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Conference Proceedings Chapter Three - Economics Stream |
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Conference Proceedings Chapter Three - Economics Stream |
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[Conference Day 1 @ 12:00 - Submitted Paper]
Tena Koutou Katoa.
Mihi.
Te mea tuatahi e mihi atu ke te Kaihanga irunga rawa. Nana i homai mana, tango atu. Nga mate ote wa, o ngau tau i muri, haere atu ra, e moe, hoki atu.
As I understand it, I have been invited to share with this conference, the strategies of the middle to late 1980's where community groups in New Zealand employed a diverse range of actions to make changes and in particular, to influence the Power Brokers which are not just governments, often they are government officials the people with whom communities negotiate, but we all know who the real power brokers are, the multinationals, the transnationals, who by their seamless borders wield economic power.
Thank you for inviting me to speak at this Sixth International Permaculture Conference. Firstly let me pay tribute to this land's first people, the Indigenous peoples of Australia. I bring greetings from my people, the Maori people of Aotearoa, New Zealand and in particular my own iwi Atihau in Whanganui. I pay homage to your Tupuna (old people) who have passed on. May your journey for equality and justice be fruitful and may your hopes and aspirations for the mokopuna (grandchildren) be realised. Secondly, let me pay tribute to other Indigenous peoples who are here today, for there are similar struggles throughout the global world. And last of all, let me congratulate the organisers of this Sixth Permaculture Conference. As someone who worked alongside others to bring about the Second Commonwealth Conference for COMMACT 1991 in Christchurch, New Zealand (Aotearoa) I am fully aware and appreciative of the long hours, dedication and headaches you would have experienced.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Josephine Rena Maniapoto. I come from Whanganu in the North Island of New Zealand.
[slide]
My iwi (tribe) is Afihau, and I am affiliated to Tuwharetoa and Tainui iwi (tribes.) I have 4 sons and 1 mokopuna (grandchild), all males. I am the Director of two small companies, Jo Maniapoto & Associates Ltd which was formed in October 1989 and Aotearoa & Pacific Resources Ltd in March 1995. Jo Maniapoto & Associates is essentially a community company and was set up to provide training and other services for predominantly, while not exclusively, Maori. The emergence of this company was three fold, The first was a deep anger and passion to provide our people with the very best training the company could offer, as many of our people who entered institutions for education and training could not relate to the methods used and would often waste a year learning absolutely nothing, but within one week with the company, could produce a strategic plan and a corporate plan.
The second was to provide an entrepreneurial course of excellence, one which respected and valued people appreciating that people learn in different ways so different learning methods were required.
It was considered vitally important that the company research our history, focusing on the tupuna who traded in an effort to reclaim those entrepreneurial skills. Pat Dare faxed me papers on permaculture, and I see that it is holistic, that is how our people are. We are a spiritual people whose spirit encompasses all things, from our whanau (family), hapu (extended families) and iwi (collective extended families linked by whakapapa geneology). We do not compartmentalise our thinking or our actions. We want a better world for the mokopuna.
The third was to provide services which corporate bodies, or those who could afford were willing to pay, in order to subsidise or assist projects Maori were struggling to plan and implement. It is this company with myself as the head, which involved itself in political and social issues and we joined with others to action those strategies which were successful in the late 80's & early 90's. I guess these are some of the reasons I have been asked to speak here today, which leads me to make some assumptions. I am assuming that there are people here, who are angry, frustrated and dissatisfied with what is happening and want passionately to make changes (terminology comes in and out of fashion doesn't it? ' change transformation'?) I must tell you that I don't have any miracle answers, that there is not one successful strategy, but to quote the General Manager of Whale Watch Kaikoura, "There are a smorgasbord of approaches which may lead to success."
[slide]
Note! I say, may!!! I have been working for more than twenty years to bring about change, and so too have others. And I don't think that's something extra ordinary, it is my belief that we have merely carried on the work of the Tupuna (old people passed on). Every step along the way has been fraught with difficulties, however collectively along the way, we learned so much. It was a rapid learning curve. We shared information and became a formidable group.
Why did I get into this type of work? Quite simply one of my sons who had worked as a student through school holidays and worked for the same firm for 3 years became a victim of the Labour Government's restructuring policies and he lost his job. Our family came from that 'work ethic' era. We were conditioned into believing that if we worked hard at whatever job we had, no matter how menial and we saved, our future was secure. And when son lost his job after 3 years, his father and I would make statements like ". You can't be looking hard enough". "The jobs are there, just keep on".
We didn't know the world was changing. We didn't know what the global market place was all about. Gradually I watched my son's confidence deteriorate. That devastated me and I determined to find out what was happening.
In 1982 I studied Social Policy part time at Victoria University and worked at 5 part time jobs to pay for my fees, my board and I sent 3 pay packets home to my husband for the family. In April of that year my mokopuna (Renee) was admitted to the Wellington Hospital with Myeloid Leukaemia. As she was being treated at the Wellington Hospital, I continued my studies and kept my jobs so that I could pay her expenses and her mother's. I spent every available time I had spare with her . In November of that year, we brought her home to die in peace. So my decision to enter this type of work was based purely on the pain, anger and despair of those things which are out of our control and it affected my loved ones.
Aotearoa & Pacific Resources Ltd is a publication's company, set up to publish a Maori Business, Service & Trade Directory. It is a commercial concern. It's intent is to assist the process of reclaiming our Tupuna's (old people passed on) trading history, pre-European times. My own iwi (tribe) Atihaunui apaparangi were plying their trade up and down the Whanganui river and trading with New South Wales.
[slide]
Our people well knew the term "capitalism," and its implications.
[slide]
Our people had wheat farms, flour mills and built ships among other things and fed those early settlers. The first ship that left these shores were filled with produce from our people.
[slides]
The Settler government in their greed to acquire land justified their actions by going to war and called them (" Maori Wars"), while their troops killed our people and confiscated Maori land by force. Successive governments of the day did not even need to go to war, with the stroke of a pen, and their legislation the land was taken. Maori became manual labourers losing the entrepreneurial flair of the tupuna and so with those few words, it is plain to see Maori have been fighting for equality and justice for over 150 years and the mokopuna will continue the struggle for many generations to come. One can liken it to a rugby game, except that they own the playing field, the referee and the line referees.
In telling my story, I am also sharing the stories of many people "the movers & shakers" for that period, Maori and non Maori. We are all capable of visions and dreams, and we all have the capacity to make those dreams come true.
Almost from the moment of birth we have been schooled and goaded into using logic & reasoning. That's fine for certain things. But as individuals we are made up into many things - emotions, feelings, creativity, imagination, desire, our whanau,(family) our hapu,(extended family) our iwi, (collective families linked by Whakapapa) and we do need all of those things to make us whole. After all if we cut an apple in eighths and remove 2 eighths, we don't have a whole apple do we.
Nau mai ra haere mai ra i runga it te kaupapa whakapakari i te wahine Maori eee! Haere mai, haere mai, haere mai ra!
I would like to quote an except from Joe Williams, a Maori lawyer who works in Auckland, included in the New Zealand Planning Council's publication, "Te Puna Wairere," Back to the Future: Survival in the 1990's.
When I was a teenager, I remember speaking to one of the most knowledgeable kaumatua (wise old person) about a subject that has puzzled me for some time. I asked why the word for the front of an object, mua was the same as our word for the past (nga wa o mua literally translates as the time in front of us), and why was our word for the back of an object muri the same as our word for the future. The kaumatua must already have been thinking about the question because he answered without question. He said, "It is because our ancestors always had their backs to the future and their eyes firmly on the past."
"That" he said "is what makes us different from the Pakeha". At that point everything fell neatly into place. So that was why, whenever I attended hui, the old people spent more time talking about our ancestors and about the past than they ever did talking about the actual reason for the hui. That was also why, at those same hui, the ones who lived before and had passed on in to memory were the first to be greeted by Kuia in karanga and the Koroua (old man) in whaikorero (greeting). Many Pakeha detractors have said that Maori dwelt too much in the past, and they would probably be right, from a Pakeha perspective. The Maori response would probably be that Pakeha do not spend enough time thinking about and learning from their own past. That is why we are in the mess we are today.
"E kore e piri te uku ki be rino, Clay will not cling to iron." (The proverb comes from the famous haka 'Mangumangu Taipo', composed in Taranaki. Wet clay clings to iron, but as soon as it dries it falls off.. Similarly we must take pride in our ancient culture because western accretions will eventually fall off, and the Maoritanga will remain.)
One of the major difficulties facing Maori leaders and decision makers throughout New Zealand is the massive energy required to cope with even more massive 'take' (issues) and responsibilities, right across the board. The issues are so diverse and complex that there are times (Maori try to cope with everything ), when energy dissipates, and efforts are fragmented. However when Maoridom organises its efforts, it is a sight to behold. We are only 12% of the total population.
One of the major triumphs for Maoridom in 1984 was the Economic Summit. The leadership was strong and well coordinated bringing together all the tribes to make their thrust. Strategically and tactically, Maoridom's strategy outmanoeuvred the three main sector interest groups (employers, unions, government).
Maoridom was 'awesome'. Leadership kept an eye on the trouble spots and moved quickly to bring it under control. So effective were the strategies that the Labour government could not refuse to give Maoridom $1 million dollars for lending to small business enterprises at a low interest rate, not a lot when considering the amount of money government diverts into other schemes. Essentially to encourage the growth of Maori entrepreneurs. This money was distributed equally among the tribes and Mana Managers were appointed to work for the Maori Trust Boards and service their clients. Two highly qualified Maori were appointed at government level negotiated a further 11.5 million for the next 5 years. They were contracted to liaise with government and the Maori Affairs Board who had the responsibility to oversee the project and work with the individual Trust Boards.
Maoridom was also successful in persuading the government to give them $14 million for training purposes and iwi authorities had that responsibility as well. It was an exciting and exhilarating era for Maoridom. Its strange though, the more successful we get, the more threatened powerful people within the traditional institutions become, putting all kinds of obstructive matter along the path.
In 1985 a small group of fifteen Maori women met at Kai iwi, just out of Whanganui, for the weekend, to be trained in Structural Analysis introduced by Father John Curnow, Manuka Henare who was at that time the Head of EJD (Evangelism Justice & Development) and Sister Makareta Tawaroa, a catholic nun from Order of the Sisters of St Joseph of Nazareth.
Structural Analysis was introduced by Paulo Freire to assist oppressed peoples. a catholic priest who became disillusioned with his church. This training was happening in South America and Asian countries before being introduced in New Zealand.
[slide]
It describes the structures which govern our lives, and analyses the situation in which we find ourselves. It asks two questions, "who gains"? "who loses"? Structural analysis assists us to understand the process of uncovering oppressive structures imposed by the 'dominant ideology'. This allows us to think and question those influences imposed upon us. Who was the most powerful institution at that time and who were the most learned and what supported that particular institution, what was the dominant ideology. It is not my intention to give a workshop on the analysis, merely to highlight the issues, because this process of learning was the key factor in planning our strategies, particularly for Maori involved in the struggle.
From the training session one of the women who had been trying, from the Employment Conference to avoid the responsibility and expectation that she build an organisation which would service Maori in Whanganui realised that though the path was difficult she had the skills and ability to put it together, and there was the opportunity to have a model that other iwi could follow.
More importantly, Maori all over the country were in a crisis situation and it could not be shrugged aside
Maoridom has a hierarchical structure dominated by our men and there is a certain protocol and procedure to follow, which makes it awkward for people like myself. As I reflected, I decided that one of the best examples I could offer this conference was the initiative from my own people, because it became a model for Maoridom. It is significant, because it was the efforts of Maori people who became passionately angry enough to do something about Labour governments restructuring policies, the determination that we were not about to lie down and die And who were the most affected. Maori, because we were expendable. The Maori workforce were concentrated in the labour intensive industries, the mines, the forests, the freezing works, fishing. Of the 11000 jobs lost in the fishing industry 9000 of those jobs were Maori.
Let's look at the processes we used.
[slide]
How did it happen, there were no recognised Maori leaders amongst them. What was their secret. Because all of this did not just happen. No one woke up in the morning and said, "Well, today I think I will take on the government and set up an Maori employment board". There were some major ingredients. First there was anger, passionate anger, and the determination to do something about it and their background was similar.
All but one of the trustees had come through poverty, deprivation and oppression, making sacrifices, working at a number of jobs in their childhood to supplement family income.
Most had been brought up in an environment of alcohol and abuse. So they had the 'work ethic'. All had succeeded at what ever level success was to each person. Most had brought up families or were bringing them up. Everyone had a concern for their mokopuna, their future. Most had worked towards strategies for fighting Maori social injustice, individually and at other times collectively with other networks.
Most had suffered personal pain in one form or another, most were working with unemployed youth and whanau during the early 80's on subsidised programmes when unemployment Maori numbers began to rise so dramatically. Here they began to pick up skills of advocacy, joining with other groups around the country on national issues. The Employment conference push came from similar groups around the country. After the conference the working party travelled the region to talk about the self sufficiency that could be created by building our own economy. The tribe came together at Te Ao Hou Marae set in the lower urban region of the Whanganui river to choose their trustees. I worked for this board for 3 years. At the completion of my term they were turning over $2 million dollars. Small, compared to the figures thrown around, but wonderful considering their beginnings.
[video]
That is one style of management and leadership that was different from the traditional hierarchical system that exists in Maoridom.
The second example I want to give you is Whale Watch Kaikoura, which is a commercial operation. At the time of writing the manual, Maori values and the cultural heritage were still intact.
Kaikoura is a beautiful little place in the northern part of the South Island of New Zealand (Aotearoa). The marae is situated on the top of a hill which overlooks the little picturesque town, surrounded by the sea and the mountains. It really is a sight to behold. The town's population numbers only 3000, but in the tourist season the numbers swell. 99% of unemployed were Maori, and while I know there is racism, it is usually covert, but in Kaikoura it was blatant. Normally in small towns Maori & non Maori co-exist in harmony, very supportive to each other. That was not the case in Kaikoura in 1987.
In the initial stage they consulted with a person who saw it as a such a good idea he went ahead with the project and claimed it as his own. The Ngai Tahu people do not become abusive or aggressive, they are clever, they decided to set up anyway, because their whakapapa links them with the whales and there are things only they know.
About 2 years ago Whale Watch Kaikoura bought him out.
In the setting up stages, their boats were sabotaged, their bus bombed, the conservation department were working against them, competitors were tracking them by sonar in an effort to be first at the scene. However despite all that they persevered and in the first year of operation their efforts injected $2.6 million dollars into Kaikoura's economy.
A group of 5 Maori women from Whanganui trained in Structural Analysis were invited to Kaikoura by the 'Solomon' women to be trained in the analysis, in order to move their people from oppression. From those small beginnings has come a successful commercial operation which was voted the "Top Eco Company in the World". Wally Stone received the award in London. The women made many sacrifices, to make the dream for their people come alive. They planned, mortgaged their homes to get sufficient finance to purchase the first boats, trained their people, particularly their rangatahi (youth) set their strategies in place, brought in key resource people, and set about making their theory happen, and then an ex-Westpac bank manager offered to walk beside them. And like the tupuna they have adapted to the complexities of commercial activities, without losing the culture and language which they hold dear to their hearts. They are an inspiration to Maoridom.
Who has brought this all together - first of all there are the women, wonderful Maori women who were passionate in their belief, who bring together the strands, who had undergone training, who have worked to right the social injustices for their people, using these skills of human relationships and business acumen. They have turned the old railway station into a tea shop and craft shop selling only quality goods. And then there was their leader, Bill Solomon a quiet, gentle man who tried to keep a low profile, whose leadership inspires, guides and encourages - a quiet, gentle man who tries to keep a low profile, - a leader who is not threatened by the creativity shown by others.
Two different Maori operations, two different models, but with common goals, building an economic base for their people and retaining their cultural heritage.
The experiences learned, lead individual members of the Whanganui Regional Employment Board then to begin working on National Collectives with employment issues still the strongest focus. Employment Resource Centres throughout the country were the only means by which unemployed people could get the type of assistance required, as the government enforced their draconian measures. The impact on Maori was devastating, but so too were the rural populations, particularly the small towns in the South Island in the 40 to 50 age group. These were people who expected to work in the one job until their retirement, no processes were put into place by the government of the day. Whole towns had their services withdrawn, banks, post offices, hospitals, medical services, government departments which lead to the withdrawal of chemists shops, manufacturers and so on. And so, the Employment Resource Centres became very active politically. The National Collective began to look at ways to persuade the government to fund these centres. The first task was to look for allies within government department, and elsewhere. to include them in the strategy. The outcome of that strategy was the government funded, ' approved ' Employment Resource Centres and Enterprise Agencies, $50000 each year for three years.
The New Zealand Collective Association of Employment Resource Centres sent a representative from the North & South Island to attend a Community Company Conference in Perth in March 1989, to analyse the situation, present a report and report back to the collective. A week was spent at the conference and the North Island representative spent the following week in the newest government agency for Employment, Training and Enterprise. This particular government agency seemed to work in partnership with the community.
This was a revelation, not heard of in New Zealand. A government agency that worked in partnership with the community? So the structure and organisational activities were examined and this was included in the report.
The South Island representative flew to Esperance to meet with the Facilitator and examine the possibilities of transporting that model back to New Zealand. Then he looked at an agency called DOME 'Don't Overlook Mature Experience' This was really important to John Patterson because of the grief, his people were experiencing.
Strategically, the group lobbied allies within the government, set up conference calls to ensure the flow of information tracked progress, sent in skilled negotiators, then flew in the Director of the Western Australian agency amidst a publicity campaign.
New Zealand adapted the model and called the first government agency Community Employment Development Unit (CEDU) a division of the Labour Department. The National Government changed it to Community Employment Group (CEG) when it was elected, and while nothing's pure and there are politics to combat, by and large it does work in partnership with community, all community groups even groups like Local Authorities.
[slide]
It has supported many worth while projects including Main Street projects, designed to beautify the main street in many towns, which has increased the turnover of shops in the main streets. Another Australian model.
The New Zealand Planning Council was a non government agency, although funded by government, It played an important role in influencing government about the changes it needed to make in order to compete on the global market. In particular it was instrumental in changing the direction of education.
It was made of people selected for their knowledge and expertise in specialist areas. My field of expertise was the Employment Monitoring Group, there were other groups like the Monetarist Group, Scientific Group, Education Group and so on. My contribution to this group was to challenge the attitudes of people who sat on this group to get off their comfortable seats and look at what the Maori community were already doing in efforts to assist themselves. Too often Maori were the victims of policies written for by people whose theory did not match the reality. I was sick of it. And they were made without making contact with our people or consultation.
As a result, research was undertaken and Grass Roots 1 & 2 produced. I have the last 2 copies here with me and I'm happy to offer photocopies of the document to anyone who would like a copy.
Maoridom and other indigenous cultures need to be part of the emerging information based society and it needs to move forward swiftly. Accurate information is power. We all must know how to get access to information, where to get it, and how to use it. We all need to look at the skills of training and retraining which will be required to transform resources and ideas into high value products.
Great businesses and great communities owe their success to a few individuals who developed their leadership skills and passed them on to succeeding generations of potential leaders. A foundation of excellence is a strong combination of strategy and culture. To unite strategy with culture, one must first develop a vision for the future. and then to implement the strategy, you need to nurture a culture that is both motivated by and dedicated to that vision.
Ten and twenty year planning is a thing of the past. It will be more and more difficult to predict the future because of it's uncertainties. While there will be detailed predictions of growth for specific industries, it is also certain that those predictions to the year 2000 may be wrong, simply because the world is changing at such a rapid pace. However very broad based trends on historical events, patterns in more advanced economies, and some reasonably sophisticated 'crystal ball' gazing can be identified with some confidence.
Something we do know for certain, is that New Zealand's future will continue to depend on successfully selling our goods and services into highly competitive markets. And to do that meant that New Zealand had to equip the market place with a better educated workforce. (Paul Callister: Skills for Tomorrow (revised edition), New Zealand Planning Council.)
Community groups were doing a far better job than institutions. One of our colleagues Vivian Hutchinson who is the editor for the 'Jobs Trust Letter" developed the 'Skills for Enterprise' training package for non business wise people in the early 80's. Government agencies were not at all supportive. We had what was called the Regional Access Training Boards, and on those boards were a small number of community representatives, who knew the value of the course, therefore funding was approved. We all worked cooperatively, sharing information, writing up training packages, lobbying on behalf of new courses and ensuring that everyone involved kept to the same base fee, so they couldn't be played off one against the other. This was a co-operative era. The Skills for Enterprise training package has no copyright because as trustees we believed and still do that this information was community property. However, I get very angry because government agencies and educational institutions somehow always get their hands on good models and it goes from community & Maori into these agencies and institutions and the originators efforts go unrecognised. This package is now used by Business Development Boards on their Be Your Own Boss courses. With Vivian's permission, I adapted the training to suit non business wise Maori who required business skills training. along with my own material.
It was this work which enabled me to win the contract from the Ministry of Women's Affairs to research material suitable to train entrepreneurial Maori women selected from their iwi, write the manual and work plan book, and train 20 women in 1991, and a further 30 in 1993. The skills and information has been transferred to these women and they in turn have trained others. All but a few have gone on to University or Training College. Many now have Masters and Diploma's.
Some are Consultants who travel throughout New Zealand, others have successful businesses, and for those who already had careers their promotion has been rapid. This has been a very successful programme, however the key to its success is the Structural Analysis training which permeates and weaves its way through the personal development section of the manual, the successful Maori women contracted to provide their expertise in their specialist field, and the Maori values and culture. I was determined that our women would have the very best Tutors in the country and I contracted in the very best Maori women for their specialist modules. I selected a non Maori women for 'Conflict Resolution', because we did not have anyone skilled amongst our own. This women is the best in the country. The proven success of this course lead the Government Task Force to recommend its use on a national scale, consequently the course has been taken over by another government agency, New Zealand Employment Service because of its success. I have bought my manual with me if people want to copy it.
New Zealand's education system required a radical change and I would like to quote an extract from "Freedom to Learn" by Carl Rogers to illustrate what I mean. It's called Facilitating Learning.
Teaching, in my estimation, is a vastly overrated function.
Teaching means 'to instruct'. Personally I am not much interested in instructing another in what he should know or think 'To impart knowledge or skill'. My reaction is, why not be more efficient, using a book or programmed learning? 'To make to know'. Here my hackles rise. I have no wish to make anyone know something. 'To show, guide, direct'. As I see it, too many people have been shown, guided, directed. So I come to the conclusion that I do mean what I said.
Teaching is, for me, a relatively unimportant and vastly overvalued activity. Why? I think it is because it raises all the wrong questions. As soon as we focus on teaching the question arises, what shall we teach? Are we really sure as to what they should know? Then there is the ridiculous question of coverage. What shall the course cover? This notion of coverage is based on the assumption that what is taught is what is learned: what is presented is what is assimilated. I know of no assumption so obviously untrue.
Teaching and the imparting of knowledge make sense in an unchanging environment. This is why it has been an unquestioned function for centuries. But if there is one truth about modern man, it is that he lives in an environment which is continually changing. The one thing I can be sure of is that the physics which is taught to the present day student will be outdated in a decade. The teaching in psychology will certainly be out of date in 20 years. The so-called 'facts of history' depend very largely upon the current mood and temper of the culture. Chemistry, biology, genetics, sociology, are in such flux that a firm statement made today will almost certainly be modified by the time the student gets around to using the knowledge.
We are, in my view, faced with an entirely new situation in education where the goal of education, if we are to survive, is the facilitation of change and learning. The only man who is educated is the man who has learned how to learn; the man who has learned to adapt to change; the man who has realised that no knowledge is secure, that only the process of seeking knowledge gives a basis for security. Changingness, a reliance on process rather than upon static knowledge, is the only thing that makes any sense as a goal for education in the modern world…
I see the facilitation of learning as the aim of education, the way in which we might develop the learning man, the way in which we can learn to live as individuals in process. I see the facilitation of learning as the function which may hold constructive, tentative, changing, process answers to some of the deepest perplexities which beset man today.
But do we know how to achieve this new goal in education? My answer is that we possess a very considerable knowledge of the conditions which encourage self-initiated, significant, experimental, 'gut-level' learning by the whole person. We do not frequently see these conditions put into effect because they mean a real revolution in our approach to education and revolutions are not for the timid.
We know - and I will briefly describe some of the evidence - that the initiation of such learning rests not upon the teaching skills of the leader, not upon his scholarly knowledge of the field, not upon his curricular planning, not upon his use of audiovisual aids, not upon the programmed learning he utilises, not upon his lectures and presentations, not upon an abundance of books, though each of these might at one time or another be utilised as an important resource. No! The facilitation of significant learning rests upon certain attitudinal qualities which exist in the personal relationship between the facilitator and the learner.
(Extract from Freedom to Learn, by Carl Rogers. Despite the sexist language in this extract, we have included it for the views it expresses.)
Traditionally, New Zealand's education system imparted information and teaching as if we had an unchanged environment. This is why it has been an unquestioned function for centuries, but in today's world that method did not educate children to become workers who could compete in the global market place.
New Zealand had to made radical changes and for Maori the best opportunity to equip themselves for the future. Maori took a stand in the late 70's and developed and maintained their Te Kohanga Reo (language nursery) on only $5000.00. The parents fundraised and bought equipment and resources. It is here where our future lies, here are future leaders, fluent in the reo from babies. We now have bilingual schools and Kura Kaupapa schools, where they are taught every subject in the reo. And I have Te Kura O Kokohuia on tape which I would like to show you. They have just received permission to go to the Seventh Form. Let me assure you it has been a battle all the way.
[Slides & Video]
I want to move towards the end of my speech and speak to you of the growth and positive aspects of Maoridom in health, education & training, and business.
At the beginning of my speech, I shared with you the emergence of the Whanganui Regional Employment Board, the planning, the strategies. Maori health has always been a concern, so the Board put its energies into setting up an Iwi Health Board Te Oranganui which provides services to three individual iwi groupings, Atihaunui apaparangi, Ngati Apa and Nga Rauru. It now has a medical centre, staffed with 5 doctors, a Practice nurse, Maori Health Workers, Maori Mental Health Workers, Maori Youth Workers, three receptionists. Te Oranganui employs more than 40 staff including administration. Very soon they will have their own Dentist and Pharmacy.
Te Rangakura is a bilingual Teacher Training Unit which is based at the local Polytechnic. The new education authority is the New Zealand Qualifications Authority which sets the standards which all education institutions and training establishments must attain.
The Maori educator Sonny Mikaere, who provided the training package had his course recognised and approved by NZQA before every other College of Education had their courses approved. However, it seems as if the fact that your are Maori means you have to work harder and provide more proof than others before approval is gained. Unlike traditional institutions, where students must show non Maori qualifications before gaining a place, at Rangakura the first requisite is that you speak the reo, secondly, have the approval of your Kaumatua and marae, third, most importantly your whanau support. The course is a three year diploma course. The quality and calibre of Te Rangakura students after graduating is so acclaimed that schools are vying with one another to attract them and most of the former students have been retained by the schools with whom they were first placed.
For the first 2 years before finally gaining approval the iwi paid the salaries of 3 teachers and an administration person. Even then the Ministry of Education failed to respond. Then the fight was on. The Iwi Trust Board Chairperson negotiated directly with the Minister and refused to accept any Ministry of Education proposal or compromise.
However, when Sonny Mikaere (Te Arawa Rotorua), first presented the curriculum to NZQA the objections flew thick and fast, from traditional educators and education interest groups. When it was finally approved and registration approval was required, there were 22 people from all kinds of educational institutions and education interest groups.
And to add insult to injury, Rangakura had to pay for all 22 to be accommodated and fed, and travel costs had to be paid as well. On gaining accreditation approval, 25 people attended and the same thing happened. Then the Ministry of Education half funded the course saying that it was a language course. Now they are fully funded.
One of the recurring themes in nearly all of the reports, research papers and numerous analysis of Maori achievement as evidenced from educational outcomes is" the failure of the school system as a whole to inspire Maori pupils to do better. (He Huarahi 1980) The under-achievement of Maori has been well documented over the past 20 years, and still the gap between Maori and Pakeha in achievement is considerable and continues to be a cause of concern.
Many aspects of the education system has been highlighted as contributing to under-achievement. Some of these apply to all underachievers, regardless of race, but the increasing rate of under-achievement among Maori children indicates they are especially affected.
Judith Simon would argue that this pattern of under-achievement began during the early missionary years, when Tupuna sought 'Pakeha ' style schooling, in the hope of gaining 'Pakeha wisdom'. and that it began to become more entrenched during the early years of the twentieth century, when schooling was perceived by the great majority of Maori, as a means to surviving and succeeding within a Pakeha dominated world.
The increasing deprivation of Maori over the generations not only resulted in high levels of dependency, but the Government in its good intentions, began to implement educational policies that were based in the concept of "assimilation". The underlying idea being the sooner the Maori and Pakeha became as Hobson oft quoted "one people", Maori people would be able to discard their traditional ways which were no longer relevant and be modernised. We would argue that Maori children have thus far been subjected for more than 100 years in an education system that has not only eroded their uniqueness and tangata-tiaki, but continues to socialise them out of their essential Maoriness.
The development challenge has been to find ways to rearticulate cultural knowledge beside an alternative professional philosophy.
We want our children to operate in both languages, at a level of sophistication that demands in-depth thinking, that demands critical analytical thinking conceptual development, that's what we want.
[slides & video]
Now that we've seen the slides and video of Te Rangakura, let me show you the next stage of Sonny Mikaere's conceptual vision about where Indigenous education should go. Sonny has already lectured in the countries outlined on the overhead and gained approval from those same nations. On 5 October Russell Marshall a former Minister of Education will present this education package to UNESCO. Sonny's material is here if you would like copies. He has given me permission to share his material.
Why should I choose to speak about, health, education, and training you might ask? Because it is in these industries, that Maori are being employed in larger numbers. Sadly we may have to lose a generation or two, because energies must be concentrated on the mokopuna, who are Te Kohanga Reo graduates, and the energies required to rescue, those whom the system has damaged, and continually rescue has to be weighed in the balance. There are many Maori like myself who started there and the questions I find myself asking are things like " Why, when we've put so much time and energy into our people, are the jails still full of our people?" "If what we've done has been so good, why, can't we reduce those numbers?" " Why are so many of our children in Social Welfare care?" I Know that's simplistic, and there are other deeper causes, as we continually treat the symptoms and not the cause. and that is why I say, we will have lost generations. I
Which is why I find it really strange that Government funded agencies like Community Employment Group find it difficult to see that bilingual Teacher training, health, and the associated health industries do employ people after they have completed quality training provided by our own. What is good for Maori is actually good for the whole country.
No issue has been more contentious in the politics for education than the demand by Maori people for TINO RANGATIRATANG, 'self determination', the right to make decisions which affect their destiny. And Maori are determined to take on the government, as they have done on particular issues, as my people did when they occupied Pakitore.
Before ending I would just like to show you parts of the Pakaitore 77 land occupation.
[video]
I would like to close my speech with this quote
To laugh often, to love much,
to win the respect of intelligent persons
and the affection of children
To earn the approbation of honest critics,
to endure the betrayal of false friends
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others
to give oneself to leave the world a bit betterWHETHER BY A HEALTHY CHILD
A GARDEN PATCH
OR A REDEEMED SOCIAL CONDITIONTo have played and laughed with enthusiasm
To know even one life has breathed easier
because you have livedTHAT IS TO HAVE SUCCEEDED!
It has been my pleasure to share this journey with you, I hope I have offered something meaningful to this conference, and I am happy to share any resource which may assist you.
No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa
Waiafa
© Copyright Permaculture Association of Western Australia Inc. and authors, 1997.