Output Performance

Te Puni Kōkiri has continued to provide secretariat support and assistance to The Ministerial Māori Economic Taskforce, to position Māori for future economic opportunities. At the local level, it has supported a number of initiatives to create training and job placements for Māori. It has also enhanced Māori interests in growth areas, including telecommunications, exporting into major global markets, and co-investment opportunities. Research about the Māori asset base and economy has highlighted the importance of Māori participation in the economy to the overall New Zealand economy. Information on particular Taskforce achievements is available on the Te Puni Kōkiri website.

The Māori Economic Taskforce commissioned research through BERL that shows the Māori asset base for 2010 is estimated at $36.9 billion. This comprises assets of trusts and incorporations of $4 billion, other Māori entities of $6.7 billion, businesses of selfemployed Māori of $5.4 billion, and businesses of Māori employers of $20.8 billion. While concentrated in the primary industries, there was a significant quantity of asset holdings across the range of other industries. The Māori Economic Summit convened in May 2011 was an opportunity to highlight the success of the Ministerial Māori Economic Taskforce and the various projects undertaken by the Taskforce over the last two years. It was a positive opportunity to celebrate the advances made by Māori whānau, businesses, entrepreneurs, iwi and land groupings. It consisted of high calibre people from a wide cross section of Māori enterprises and incorporations, Non Government Organisations (NGO’s), civic and community leaders, and Māori working together.

Māori Economic Taskforce

The Māori Economic Taskforce is committed to providing opportunities for Māori to contribute to and benefit from a thriving New Zealand economy. It seeks to enhance Māori entrepreneurship and innovation to position Māori for future strategic economic opportunities and promote kaupapa Māori and Māori structures as drivers of prosperity.

Selected achievements have included:

• Ngā Pū Waea
  The Taskforce had previously made a submission on the Government’s Broadband programme that has resulted in the establishment of Ngā Pū Waea, which will work with Telecom and Vodafone on the multi-million dollar roll-out of the Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) and the Ultrafast Broadband initiative (UFB) over the next six years. Ngā Pū Waea will provide advice on connectivity to marae, iwi, hapū and Māori providers and whānau; investment into broadband; as well as advice on developing trade-training and employment placements.
• Koura Inc
  Koura Inc was a company formed earlier this year, by various Māori lobster quota owners. Through Koura Inc, Māori lobster interests are looking to consolidate their interests to compete in this exciting market. Māori make up about 30% of lobster quota owners and account for approximately 43% of the total lobster exports. Between 85-90% of New Zealand lobster is now consumed by China
• Iwi Co-investment
  This initiative produced resources to help iwi make informed decisions about whether to participate in infrastructure investment. It has included workshop-style wānanga to build awareness and capability of iwi. The resources have been distributed online and in hard copy at various wānanga. It has helped iwi develop their thinking about infrastructure opportunities, public private partnerships (PPP), and practical kaupapa Māori models for commercial collaboration. The initiative has identified potential PPP opportunities in a variety of sectors.