Under the leadership of our Commissioner and caucus of Māori staff, Te Rōpū, our office is embarking on a journey towards becoming a Te Tiriti based organisation.
We regard the honouring and embedding of te Tiriti o Waitangi as a core responsibility for our organisation. All of our strategic work incorporates a te ao Māori lens and all significant work is run through Te Rōpu.
Our advocacy has focused on progressing by Māori, for Māori approaches and enabling systems to make this happen. Our report Te Kuku o te Manawa is a key example of why by Māori, for Māori approaches are necessary.
Then-Assistant Māori Commissioner for Children Glenis Philip-Barbara launched Kaupapa Tiriti in March 2021, with a focus on embedding by Māori, for Māori approaches, a focus on advancing kaupapa Māori knowledge and supporting the growth of te reo Māori across the office.
There is a lot of journey left ahead, but we are all working towards the same goal: to reflect the true intention of te Tiriti o Waitangi in everything that we do.