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362 We stated at the outset of this report that two fundamental changes are required for positive outcomes in the social, economic and justice environment for Mäori women.
363 First, the causes and consequences of disregarding the cultural values and socio-economic disadvantage of Mäori women must be understood by agencies and the wider community. Such understanding is imperative for the needs and values of Mäori women to be met by relevant policy makers and responsive services delivered. For example, the high representation of Mäori women among victims of domestic violence means that Mäori women can be expected to be high users of services such as the Children and Young Persons Service and the health services. Many of these women are mothers of children. The effects of abuse in the family – whether physical, sexual or emotional – are likely to lead to children not coping at school, dropping out and a predisposition to teenage parenthood and crime (Denny 1993).
364 Secondly, there must be support for strategies which foster participation by Mäori and particularly Mäori women. Strategies must provide for processes of joint policy formulation and assist Mäori women to develop structural and organisational capability so that they themselves can participate in service delivery. Mäori women wish to participate in the justice system, not only as users, but as providers and professionals.
365 In this chapter we propose principles for change based on the Treaty of Waitangi. The principles we suggest should be viewed as a guide to justice sector agencies, to assist them to be effective in meeting Mäori women’s needs and values.
366 In chapter 1 we identified three principles of the Treaty which we see as particularly relevant to this report. The principles are those of partnership, options, and participation. In summary, these principles delineate a position where the Crown as Treaty partner respects the rangatiratanga of its Treaty partner, and enables Mäori to choose whether to use services based on tikanga, or within the mainstream, or a combination of both. The principles provide where practicable for co-operative policy development and decision-making by both Treaty partners and for Mäori participation in processes of policy design and service delivery.
367 In light of those principles, the aim of this report is to suggest strategies by which state agencies may best promote justice for Mäori women. The key components are:
368 To assist state agencies in the vital task of assessing present and future efforts for their effectiveness for Mäori women, the report identifies three broad means of measuring effectiveness. Distilled from the Treaty principles, the measures are:
369 A co-operative approach reflects the Treaty principle of partnership. Essentially it underlines the importance of Mäori, including Mäori women, and agencies working together to achieve the best outcomes for Mäori women. We are aware of only one example in the justice sector where an agency is working in partnership with Mäori to provide services to Mäori.
370 An example of partnership in the justice sector is between Mäori women’s refuges and their local police and family violence networks. Workers from these refuges are called out by the police to support women following the arrest of their assailant and provide support to the victim unless the victim indicates that support is not required. Generally, police experience suggests that where no support is not apparent a victim – often due to the trauma of the incident – will not request it. Without proper support, the effects and trauma of a violent incident will not properly be dealt with. It is therefore important that Mäori women’s refuges and the police work closely together to ensure that timely and appropriate support is provided to Mäori women where there is domestic violence.
371 We are aware of funding to Mäori providers who enter into contracts with agencies for the delivery of services. The prescription for the services, however, and their priority, are generally determined by the agency.27 In the Te Whänau O Waipareira Report, the Waitangi Tribunal stated that the principle of partnership
is not for the purpose of requiring particular contracts, though it is relevant to contract formation, but it defines the relationship between Mäori and the Crown in all areas of endeavour. This relationship recognises their separate status but with enduring obligations to each other, and it defines appropriate conduct in their dealings, to act towards each other with the utmost good faith . . . (216)
372 The Tribunal went on to find that partnerships should be developed between the Crown and Mäori communities and should not be limited to traditional iwi authorities. The co-operative approach to developing partnerships underpins the key strategies of consultation and shared decision making about the services which will improve the lives of the people. It also emphasises the mutual recognition of cultural differences and the importance of involving the Mäori community in the planning, design, implementation and delivery of programmes and strategies.28
373 An example of a partnership model in education between the Mäori community and schools is the Tu Tangata programme, a programme focused mainly on primary schools and colleges in the Central North Island, Wellington and East Coast. This programme was started at Parkway College, Wainuiomata in 1996 by the local community, including many Mäori women who had previously been involved in setting up the local köhanga reo. The programme is aimed at supporting children to learn and parents to teach by using a paid community workforce to attend at the schools every day. The Tu Tangata teams support teaching personnel and focus on the needs of young students to encourage learning. They monitor student behaviour and progress, and identify where difficulties lie. They support family group conferences (when required), school trips, sports activities and home liaison. According to the programme’s 1998 Handbook, Bringing Lifeskills into the Classroom, schools with Tu Tangata teams are reporting:
374 There is no government policy for this initiative. All communities where the programme operates have had to contribute their own time and seek out resources themselves (Bringing Lifeskills into the Classroom, 22). The programme exists for all students, not just Mäori.
375 An example of partnership in health was the Mäori Co-Purchasing Units (MAPO) established by the Northern Regional Health Authority in 1992 (the Northern Regional Health Authority has since been replaced by the Health Funding Agency 1998). There are three MAPOs which were responsible for prioritising Mäori health within the core business activity of North Health. The MAPOs shared responsibility with North Health for the selection, funding, and development of services and providers in the North Health region from Waiuku in the south to Cape Reinga.
376 Each MAPO was established using grants from the Transitional Assistance Grants Scheme (TAGS) operated by the Ministry of Health. Each MAPO owned its own premises within its own locality. The co-purchasing strategy took place at two levels to ensure that the MAPOs not only had the right to provide strategic advice, but also that they participated fully in its implementation. The two levels were governance and operational management. In respect of governance, the MAPO Board developed and approved policies and guidelines to govern the operational practice of North Health and individual MAPOs for the benefit of the regional Mäori population.
377 The MAPO team shared joint responsibility for co-purchasing and co-monitoring service contracts with North Health purchasing teams. Full and comprehensive integration by MAPO into North Health core business activity meant regular attendance at North Health team meetings and participation in decision-making in relation to Mäori health. The fundamental effect of the co-purchasing strategy was to let Mäori make decisions concerning Mäori health care and how best to improve its status. Thus MAPO are able to advise the Health Funding Agency on both Mäori health priorities for the local Mäori population, and on the Mäori service providers who are able to provide safe and effective health services which meet the needs of Mäori. MAPOs can give further advice to other mainstream providers in the delivery of their services to Mäori.
378 The relationship of MAPO with the Health Funding Agency is an example of partnership and active participation. MAPO are able to work with Mäori communities to develop services in primary health care and advise mainstream health services on how to respond to the needs of Mäori.
379 The Treaty principle of options suggests that Mäori women should be able to access mainstream services if they wish, or opt for accessing services provided by Mäori institutions, or some combination of both. Provision of choice requires a range of service options both the provision of mainstream services which are responsive to Mäori and services for Mäori by Mäori. There should be no presumption that all Mäori women will wish to access a particular type of service.
380 In respect of educational qualifications, Mäori women are more disadvantaged than Mäori men (see para 191), therefore there is a need for more specific options which respond to the educational needs of Mäori women. In Progress Towards Closing Social and Economic Gaps Between Mäori and non-Mäori, Te Puni Kökiri notes that despite the decline in Mäori fertility since 1960, pregnancy among Mäori teenagers remains high relative to non-Mäori (Te Puni Kokiri 1998, 23). There is a need for options which address both the educational needs of Mäori women and their children. Twenty percent of young New Zealanders are at risk of falling out of the education system (Denny 1993). That, in our view attests to the aptness of empowering communities to achieve their aspirations having regard to their own perceptions of what is relevant to their needs (Te Whänau o Waipareira Report, 218).
381 An example of a community-based strategy providing an option for Mäori women is He Huarahi Tamariki (A Chance for Children), a comprehensive education facility operating in Porirua for students who are teenage parents. It is the only school in the country for teenage parents, all of whom had been lost to the education system. The school is multi-cultural and provides breakfast, lunch and transport to its students and their children. The school has recognised the importance of providing comprehensive services which support the students and enable them to focus on their studies. Just over half of the roll is Mäori but all of New Zealand’s major ethnic groups are represented including Chinese and Indian. The current roll is 49 students who have responsibility for 115 children. There is a waiting list for 1999 of young parents and the school has had to turn away young people who are not parents but who have been seeking an education system to which they can relate.
382 The school is staffed by a full-time teacher-in-charge, a part-time teacher from Porirua College, two part-time assistants funded by the Crime Prevention Unit and six part-time volunteers. The school has close links with (and liaison among) the government welfare agencies, health services and early childhood services. It operates a medical and dental fund and has links to legal services and to private social services. It is a full service school which is giving a chance to its teenage students and their children to achieve and realise their potential in life. All funding for equipment, food and transport has to be raised from Trusts, service clubs and through speaking engagements because there is currently no government policy for such an initiative (“He Huarahi Tamariki (A Chance for Children) Information Sheet”, 15 October 1998). It is treated by the Ministry of Education as just another class at Porirua College. There is no recognition that the students have responsibilities as parents nor is there any special funding.
383 Examples which exist in the criminal justice sector are Project Turnaround and Te Whänau Äwhina.29 Te Whänau Äwhina, in the use it makes of diversion options30 and in balancing the needs of the individual offender with the nature of the offence, referred offenders, 93 percent of whom were Mäori, to either marae-based programmes or programmes that catered for Mäori clients.
384 The Matua Whangai programme in Hamilton evolved into the community taking responsibility for the well-being of Mäori offenders through processes and practices consistent with kaupapa Mäori. The programme recognised the importance of dealing with an offender in a holistic way which met their needs. Mäori service providers stressed that it is preferable to provide a range of support services through one central provider, and in that way adopt an integrated approach to the offender’s needs (“The Community Programme Sentence” 1997, 15 and 18).
385 Participation is a means by which Mäori women can achieve positive development. Positive development means strategies through which Mäori women themselves can improve their access to legal and associated social services. They include:
386 Strategic result area 6(iii) requires agencies in the justice sector to foster positive participation by Mäori in the criminal justice system with the objective of reducing the impact of crime by Mäori in terms of offending and victimisation. We are aware of several strategies which are actively supporting this principle in the criminal justice area: Project Turnaround, Te Whänau Äwhina, The Community Programme in Hamilton, Bicultural Therapy Model, Mahi Tahi (New Life Akoranga programme in prisons), and Mäori Focus Unit at Hawkes Bay Regional Prison.
387 The community programme sentence (known as the community care sentence before it was renamed by the Criminal Justice Amendment Act 1993), provides an alternative to imprisonment and is a working example of Mäori participation in the justice service sector. The Criminal Justice Act 1985 provides for the sentencing of offenders convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment, to a programme for a period not exceeding 12 months. A “programme” is defined by s 2 of the Act as one or more of the following:
(a) Attendance on some form of continuing basis at one or more medical, social, therapeutic, educational, or rehabilitative amenities:
(b) Placement within programmes such as Maatua Whangai:
(c) Placement in the care of members of an appropriate ethnic group, such as a tribe (iwi), a subtribe (hapü), an extended family (whänau), or marae, or in the care of any particular member or members of any such group, such as an elder (kaumätua):
(d) Placement in the care of members of an appropriate religious group, such as a church or religious order, or in the care of any particular member or members of any such group:
(e) Placement in the care of any other person or persons or of any agency:
388 The Community Corrections Manual contains policies and procedures for the management of the centres of community programmes. The purpose of those programmes as contained in the Manual
is to provide the Court with an integrative and/or rehabilitative sentence, predominantly for medium-risk clients. It places the client in a positive, beneficial and supportive environment which will contribute to reduction in re-offending.
389 The Hamilton Community Probation Service has had to grapple with the most effective way of facilitating and empowering Mäori community involvement and participation (“The Community Programme Sentence” 1997, 6). A review was conducted by Te Puni Kökiri in 1997 of the practices of the Hamilton office. The Community Programme process enabled Matua Whangai workers in Hamilton to work with the wider Mäori community to integrate the Mäori offender’s needs with the collective responsibilities of the Mäori community. The judiciary have direct contact and communication with Matua Whangai, Mäori offenders, the community and the Department of Corrections. When Judge Rota in the Hamilton District Court considered the option of a community based sentence, he advised the review group that he assessed:
(a) the capacity of the community group to meet the offender’s needs;
(b) whether the community group was adequately resourced to meet the offender’s needs;
(c) the likelihood of getting a positive result from the community based programme;
(d) whether the proposal met the ends of justice in relation to deterrence, reparation and education. (“The Community Programme Sentence”, 1997, 6)
390 The report of the TPK review group advised that Mäori community service providers were comfortable about making representations to the court on behalf of offenders and that the judges in the Hamilton District Court often ask Matua Whangai workers to speak on relevant issues, either in the court or in judges’ chambers. The judges support appropriate cultural practices in the court, for example, the use of karakia and waiata. The report refers to the judges’ trust and confidence in community correction:
One of the positive aspects of the current arrangements was the ease with which whänau and community representatives could participate in the judicial decision-making processes, and were encouraged to participate. This is not a consistent approach across justice sector agencies. (“The Community Programme Sentence”, 1997, 6)
391 The report referred to a survey of police responsiveness to Mäori in the case resolution process. The survey showed that some police had difficulty accepting the view that Mäori offenders had whänau members who were interested in their well-being. That whänau should be advised and consulted about the circumstances of their arrest or detention of a member went similarly unrecognised.
392 In summary, the community programme sentence provides plans which:
393 The community programme sentence has sought to involve whänau, hapü and the wider Mäori community in the design and delivery of programmes and strategies to reduce offending by Mäori (“The Community Programme Sentence” 1997, 5). A positive aspect of its approach which has gained the support of the local judiciary is to have
effectively moved from a position of “controlling” Mäori offenders, to facilitating and empowering the Mäori community to take increased responsibility for members of their own community in a way which is consistent with their own norms and values. (33)
394 Research in the 1988 report to the Minister of Justice, Review of support services for victims of crime: Report of the Working Group, shows that Mäori are more often repeat victims of violence, are less aware of services, and rely more on whänau for support (Office of the Minister of Justice 1988, 4). While there may be a number of reasons for that reliance on whänau,31 research also suggests that Mäori are less likely to report crime and as a consequence are less likely to be referred to services by police. Improving perceptions of police by improving community liaison may assist in increasing the rate of reporting and as a result access to support services.
395 The aim of having a representative workforce within which Mäori, including Mäori women, are participating at all levels and in all areas was suggested by the women during the consultation hui (see paras 140 and 152). Such 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.
396 The role of probation officers liaising with Matua Whangai is described:
They facilitate community involvement and provide information and support. Probation officers are available to offer training to new Mäori providers and to engage the community in working with offenders. (Crime Prevention Unit 1998, 19)
397 As observed by the Waitangi Tribunal in the Te Whänau O Waipareira Report:
[W]ork is urgently required to develop methodologies for social impact assessment of welfare policies ... and that these must be applied to assess the performance of welfare funders and providers in the achievement of social goals. Such an assessment should also identify any problems caused by a lack of co-ordination between Government departments, especially in the aftermath of the Public Finance Act and the restructuring of the State sector. The department and the agency acknowledged at the hearings that they have an important co-ordinating role to improve social service planning. They must ensure that Mäori are not prejudiced by the lack of co-ordination. Perhaps most importantly, public reporting of information from such assessments would provide a basis for monitoring of Crown actions by Mäori that would better reflect the co-operative, interactive nature of Treaty partnership. (232)
The following are proposals which in our view are the minimum requirements to encourage participation and ensure the effectiveness of services.
398 In respect of family violence, justice sector services are co-ordinated among the Police, Department for Courts, Department of Corrections and the Ministry of Justice. These agencies are part of the Family Violence Focus Group, which has produced such documents as the Government Statement of Policy on Family Violence and the Good Practice Guidelines for the Co-ordination of Family Violence Services. In the past year, the group has also met several times with representatives from all the community groups who are involved in family violence in one way or another.
399 At the local level there are a total of 35 family violence networks around New Zealand. Like their national counterpart, these meet on a regular basis to deal with issues arising from their work. For instance, in the South Auckland area, the local network meets monthly. The membership consists of many organisations such as the Police, Courts, Community Corrections, CYPS, Women’s Refuge, Victim Support, Stopping Violence Services, Baptist Family Services, Elder Abuse (Mäori Services), Health, Safer City, Te Whare Äwhina, Barnados and the Community Law Centre.
400 Research shows that many factors are characteristic of an intention to commit violent behaviour in the future (Busch 1992, 176). Such factors include recent violence, actual or threatened loss of a central love relationship, recent substance abuse, as well as evidence of an intention to harm a partner or ex-partner. The police have introduced a family violence database which records the details of offences and incidents that they attend. Over 30,000 entries are made to this database each year. It is available to members of the police throughout New Zealand and provides them with information, in the event they are called to attend to the same victim, offender, or address again.
401 It is now the practice for police at every call out to tell the victim that a women’s support group will be contacted on her behalf immediately. The police may even transport the victim to that group. While the police acknowledge that they may apply for a protection order, for instance on behalf of a reluctant victim, they have in the past experienced public criticism for having taken such action. They favour instead ensuring that the victim receives early and then continuing support from an organisation such as Women’s Refuge.
402 The police currently record a variety of information about each family violence offence or incident attended on to a family violence report. Much of the information from this report is entered in the family violence database. The information is shared with the agency providing the support to the victim and is usually received within 24 hours of the offence or incident occurring. Information is also provided to the court staff who work as victim advisors.
403 An inter-departmental working party is looking at the commonality of information and the sharing of information across government agencies in the justice sector, particularly in ensuring that the departments all have the same definitions. There is another working party currently looking at sharing information within the justice and health sectors.
404 The cross-agency Strengthening Families Strategy is aimed at improving the life outcomes of children in families at risk. Local co-ordination of services to these families to provide a more effective seamless service, is central to the Strategy. This initiative started with government health, education and welfare services but now includes housing, police and justice sectors. A total of 11 departments are now involved in the initiative. The aim is to promote inter-agency co-operation within communities by providing a collaborative seamless service to families at risk using a lead agency model.
405 The fundamental premise of the Strategy is, once again, that families are the best institutions for caring for children and making decisions about their well-being. The overall aim of the strategy is to ensure that government interventions enhance the capacity of families to carry out their responsibilities and have a significant impact on outcomes for children and young people.
406 Youth Aid Officers from the police and Youth Justice Co-ordinators from CYPS agree that interagency co-operation is fundamental to the success of the youth justice system. Time spent together helped to develop a shared philosophy of youth justice, good interpersonal relationships and, most importantly, trust. These elements made possible a respect for each others’ work, opinions and overall input to the youth justice system (Levine et al 1998, 12).
407 It is clear that the justice sector must build structured relationships with Mäori women’s groups and Mäori communities. The Police 2000 Strategy Group, for instance, recognise in Urupare Whitiki: Build Responsiveness to Mäori Strategy that:
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. (2)
As noted earlier (see paras 129 and 394) Mäori are less likely to report crime and, as a consequence, are less likely to be referred to services by police. Improving perceptions of police is critical.
408 While we have not categorised the perceptions of Mäori women by age, the Department for Youth Affairs highlighted the importance of identifying specific needs for young people, including young Mäori women, to ensure effective programme development. Those needs have been recognised in the Commonwealth Youth Programme because young people:
For all young people it is necessary to have an enhancement component where experiences in the four social environments – family (whänau), peer group (tuakana/teina), school (wänanga), and the neighbourhood or community (iwi/hapü) – combine to facilitate young people reaching their full potential .
409 Young people who are “at risk” can be described as those that have experienced a level of failure or breakdown in any of their social environments. According to “Getting Heard: a case study of community involvement with ‘at risk’ secondary school students”, the degree to which young people are at risk can be measured by the number of social environments they are disconnected from (Martin, unpublished, 1998).
410 Three of the four social environments in a young person’s life are directly linked to and controlled by adults. When these break down young people are not just alienated from the adult sphere but they also potentially lose access into the adult world. The extent of this break down will determine the level of reliance on their peer group for support and approval. Youth development programmes can be designed for young people as individuals but they would probably be better if they involved the individuals and their peer group. Building on the concepts of tuakana/teina may be very fruitful for young women because they recognise the influence of peer group, leadership, role models and mentoring.
411 The loss of value afforded to many Mäori women has occurred through a loss of access to their own community compounded by an inability to participate in the wider society. We believe that, Mäori women as a community must be given the opportunity to redress those impacts in their own way:
Our struggle as Mäori women is our own struggle. To lose control of that struggle is to lose control of our lives. We are not in a position therefore to simply endorse or graft on to the projects of white women. We have to develop according to the reality and logic of our lives. (Whiu, unpublished 1994, 7)
412 Some programmes for Mäori (as distinct from programmes specifically for Mäori women) already exist and achieve positive results. We have referred to some of them in this chapter. There must, however, be ongoing development of Mäori women’s programmes as well as provider development.
413 The long-term success of programmes, however, depends on reliable funding for infrastructure support and workforce development. The September 1997 “Memorandum to Cabinet Health and Social Policy Committee: Responses to Offending by Mäori – Sector Wide Objectives” suggested that to build on and assist the development and effectiveness of Mäori women’s providers there needs to be:
414 The 1997 memorandum, “Responses to Offending by Mäori – Sector Wide Objectives”, suggested that to ensure the development of effective services and accountability mechanisms for both government and service providers, agreements between all agencies responsible for funding/purchasing services in the justice sector should include “critical dates in funding and reporting cycles; the development of complementary objectives;” and “agreed guidelines for negotiating contracts with Mäori/Iwi providers”. The memorandum further noted that agreements needed to include
a recognition that many Mäori providers address broader issues than those for which they are directly funded and that the inclusion of whänau approaches to service delivery may be more resource intensive. (6)
415 Co-operation is required to determine priorities and plan outcomes as well as to develop:
416 Within the broader Strengthening Families initiative, a project has recently been established to identify ways in which government initiatives to improve outcomes for Mäori in the health, education and welfare areas can be better co-ordinated across the three sectors. It is anticipated that this project will provide an additional impetus to the broader project to improve the performance of the three agencies in reducing disparities in outcomes between Mäori and non-Mäori and improving outcomes for Mäori families and children.
417 A good deal of police youth aid work is proactive work in the community. Some youth justice co-ordinators are joining youth aid workers 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).
418 In the 1997 memorandum, “Responses to Offending by Mäori – Sector Wide Objectives”, the Ministry of Justice proposed that:
. . . the Department of Corrections, Department for Courts, the Crime Prevention Unit, the Department of Social Welfare and the New Zealand Police develop their own self-review methodology with the assistance of Te Puni Kökiri as required and report progress on the development of these methodologies through the Responses to Crime Sector Annual review in 1998. (8)
419 The Ministry recommended that criminal justice sector agencies become more accountable for their policy development and service delivery through the annual performance and purchase agreement processes. We agree that monitoring of service and service providers is a means to ensure that Mäori women are at the very least being given access to services. However, whether those services are effective to meet the needs of Mäori women requires a set of performance measures aligned to outcomes agreed both by agencies and the communities. The Waitangi Tribunal recognised in the Te Whänau O Waipareira Report the urgency of developing methodologies to assess the performance of service funders and service providers (Waitangi Tribunal 1998, 232). Such an assessment should identify problems caused by a lack of co-ordination between agencies so as to improve service planning. Most importantly, public reporting of information from such assessments would provide a basis for monitoring agencies to promote a co-operative and interactive relationship with communities.
420 In the broad social policy arena, input and output measures have been the most common measures used. An input focus highlights the financial and human resources which are applied to particular areas of Mäori service provision, while output focus itemises the activities undertaken by a particular agency. However, more recent interest has come to focus on outcomes, the impact of government activity and outputs on the community.
421 We noted in chapter 5 that outputs do not indicate whether the service has been to the benefit of the client or target group, but have the advantage of being relatively easy to define. Outcome measures, however, are more difficult to define and there are relatively few reliable outcome measures that can be easily adopted by justice sector services. Client satisfaction goes some way towards meeting the goal, but is not synonymous with an outcome. Nor are the conclusions of the department providing the service necessarily an accurate measure of a good or bad outcome. Despite the difficulty in constructing the appropriate tools, however, outcome measurements provide the most meaningful assessment of the impact of a strategy for change, and should be further developed as an indicator of progress.
422 The Treaty of Waitangi is not specific enough to be used as a checklist to rate government performance or to systematically monitor service delivery by the state to Mäori. However, as observed earlier (see para 21), it is possible to distil from Treaty principles three broad outcomes which are relevant to the access of Mäori women to justice: participation, increased autonomy and cultural endorsement.
423 Participation is an outcome which can be gauged by measuring Mäori workforce participation rates in the justice sector and also by measuring the numbers of Mäori using services. Mäori workforce participation rates, for example, provide some indication of the level of active participation. In addition to being a part of the service workforce, Mäori involvement in management decisions and whether they have a stake in owning the service should also be gauged. The numbers of Mäori using services are useful measures of service accessibility, though the mode of access (voluntary as against compulsory entry) is also important.32 The activities which services undertake to be more responsive to Mäori are important, but need to be further tested against measures which will reflect the quality of Mäori participation and the type of outcome. Unless activities enhance outcomes relevant to Mäori, they will be of limited value.
424 The Treaty did not intend that Mäori should abandon their own institutions or become dependent on the state. Mäori autonomy is not an outcome which requires Mäori and non-Mäori to live in separate worlds, or which permits the existence of separate legal systems or encourages defiance of the law. The future of New Zealand must lie in a single legal system which nevertheless recognises and respects Mäori values, tikanga and aspirations. Indeed the common law principle of aboriginal rights already requires enforcement by the courts of such rights in the mainstream of that single legal system.
425 However, Mäori should retain the right to organise as Mäori, and to administer and manage their own affairs, while at the level of whänau and individuals autonomy and self respect are preserved. Measurements of this outcome category are not well developed, but could include measures of state dependency (for example, numbers of beneficiaries) as well as such measurements of personal empowerment as knowledge of the law and rights relating to the law and a knowledge of the justice system. The establishment of specific Mäori services to provide access to justice would be a further indicator of progress in this outcome category.
426 The Treaty guaranteed to Mäori the right to remain Mäori and thus service outcomes which threaten the retention of cultural integrity are not consistent with the principles of the Treaty. Stated more positively, services offered by the state should, as a minimum requirement, aim to have personnel and processes which do not impede access to justice and the law. This is to ensure that there can be a fair assessment of any Mäori woman’s claim, defence or dealing with the system so that she is not disadvantaged by virtue of her cultural identity or gender. A cultural audit to measure justice sector processes and policies so that they do result in outcomes relevant to Mäori, would provide some way of dispensing with services which do not meet the needs of Mäori women and their families. Levels of cultural responsiveness, the introduction of Mäori perspectives and the use of kaumätua and kuia cultural advisors would give some measure of this outcome. In addition, the provision of services to Mäori by Mäori is likely to enforce cultural identity. Levels of Mäori employment in justice sector agencies are therefore a relevant measure. Services provided within tikanga Mäori are probably the most culturally secure option, though it is important to recall that not all Mäori women (or men) have secure cultural identities. McFarlane-Nathan has proposed a therapy model which acknowledges the stressors that cause alienation (McClaren 1992). He suggests that there is a significant group of Mäori caught between two cultures, too alienated to maintain traditional ways and not sufficiently comfortable in the dominant culture. This group experiences the most conflict within society and features most considerably in the negative statistics. In the health sector the cultural philosophy underlying Mäori health service provision appears to be more developed than that which exists in the justice sector (Mäori Health Commission, Tihei Mauri Ora! 1998, 14–16).
427 Our recommendations for change to ensure greater access to justice for Mäori women are made up of principles, change strategies, and measures of progress. What is noticeable from Puao-Te-Ata-Tu, Te Whainga i te Tika: In Search of Justice and He Whaipaanga Hou is that, even though they were written between 10 and 12 years ago, many of the same issues are still being brought forward today (Tihei Mauri Ora! 14–16). There has been institutional failure to give them the attention and priority they require.
428 The barriers that we have focused on in this report – of disregarding cultural values, socio-economic disadvantage and ineffective services – are fundamental in the consequences they have of deterring women from using the justice system to protect their interests and, when they do use it, participating in it in an active way.
429 Mäori women regard it as necessary that they participate in the justice system not only as users, but as providers, professionals and stakeholders. The evolution of the Matua Whangai programme in Hamilton into a community-based Mäori initiative, for example, is about the community taking responsibility for the well-being of its people through processes and practices consistent with Mäori values. Educational initiatives such as He Huarahi Tamariki and Tu Tangata, on the other hand, are examples of a comprehensive or full service approach which have regard to the needs of the person to foster their well-being.
430 The examples we have referred to are initiatives which are fully supported by Mäori women. There is evidence to show that Mäori women are a huge resource in the community and are willing to shoulder responsibility for themselves and their families. They are valuable and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity by agencies and to be afforded opportunities as a group to meet their own needs and aspirations.
431 Our concern is that the justice system has failed to meet the needs of Mäori women. This failure is manifest in the negative experiences they have described to us and in the perceptions that they have that the justice system accords them little or no value. The consequence is that Mäori women have little or no confidence in that system. That system is intended to bring all of us under the rule of law – the principle that peace and good order result from common acceptance of Parliament’s laws. The consequences for the rule of law within our community, when those at the heart of Mäori families are disillusioned, angry and frustrated with the system are deeply troubling.
432 With this in mind we have sought in this report to explore some of the background of how this situation has arisen, and to suggest strategies based on the Treaty of Waitangi by which state agencies may best promote justice for Mäori women.
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Te Mana Wahine hei ara whakatupu
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“The power, prestige and authority of women
shall be the pathway to equality and growth”
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