in the region, and what replacement initiatives, if any, have been introduced to fill that gap? Lastly, Māori trades training—funding for Māori trades training has been stopped, despite Tāmaki-makau-rau having one of the largest Māori youth populations in the entire country, te motu whānui nei, and a strong demand for apprenticeships in construction, in infrastructure and technology. What replacement pathways has the Minister put in place to ensure that rangatahi Māori in Tāmaki-makau-rau and throughout Aotearoa still have access to culturally grounded trades training opportunities? GEORGIE DANSEY (Labour) (21:58): My question is about Māori economy and employment. Māori unemployment has risen from 6.8 percent to 10 percent, and the employment rate has fallen from 64.7 percent to 60.7 percent—both statistically significant. Name one Te Puni Kōkiri initiative in 2024-25 that has moved either number, with evidence. Thank you. Hon TAMA POTAKA (Minister for Māori Development) (21:58): It’ll be a quick one as the glass slipper starts falling off, people. Look, I’m not going to mix kombucha with a coffee like some of the questions asked of me. That’s a bubbly zing, people. Education questions should be directed to the education Minister, OK? Trade training questions on that particular issue should be directed to the Minister of Te Manatū Whakahiato Ora. If you don’t know what that means, that’s Ministry of Social Development—just in case, for you bilingual speakers. What I will say is this: none of us want to see, OK, a deterioration in the Māori economy and the New Zealand economy, but these are the consequences that hailed from the economic terrorism of the previous administration. The investments that Māori development have made, the investments in fast-track approvals, many of which are actually Māori-owned and led—the fast track is actually benefiting a whole range of Māori organisations to generate employment. Can I say I’m looking forward to the Ngāi Tahu aquaculture application— Hon James Meager: Oh, big tick! Hon TAMA POTAKA: —and also, Mr Meager, a range of property developments that will generate Māori employment. That’s why we continue to support iwi like Waikato-Tainui and their massive work in Hamilton, the city of the future. Tihei mauri ora. CHAIRPERSON (Teanau Tuiono): Members, the committee is suspended and will resume at 9 a.m. tomorrow for the extended sitting. Pō mārie. Sitting suspended from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. (Thursday) Extended Sitting