Environmental Justice as Decolonization by Julia Miller Cantzler

Author:Julia Miller Cantzler [Cantzler, Julia Miller]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Business & Economics, Environmental Economics, Social Science, General, Sociology, Young Adult Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780429535185
Google: 7VHzDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-09-17T05:04:16+00:00

Maori leadership in government and on the front lines of resource protection

Even through the most repressive colonial years, Maori leadership has persisted, with charismatic individuals representing Maori interests inside government, as well as through extra-institutional forums, advocacy and protest. Maori representation in Parliament has been guaranteed since the 1860s, after Maori activists won the right to have four dedicated seats in Parliament.6 In the early 1900s, a young group of progressive Maori Ministers of Parliament led by Apirana Ngata formed a loose coalition of representatives dedicated to improving conditions for Maori from within the system (New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage 2009). This group had a major influence on Maori politics and land rights. Later, alliances with the Labour Party expedited greater changes for Maori people, including the creation of the Waitangi Tribunal in 1975. Then, in 2004, the formation of the Maori Party was driven by the activism of Maori leaders who were willing to confront the historic marginalization of Maori issues in Parliament head on. Although the Maori Party lost its electoral seats in the 2017 general election, its emergence signals a new era in New Zealand politics whereby Maori aspirations are taken more seriously by leaders within the country’s two main parties.

The groundbreaking fisheries settlement resulted, in no small part, from the vision and dedication of Maori leaders both inside and outside the New Zealand government. For decades, Maori people asserted their rights to fish under the Treaty of Waitangi, but their claims largely fell on deaf ears. With the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal in 1975, a new avenue was opened to make their claims. Leaders of the Ngai Tahu and Muriwhenua people seized this opportunity and each brought complex cases through which they successfully demonstrated the Crown’s breach of their extensive commercial and traditional fishing rights. This paved the way for the innovative settlement process, which required the deft negotiations of Maori leaders in government and the consensus of representatives from 57 iwi about the ultimate allocation model.

The settlement’s implementation process has also nurtured the development of a strong cohort of Maori leaders who, after their involvement in the settlement, went on to hold influential positions in government. The Ministry of Fisheries has also hired numerous Maori policy experts and liaisons to ensure that the Crown’s treaty obligations to facilitate Maori fishing interests are being represented within the department and to develop efficient working relationships between MFish and the customary stakeholders and managers operating at the community level. In addition to policy analysts, MFish employs Pou Hononga and Pou Takawaenga, who manage relationships between Maori and MFish at the regional level and are especially concerned with traditional resource management issues (New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries 2005). On the other side of the relationship are kaitiaki, who are traditional guardians of fisheries resources and are appointed by hapu to manage fisheries resources according to Maori customary norms and values, and to work with MFish to implement Maori management processes.

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