Ki te whaiao, ki te ao Mārama
Maranga Mai! combines evidence-based
literature and research with the first-person
testimony of the Tangata Whenua Caucus
of the National Anti-Racism Taskforce (20212022) and voices of Māori over generations.
The report analyses and describes the
dynamics and impact of colonisation, white
supremacy, and racism on Tangata Whenua
and Māori communities.
The report is intended to inform Te
Kāhui Tika Tangata, the Human Rights
Commission, the Ministry of Justice and the
New Zealand Government on these matters
from a Tangata Whenua and Te Tiriti o
Waitangi (Te Tiriti) perspective and to ensure
that the work to address and eliminate
racism in this country continues to be
prioritised. Many Governments have made
efforts to reduce racism in Aotearoa, however,
Maranga Mai! reveals that much more needs
to be done. The report has two parts:
Te Ūpoko Tuatahi | Part One: opens with
the Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul
Hunt acknowledging the Government’s
commitment to agreeing a National
Action Plan Against Racism (the Plan).
The Commissioner says: Maranga Mai!
provides a crucially important perspective
on extremely challenging issues which
will define Aotearoa for years to come.
The report compels us to acknowledge
the racism and white supremacy that was
woven into the fabric of the British colony as
immigrants settled in these islands.
Maranga Mai! urges Aotearoa to move
toward constitutional transformation enabled
by a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation process
with Tangata Whenua. It also defines the
concepts of colonisation, racism, white
supremacy, and white privilege in Aotearoa.
Having a shared understanding allows us to
appreciate the magnitude of their impact on
Tangata Whenua.
Te Kāhui Tika Tangata
The introduction overviews the Doctrine of
Discovery and foundational constitutional
documents He Whakaputanga o Nu Tireni
| The Declaration of Independence (1835)
and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840). This is
followed by a brief overview of the impacts
of colonisation.
Te Ūpoko Tuarua | Part Two: charts the
impact over time upon Māori land, and the
intergenerational inequities Māori suffer in
criminal justice, education and health. It also
examines how the Crown has consistently
eroded the tino rangatiratanga of hapū and
iwi and the agreement rangatira signed
in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Central to this is the
dispossession of Māori land, which has
triggered destitution and impoverishment
for generations of Māori.
Part two renews the call to restore selfdetermination for Māori. There is a need
for urgent constitutional transformation,
primarily based on the vision laid out in
Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Reo version) and
articulated in the Report of Matike Mai
Aotearoa: The Independent Working Group
on Constitutional Transformation (2018), and
He Puapua: Report of the Working Group on
a Plan to Realise the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous people in Aotearoa/
New Zealand (2019).
The recommendations of Maranga Mai!
have been informed by the Commission’s
own knowledge, the Tangata Whenua
Caucus and numerous reports, such as
Matike Mai, He Puapua, the STIR Briefing
Paper and the many sources cited in the
report’s extensive bibliography. There are
also secondary recommendations made at
the end of each of the eight subject chapters.
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