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95 In this chapter we outline the barriers to accessing justice experienced by many Mäori women. These experiences have led Mäori women to perceive that the justice sector accords them little or no value. Disregard for Mäori cultural values by the justice sector and socio-economic disadvantage are viewed by Mäori women as significant barriers to accessing justice. We also outline their suggestions for change.8
96 Failure on the part of the justice sector to recognise
– access to information and
– access to legal services; and
is manifest in the negative experiences described by Mäori women. The consequence of such failure is that some Mäori women have little or no confidence in the justice system.
97 Why some Mäori women perceive they are accorded little or no value in the justice system and what the justice system should do to correct that perception are matters of fundamental importance. In chapter 1 we suggested that these matters result from:
98 The failure to acknowledge Mäori cultural values in justice sector processes is a systemic failure. There was an overwhelming sense of irritation and, indeed, anger expressed, at what the women perceived to be a widespread tendency by some non-Mäori to ignore the cultural values which differentiate Mäori from non-Mäori. Many of the agencies were perceived as unresponsive toward and dismissive of Mäori desire to participate in society as Mäori. It is those cultural values and practices, such as te reo Mäori, whakapapa, whänau and whenua which affirm Mäori cultural identity. For Mäori women, it is all these values and particularly the value of whänau from which their position in Mäori society is derived. Clearly, when all or any of those values are ignored, the effect is to reinforce Mäori women’s perceptions that they are not respected and are therefore of little value in the justice system.
99 We outline briefly some of the values which are important to Mäori women and to which they referred during the consultation hui.
100 Whakamä covers a wide range of feelings and causes. Whakamä describes feelings from shyness through embarrassment to shame and behaviour involving degrees of withdrawal and unresponsiveness. Mäori can become whakamä when they find themselves in a situation of uncertainty and confusion, when the right course is not clear, or when they feel they ought to know what is right but do not.9 They are unlikely to ask for help because that would be an admission that they do not know what to do. Mäori can also become whakamä if they perceive themselves as individuals to have lower status (Metge 1986, 120).
101 Whakamä is an affliction, a sickness which “strikes” people. It is a response to consciousness of fault; a prerequisite to the confession of wrongdoing and accompanies repentance. The whakamä felt by the guilty (and non-guilty) was recognised as part of their punishment, since it involved lowered self-esteem, depression and withdrawal from social interaction. In very mild cases the person afflicted with whakamä may come out of it on their own, but in most cases they need the help of others (Metge 1986, 94–98).
102 The importance of whakamä is that it is not just about shame but includes a sharing of guilt with other members of the whänau as well as re-integration into the community. As Mäori youth justice co-ordinators have identified, the importance of recognising and acknowledging the whole whänau’s whakamä cannot be underestimated. Co-ordinators have found that when a family group conference is held on the marae, in the presence of kuia, koroua and tupuna, the recognition by the young person of bringing whakamä on all of their ancestors and of sharing the shame is very potent. It is also important that the young person be aware of still remaining part of the whänau in spite of wrongdoing.
103 An example of a programme which positively deals with addressing whakamä is Te Whänau Äwhina, a programme in West Auckland for offenders which aims at addressing issues of unemployment, lack of self-worth and hopelessness to reintegrate offenders back into the community. The programme addresses issues such as raising self-esteem by offering a range of positive role models and support systems to enable Mäori to interact within their community. In the words of the local District Court judge, “young Mäori on the brink of a career in crime are brought back into the fold”. She also commented on the change in appearance and attitude of offenders when they returned to court. In her view, “they show pride and confidence, and are supported by a support system” (Smith and Cram 1998, 77).
104 The concept of whänaungatanga is derived from the verb whänau which means to “incline towards”. Whänaungatanga covers all relationships formed on the basis of descent (from a common ancestor) and marriage (with spouses and affines or in-laws). Whänaungatanga includes relationships within whänau and between whänau: it means holding and preserving the practices which knit and strengthen the bonds of the family in the hapü but also includes establishing and reinforcing bonds between individuals, whänau, hapü and iwi (Binney 1996, 27).10
105 The importance of whänau is that it is not just about western notions of the nuclear family but takes a wider view to include the wider community. Mäori women are far more likely than non-Mäori women to be living in households shared with relatives other than their immediate family. A study being conducted by Te Puni Kökiri has identified a high degree of co-operation among the different households that make up the whänau in terms of, for instance, financial support, food and childminding. The functions of whänau are usually described in broad terms as the management of group property, mutual support and the raising of children, and organising occasional gatherings or hui. However, these functions are informed by values of love, loyalty and mutual responsibility (Taiapa 1994, 7).
106 The importance of recognising that whänau is about community is demonstrated in West Auckland where Mäori of Te Whänau o Waipareira are not all linked by kinship and where most live outside the traditional territories of the tribes from which they are descended. The problems of this whänau could not be said to be common to all Mäori. Nor could the processes by which that whänau seeks to deal with its problems be processes which are common to all Mäori.
107 Court facilities, for example, are not designed to accommodate whänau, nor those who come to give support to whänau. A survey conducted by AC Nielsen McNair in 1997, across the criminal, family, civil and youth courts and the Disputes Tribunal, found that 25 percent of people attending the criminal court and 12 percent attending the youth court attended as whänau support.11
108 Attributing a narrow meaning to whänau as inclusive only of mother, father and children excludes broader family groupings and support relationships in the community. In New Zealand society today whänau is capable of incorporating groups wider than descent. In urban areas such groups typically comprise non-kin from a variety of backgrounds, both Mäori and Päkehä (Taiapa 1994, 6). For instance, Te Whänau o Waipareira is an organisation which provides not only support to families in need but a sense of whänau to urban Mäori of West Auckland.
109 A witness in the claim by Te Whänau o Waipareira told the Waitangi Tribunal:
Te Whänau o Waipareira is the oldest and most significant of all those organisations in West Auckland. . . . Whänau members comprise both Mäori and Päkehä committed to dealing with the situations of Mäori in West Auckland’s urban environment. This is what sets Waipareira apart from many other organisations in that it is very much family oriented in its approach to community matters and what concerns [its] members. The attitude was and still is a sense of responsibility for [its] members from birth to death. (Te Whänau o Waipareira Report, 33)
110 Mäori women acknowledged that some whänau are quite incapable of offering positive support to their members; some whänau do not function well. Those whänau in particular may require the support of the wider community, for instance, in the manner that Te Whänau o Waipareira offers support.
111 There is a great body of Mäori history, poetry and song that depends upon te reo Mäori (the Mäori language). A 1985 finding of the Waitangi Tribunal relating to te reo Mäori and the Wai 11 claim commented that if the language dies all of that will die and the culture of hundreds and hundreds of years will ultimately fade into oblivion (Waitangi Tribunal 1986, 12). It is in the area of Mäori language that the effects of assimilative policies are most obvious. Only 25 percent of Mäori women and 24 percent of Mäori men are able to converse in Mäori about everyday things (see figure 11 at para 213 for breakdown by age groups). As was observed by the Waitangi Tribunal:
The history of New Zealand is testimony to the fact that language is both divisive and unifying. English has always been seen by the British colonists as the language for unifying Mäori and Päkehä and Mäori the language that kept the two people apart. The unifying force of Mäori language among the Mäori – or for the nation – was seen as neither desirable nor necessary and consequently all past policies have forcibly or tacitly been directed at its demise. The devastating effects of language loss are reflected throughout Mäoridom today – grasping for an identity through language. Compounded by the effects of low socio-economic status, continuing under-achievement, unemployment, high criminal youth offending, the sense of “being Mäori” for most New Zealanders is completely negative. (Waitangi Tribunal 1986, 60)
112 But that is not to say that te reo Mäori is no longer of any value to Mäori. Rather, the contrary applies because, as the Tribunal went on to say, “te reo Mäori serves to restore an identity for people who see themselves as Mäori and want to be recognised as such” (Waitangi Tribunal 1986, 60). The limited or poor use of te reo Mäori was taken by many Mäori women to be an indication of the level of cultural awareness of those providing legal services. Poor pronunciation of Mäori names provided Mäori women with further evidence that system personnel did not respect them (Courts Consultative Committee 1991, 20–21).
113 At many of the hui held by the Law Commission the importance of land to Mäori was discussed. Traditionally, land incorporated cultural and spiritual identity, livelihood, social structure and values. As the Waitangi Tribunal noted in the Taranaki Report on the dispossession of Taranaki Mäori of their land, “people were relocated, land tenure was changed, and a whole new social order was imposed. The losses were physical, cultural, and spiritual” (Waitangi Tribunal 1996, 13). The Tribunal noted further:
Every nook and cranny of those lands was redolent with ancient history and meaning, and the silent land spoke loudly to them of their ancestors and their own dispossession. They were confronted by a new landscape, peopled by military settlers and grid-ironed with forts and redoubts. They had to contend with new layers of authority, exercised by local, provincial, and central government officials. All came to supplant the rangatiratanga of their chiefs, who were submerged by colonisation. (105)
114 Other writers have described the importance of whenua:
The land “te whenua” and women are the source of life and “te whenua” is the word used for the lining of the womb and the placenta which nourishes the foetus. The living community then, is born of women and nourished on the land. (Binney 1996, 26)
Land is the key to formulating a substantive and procedural Mäori succession policy because of its centrality in Mäori cultural practices and law. (Hohepa and Williams 1996, para 78)
115 The socio-economic position of Mäori women affects the circumstances in which they can access the justice system. The experiences of some Mäori women were that access was denied, for instance, when they needed its protection. The concerns raised by Mäori women relate to their needs for information about their legal rights, their inability to access information and legal services which may be due to legal language, the geographical distribution of services, and the costs involved in accessing those services. We show in chapter 4 that socio-economic disadvantage affects the quality of the interaction by Mäori women with the justice system.
116 A central need identified by Mäori women was for the provision of information and advice at an early stage to be able to make choices about their circumstances. They need to know what their rights and obligations are and need reliable information either to avoid or resolve their legal problems. The experiences of many Mäori women were that their needs were not met.
117 Research has found a strong correlation between socio-economic disadvantage and doing nothing about legal problems (National Council of Welfare 1995, 30). The Northern Law News reported last year that for Mäori living in small Northland communities, legal problems can fester for weeks and months. A trip to Whangarei to seek the help of a lawyer can involve more travel and legal expenses than many can afford, and, in any event, a legal office is a strange and daunting environment (Northern Law News 25, 10 July 1998, 1). To address the problem Te Tai Tokerau Community Legal Services Trust – funded by the Legal Services Board and with the assistance of practitioners throughout the district – is paying local residents to act as “outreach workers”, and provide a link between people with problems and the lawyers who can deal with them.12
118 Mäori women with legal problems identified the need for a range of different services from advice at community law centres, through mediation to help resolve issues, to representation by lawyers.
119 As identified in the Law Commission’s miscellaneous paper, Women’s Access to Legal Advice and Representation (NZLC MP9), the initial steps in the justice process of locating suitable legal service providers are problematic for some Mäori women. In their view, the information about where legal services are available is deficient. Moreover, there is little or no information about who is providing legal services. When cultural differences, financial constraints and a stressful problem are combined with lack of knowledge about who might be an appropriate legal service provider and where to find that service, if it exists at all, the ability of Mäori women to participate in the justice system is reduced. Conversely, their perception that the justice sector accords them little value is enhanced. And all this before any discussion over their problem occurs.
120 The affordability of legal advice and representation was a major concern of the women who attended the consultations. While women are aware that lawyers provide legal advice, many dismissed the idea of going to a lawyer in private practice because of the cost. Mäori households do not just have lower incomes, they also tend to have more members than non-Mäori households. Under these circumstances, Mäori are less likely than non-Mäori to be able to find the money to access the services offered by lawyers and other professionals. For Mäori women it is vitally important to know of the availability of other legal service providers.
121 Services were difficult to access where, for instance, the women did not have a telephone. The 1996 Census reveals that 16 percent of Mäori women reported not having a phone. Another 4 percent of households did not specify whether or not they had one. What this means, however, is that contacting the police, for example, could be problematic for a number of women.
122 Physical distance from justice sector services is a major problem, especially for women who live in rural areas. The 1996 Census reveals that 19 percent of Mäori women reported not having a car. Travel into centres to attend appointments to enforce or protect rights becomes more difficult. Transport costs were often more than some women could afford and so they would be unlikely to seek assistance from existing justice sector services.
123 Court facilities are not designed to accommodate mothers with young children who have no other adult support. The lack of child-care facilities at the courts for Mäori mothers who may be appearing in court, who have no child-care support nor any means to pay for child-care support, is yet another factor that heightens their perception that they are accorded little value in the justice system (see paras 195–196 for figures on Mäori women and dependents).
124 We discuss some attitudes within the justice sector which, by minimising the concerns of Mäori women, contribute to their perceptions that the justice sector accords them little value.
125 Justice sector institutions such as the Police, Department for Courts, Income Support Service and the Children and Young Persons Service exercise specific powers. The Police, for instance, are given powers to enforce the law. Officials within these institutions are perceived to be powerful because of the positions they occupy, the responsibilities they are called upon to discharge and the resources they have at their disposal (Thynne and Golding 1987, 10). It is essential that officials treat people in a dignified manner.
126 The attitude of courts administrators, in failing to have regard to the safety of Mäori women as victims of violence, has resulted in some women having to wait for a hearing in the same room as the offender or the offender’s family. The Law Commission’s telephone survey of court facilities indicated that 20 out of 59 courts had no separate waiting facilities for victims of violence. Thirty-nine courts had such facilities but they varied from use as a “police” room to use as the office of the victim support advisor. Some courts said that a room would be available but only if requested.
127 The New Zealand National Survey of Crime Victims showed most victims are satisfied with Police responses to their complaints but one in five is dissatisfied. Of these, Mäori are most dissatisfied. Victims’ satisfaction is mostly determined by the way Police present and communicate information by keeping victims informed, treating them with respect, showing interest and effort. Some Mäori women, victims of domestic violence, commented that they felt their concerns had been minimised by police officers with whom they dealt. Police have incorporated better service to victims as a fundamental component of police quality customer service training. Police will introduce new performance measures aimed at meeting these needs in the departmental forecast reports and in purchase agreements for 1998–1999 (Office of the Minister of Justice 1998, 3).
128 An example that attitudes in the justice sector needed changing was shown by the Police 2000 Strategy Group which, in Urupare Whitiki: Building Responsiveness to Mäori Strategy, recognised the necessity of improving their relationship with Mäori.
The future relationship of Mäori in New Zealand society and with the Police is fundamental to the Police strategy of reducing crime and the fear of crime, reducing injuries and deaths on the roads, and increasing satisfaction by the community with policing services. Police and Mäori need to form a much closer partnership to assist in achieving these goals. (Police 2000 Strategy Group 1997, 2)
129 According to the 1998 report to the Minister of Justice, Review of support services for victims of crime: Report of the Working Group, Mäori are less likely to report crime and as a consequence be less likely to be referred to services by Police. Improving perceptions of Police by building relationships with Mäori women may assist in increasing the rate of reporting and as a result access to support services (Office of the Minister of Justice 1998, 4).
130 A good deal of Police Youth Aid work is positive work in the community. Some Youth Justice co-ordinators are joining with police in community projects. For example, some Youth Justice co-ordinators developed a programme in conjunction with the Police, working in the schools, which takes young people through the whole process of the youth justice system: from arrest to court, family group conference, then outcomes, possibly back to court (Levine et al 1998, 14).
131 Another example of changing attitudes within the justice sector is where the judiciary in Hamilton instigated a positive initiative to ensure Mäori community service providers are comfortable about making representations to the court on behalf of offenders. The Community Programme Sentence was seen as being sufficiently flexible to creatively respond to an offender’s needs and draw on Mäori community strength (Te Puni Kökiri, “The Community Programme Sentence”, 1997, 17).
132 Where mutual respect between Mäori women and justice sector personnel was evident, many women felt able to participate positively in the justice system. The way in which people are treated by law enforcement personnel may be of particular importance in enhancing or diminishing a sense of legitimacy. Legitimacy is closely linked to the concept of justice. (Burnside and Maher 1994, 61). It is about those in authority acting in accordance with the shared values of the society in question.
133 The theme of system failure recurs too frequently in the experiences of Mäori women to be lightly dismissed. It is because the justice system fails to be responsive to their needs that they perceive they are of little value. Moreover, it is that failure which effectively reduces the ability of Mäori women to participate in the justice system.
134 Domestic violence, which affects many Mäori women and their children, provides a chilling example of the importance of meeting their needs. One of the potential consequences of the justice sector failing to address their specific needs is that many women spoke of preferring to live with violence rather than deal with a system that they perceived exacerbated their own feelings of little value. It is altogether unacceptable that some Mäori women feel that living with domestic violence is their only option. Another element is that the children of these relationships are being exposed to such violence. Both elements must be addressed. The consequence of the women and therefore the children being imprisoned in violent relationships is that the children are at risk of joining those who are the current and potential future adverse social statistics (Denny 1993).
135 To equate material poverty with poverty of spirit is to mistake the strength of Mäori women. Many Mäori women attending the consultation hui do not accept as inevitable their inability to participate in the justice system. Quite the contrary: they were motivated to improve their access to justice. While over-represented in low income brackets, over-represented as victims of domestic violence, and over-represented among the ranks of the unemployed (see para 192), it is clear from the consultation process that they had considered the kinds of changes needed in the justice sector to enable them to participate more positively. They are dynamic women; they wish to be more than passive objects of the process.
136 They therefore recommended changes which they believe will assist the justice sector to be more effective and responsive. Some of their suggestions have already been discussed in earlier Law Commission miscellaneous papers on women’s access to justice.
137 In this section we discuss some specific suggestions made by Mäori women aimed at improving justice sector delivery of services (see also chapter 6 where we discuss Treaty principles as a guide to policy development). They include:
– recruitment of Mäori in the justice sector; and
– training in the justice sector;
– the option of services by Mäori for Mäori, and
– community-based services.
138 Recognition of Mäori values and their implementation is an indicator that the law and its processes acknowledge and respect Mäori. Changes are required, for example, to the way in which hearings are conducted to take account of Mäori values in court protocols. The Institute of Judicial Studies is developing strategies to deal with these issues in consultation with judges. We have discussed earlier in this chapter some of the values that are important to Mäori women because they enable Mäori to participate as Mäori.
139 The Law Commission’s forthcoming paper on Mäori custom law will address some underlying values and significant concepts of tikanga Mäori which affect major areas of law and policy. It will be addressed to judges, decision makers and policy makers who are responsible for shaping the future of New Zealand law.
140 Mäori women recommended that more Mäori personnel be appointed at all levels of the justice system. They were acutely aware that Mäori are under-represented in the police force, judiciary and legal profession. Mäori have traditionally been under-represented in the institutions which have made and applied law in New Zealand and of course this is even more so in the case of Mäori women.13 The first Mäori woman member of Parliament, Iriaki Ratana, was not elected until 1949 and the first Mäori woman Cabinet Minister, Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan, was not appointed until 1972. The first Mäori woman lawyer, Georgina Te Heuheu (now the Minister of Courts and Women’s Affairs), was admitted to the Bar in 1971. Currently, according to figures provided by the New Zealand Law Society, approximately 3 percent of lawyers are Mäori.
141 The value in employing quality Mäori personnel is recognised by institutions in the justice sector. A recent report to the Crime Prevention Unit on counselling for families of murder victims although, not focused specifically on Mäori women, noted the importance of ensuring Mäori workers were available to assist Mäori people through the process because of the different ways in which Mäori viewed death and the different practices in dealing with death (Maxwell and Shepherd 1998, 84–85).
142 Although most Mäori court users were satisfied with the service provided by court staff and few felt that court services were not responsive to Mäori, those interviewed identified an increased Mäori presence in the courts (in particular, Mäori staff and judges) as the primary way in which courts could be made more Mäori friendly. They also saw scope for more Mäori protocol, more understandable language in the courts and for staff to show a better understanding of Mäori language and culture. (Department for Courts 1998, 22)
143 For many Mäori women, while a first step to improve the justice sector’s services is the recruitment of more Mäori, being Mäori does not by itself guarantee an understanding of Mäori values (tikanga). What is sought is a quality Mäori service capable of providing a responsive and effective service.
144 Mäori women suggested that the development of training programmes for justice sector personnel at all levels was essential. Dealing with the public and with cultural issues were identified as fundamental skills for justice sector personnel.
145 Development of communication skills across the justice sector was seen as a key element of training. Lawyers for instance, currently receive very little training in communication skills and are not adequately prepared for client interaction. The New Zealand university law degree courses generally have little focus on skills-based training. The Institute of Professional Legal Studies Course, a 13-week course which lawyers must complete before they can be admitted to practice, has recently submitted a proposal to the Law Foundation for funding to review the Institute’s course materials. This review would aim to develop and implement materials promoting:
Similar initiatives are being developed by the Institute of Judicial Studies.
146 Legal information may be defined as general information about the law, legal services and legal processes (see also paras 116 and 117). It is clear that where legal information is obtained is just as important for Mäori women as how it is conveyed. Mäori women prefer to seek advice through informal contacts (including Mäori service providers, community law centres, and agencies crossing a variety of portfolios such as social welfare and health) than through lawyers. The environment in which lawyers practice and the language they use, only serves to heighten Mäori women’s experience of being of little value within the justice sector.
147 Although at the time of our consultation, information technology had not assumed its current prominence, Mäori women expressed concern at inadequate access to information and advice. It is useful to consider the possibilities of information technology in considering how access to justice can be better secured. A strategic approach to the provision of electronic legal information and services within the justice system must be considered.
Legal guidance, legal knowledge, legal expertise and legal experience may gradually be available on the internet, offering non-lawyers (individuals and organisations, for social and business purposes) access to structured, practical guidance on legal affairs. (Susskind 1998)
148 Marae, community law centres and service providers may be used as potential centres for distance learning, advice, guidance and communication. A recent White Paper by the Lord Chancellor in the United Kingdom called “Modernising Justice”, proposed, for example, the establishment of a community legal service website offering legal advice.
149 The prospect is evolving of installing computer terminals, with one or two qualified persons to operate them, at remote marae or court houses to enable someone with a difficult and immediate legal problem to seek advice from a community law centre at a distance. It will not be too long before cameras are regularly linked to computers so that video conferencing is readily available, either within the court system or for advisers. Those who are currently disadvantaged within the system because they live at a distance should be able to make use of the computer technology to obtain good legal advice and to initiate, where necessary, proceedings to enforce rights. The concept will doubtless involve an immediate capital expenditure which, if the resource is used properly, may result in long term savings through the ability of people to gain access to the justice system more quickly and efficiently. It presents a challenge to Mäori, the New Zealand Law Society, community law centres, Citizen’s Advice Bureaux, and commercial and other potential suppliers of legal information, including the Crown.
150 Another aspect of information technology is the capacity to file documents electronically as now occurs in the US Federal Bankruptcy Court in South Manhattan. If that were done, it would be possible to have only a small number of centres where court documents are actually filed. The judge in each centre could deal with the applications that are made through computerised means; including the use of video conferencing. Where it became necessary for a face-to-face hearing to take place a judge could be rostered to hear the case at a courthouse which, otherwise, may need little in the way of permanent staff.
151 These techniques can also be used both to obtain better access to information and also to educate. Indeed, the National Trust of Köhanga Reo has set up a network of electronic communication by installing 600 terminals in köhanga throughout the country. The trust has a programme of training two persons to use the system at every köhanga. The köhanga have access to unlimited internet connections. When these facilities are already used for educational functions it is appropriate to consider the scope of the use of such technology, as often the benefits will cross a variety of portfolios (for example, education, health, justice, courts).
152 The recommendations of Mäori women went beyond simply involving more Mäori in the provision of services. Because Mäori women have found services to be unresponsive and ineffectual they recommended the option of services provided by Mäori for Mäori. Such services could advise Mäori women and their whänau about issues such as drug and alcohol addiction, anger management, domestic violence and sexual abuse.
153 The women also referred to the need for paid Mäori advocates to assist Mäori through court and rehabilitation processes. The women envisaged that such advocates would have some knowledge of the law, legal processes and an understanding of cultural values.
154 Community-based services include community law centres and community service providers. Mäori women recommended establishing more community-based services, particularly community law centres where local networks were valued. There are now 19 community law centres in New Zealand. However the following areas are not catered for: all of Northland, Gisborne and East Cape, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Manawatu, Nelson and Golden Bay, Timaru and Oamaru, West Coast and Buller. Moreover, where there are community law centres, the centre is often responsible for a very large geographical area. For example, the Hamilton Community Law Centre is responsible for the area from the Bombay Hills to National Park, Te Aroha, Morrinsville to Raglan and Kawhia and also takes in Putaruru, Tirau and Tokoroa (Law Commission NZLC MP9, 35).
155 Community law centres already make extensive use of community workers with legal experience and knowledge to provide legal information and advice as well as other information related to clients’ situations. A number of community law centres – resources permitting – are already providing or are planning training for community workers so that the demand for law-related information and advice in the community can be better met.
156 Mäori women, although acknowledging that Mäori processes in accordance with tikanga were desirable, queried how such processes might be developed and monitored. The Community Probation Service, for instance, in seeking to be responsive to the needs of Mäori has attempted to integrate responsiveness to Mäori into its internal systems, processes and structures. The Hamilton Community Programme pilot with Maatua Whangai “has empowered the local Mäori community and acknowledged the general preference of Mäori consumers for services delivered by Mäori for Mäori” (Te Puni Kökiri, “The Community Programme Sentence”, 1997, 5). This has been done by a combination of factors including involving whänau, hapü and the wider Mäori community in the implementation and delivery of programmes and by integrating strong Mäori values and concepts into the programmes.
157 The aim of having a workforce in the justice system within which Mäori, including Mäori women, are participating at all levels and in all areas was suggested by the women during the consultation hui. Workforce development should allow for new categories of workers who may have particular attributes, not found among conventional professions, but closely linked to networking within Mäori communities, cultural skills, and acceptance by a community group as a go-between.
158 Better resourcing for Mäori service providers was a frequent recommendation. In the recent inter-departmental “Responses to Offending by Mäori” officials noted that
the success of programmes has been contingent on reliable funding, and development according to the needs and resources of the local community . . . the Responses to Offending by Mäori [ROBM] work programme has highlighted the scarcity of these types of programmes and the lack of a planned approach in the criminal justice sector to developing existing and potential providers to develop and deliver these types of programmes. This, together with the financial vulnerability of Mäori providers suggests that Mäori provider development may assist with the continued and increased provision of services that are responsive to the needs of Mäori offenders and victims. (Memorandum to Cabinet Health and Social Policy Committee, 5).
159 The Whänau o Waipareira Trust has found that while Mäori communities generally are short of cash as well as management and other formal skills, they are rich in voluntary, unskilled labour – especially that of Mäori women. But promoting the continued reliance of Mäori service delivery upon the untrained labour of volunteers is seen as counterproductive. Rather, it would be to the benefit of all Mäori and for New Zealand as a whole for an increasing number of Mäori community workers to be trained and paid for their work (Waitangi Tribunal, Te Whänau o Waipareira, 1998, 193–194).
160 What Mäori women have told us reflects their views that as a consequence of their cultural values being disregarded, in combination with socio-economic disadvantage, they experience significant barriers to accessing the justice system. Some no longer have confidence in the justice sector at all. Many recommended change.
161 Some of the women’s suggestions to develop effective and responsive services have been or are being implemented by some agencies, particularly as regards Mäori staff and even as regards the provision of services by Mäori for Mäori. We have also discussed further suggestions for change with government agencies. The responses by agencies, which were positive, are discussed in chapters 5 and 6.
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