Matike Mai Aotearoa: Independent Working Group on Constitutional Transformation is a
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
initiative made up of constitutional experts and respected Māori leaders who consulted Māori between 2012 and 2015 and generated a report on constitutional transformation for
Aotearoa
''Aotearoa'' () is the Māori name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference only to the North Island, with the whole country being referred to as ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' – where ''Te Ika-a-Māui'' means N ...
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
.
The report was launched on
Waitangi Day
Waitangi Day (, the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing—on 6 February 1840—of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi was an agreement towards British sovereignty by representatives of the The Cr ...
in 2016.
History, process and outcomes
Since 2005 the
National Iwi Chairs Forum
The National Iwi Chairs Forum is an entity founded in 2005 made up of the chairpersons of 71 iwi groups in New Zealand, facilitating the sharing of information among iwi leaders. The Forum holds meetings four times a year at different marae thro ...
, a group of 72 chairpersons from
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
(Māori nations), have convened four meetings a year for Māori people to exchange information with the goal to share and support each other.
In 2010 the Iwi Chairs Forum established a Working Group for Constitutional Change
in response to the 'ongoing persistent exercise of the Crown of constitutional power without apparent Māori input.'
The working group had the following terms of reference for consultation and a report: “To develop and implement a model for an inclusive Constitution for Aotearoa based on
tikanga and kawa,
He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tireni of 1835,
Te Tiriti o Waitangi of 1840, and other indigenous human rights instruments which enjoy a wide degree of international recognition”.
Professor
Margaret Mutu has held the role of chairperson since the inception, and the convener was
Moana Jackson who died in March 2022.
The working group had a clear mandate to consult Māori and initially proposed 30 hui (Māori meetings), but responded to requests. In the end 252 hui were held all throughout New Zealand between 2012 and 2015. The first hui was held at
Waipatu marae
A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...
with
Ngāti Kahungunu
Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi (tribe) located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The Kahungunu iwi also comprises 86 hapū (sub-tribes ...
, Jackson's home base.
The aim was to be comprehensive and inclusive; hui were therefore held with iwi and also with other groups such as organisations for Māori people with disabilities, Māori
LGBTQI
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...
groups, gangs and churches. Jackson attended all 252 hui.
Extensive discussion and debate of values for a constitution were part of the hui.
The Matike Mai Working Group had over 10,000 people attend and over 800 written submissions.
Funding and support for the hui was granted mostly by JR McKenzie Trust. Other sources included groups who were hosting and some research funding from
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
. Kayleen Neho was project manager.
Transcripts were produced from the hui and then smaller follow-up meetings occurred to clarify certain points or to expand on the findings.
The report was launched on Waitangi Day. 2016.
There were seven recommendations from the report relating to future actions.
In February 2021 there was a Matike Mai Constitutional Convention, which was one of the recommendations. It took place online rather than in-person due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The Matike Mai report is part of a landscape of constitutional work in recent times including two other expert-led dialogues by the Constitutional Advisory Panel published by the
New Zealand Government
The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...
(2013) and Constitution Aotearoa led by
Sir Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to:
Politicians
*Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician
*Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, member of parliament (MP) for Leicestershire
*Geoffrey Pal ...
and Andrew Butler (2017).
He Puapua is a report commissioned by New Zealand government agency
Te Puni Kōkiri
Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK, also called in English the Ministry of Māori Development) is the principal policy advisor of the Government of New Zealand on Māori people, Māori wellbeing and development. Te Puni Kōkiri was established under the Māor ...
in 2019 to create a plan to realise the
UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples
, ,
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding United Nations resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007 that delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of indig ...
(UNDRIP) in New Zealand. This report includes reference to the Matike Mai Aotearoa Report.
Contributing members of the working group
During the development of the report there were 28 contributing members to the working group as listed in the appendix of the report, as follows:
Rangatahi rōpū (youth group)
Veronica Tawhai co-ordinated Matike Mai Aotearoa Rangatahi Youth for Constitutional Transformation to get perspectives from young people and 70 meetings and workshops were held around New Zealand. This ended up being a comprehensive report in its own right drawing from thirteen different regional groups and ran between 2012 and 2017.
Members included spokesperson
Ngaa Rauuira Puumanawawhiti and
Pania Newton.
The workshops used
digital media
In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...
and
theatrical
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communic ...
group activities to gain perspectives with young people at secondary schools, Wharekura, tertiary providers, community centres and youth justice centres. Puumanawhiti said: "Young voices are often not valued or are ignored, yet we are the ones who will shape our future constitution".
Matike Mai Aotearoa Rangatahi Youth for Constitutional Transformation was funded by the JR McKenzie Trust, the
UN Trust Fund on Indigenous Issues and the New Zealand National Commission for
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matike Mai Aotearoa
Politics of New Zealand
Uncodified constitutions
Constitution of New Zealand
2016 establishments in New Zealand