Short commentaries on the five-step policy cycle and checklist of questions Step 1: Agenda Identify the key problems and issues 1. What is the crucial context of the key problems we are addressing? This includes but is not limited to the historical context (for example, the impact of colonisation) and the environmental context (for example, the impact of climate change). 2. Which explicit values will shape our policy process and its policies? We all bring values to our work. All processes and institutions are driven by one set of values or another. Sometimes, values are explicit. Sometimes, they are implicit. Aotearoa has agreed a code of fundamental human rights. These human rights and te Tiriti o Waitangi embody a set of values that are recognised as very important in this country. Policy makers must do their best to place these agreed values at the centre of all policy processes and policies. These values include: • fairness, dignity, and manaakitanga • equity, equality, and non-discrimination • participation and partnership • wellbeing and community • whanaungatanga and tino rangatiratanga. For more information on values see the MAIHI principles and framework set out in MAIHI Ka Ora18 and the Human Rights Commission’s Guidelines.20 3. How does te Tiriti o Waitangi bear upon the key problems we are addressing? As we have outlined in the Guidelines, the right to a decent home must be grounded on – shaped by and give effect to – te Tiriti o Waitangi. Te Tiriti recognises the unique partnership between Māori and the Crown in Aotearoa. It establishes the framework for engagement, cooperation, and decision making between these parties. We need to assess how the problems relate to the articles of te Tiriti o Waitangi. For example, does the problem relate to a lack of tino rangatiratanga and the protection of Māori rights? Have the rights and interests of Māori as Tiriti partners been affected? Is the problem related to historical disparities and inequities as a result of te Tiriti o Waitangi not being upheld? A range of guidance already exists for policy makers in respect of the crucial Tiriti considerations – for example, Te Arawhiti Office for Māori Crown Relations Providing for the Treaty of Waitangi in Legislation and Supporting Policy Design: Questions for Policy Makers.21 Our guidance does not seek to reinvent the wheel. Instead, we highlight that incorporating human rights into the policy cycle requires te Tiriti analysis, and we refer you to Te Arawhiti’s helpful resource. 18 Human Rights Commission