He Kupu Whakataki/Introduction

Te Puni Kōkiri was created by the Ministry of Māori Development Act 1991, with a focus on education, training and employment, health, and economic resource development. Our principal duties under the Act are to promote increases in Māori achievement across these key social and economic areas and, linked to this, to monitor and liaise with each department or agency that provides, or has a responsibility to provide, services to or for Māori, for the purpose of ensuring the adequacy of those services.

One of the significant challenges we face is striking the right balance between leading and influencing public policy, and assuming a monitoring role akin to a central agency.

We focus predominantly on:

• leading and influencing government policy as it pertains to Māori;
• assisting the government to manage its relationships with Māori; and
• partnering and facilitating Māori, government and private sector initiatives.

We are an integrated multi-functional policy ministry, with a breadth of functions spanning research, policy development, programme delivery, community level investment, evaluation and monitoring. Coupled with this, we have an extensive knowledge and understanding of Māori communities, and a strong regional presence. Together, our broad functions and our regional infrastructure provide us with unique abilities to anchor policy advice in the realities of Māori communities, and to manage the Crown-Māori relationship on behalf of government.

Within this context, our core role is as principal adviser to Government on Crown- Māori relationships. In discharging this role, our key interest is to ensure that Government decision making and processes are informed by Treaty considerations, and are reflective of the aims, aspirations and realities of Māori communities. We are superbly equipped by our regional network and by our character as a consciously Māori organisation - a place in the government where Māori may feel at home.

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