By Hayden Maskell

 

Photography by Irakite

Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) is a foundational document that sets the stage for successful business partnerships with pakihi Māori (Māori-led businesses) and iwi (communities). If you want to run a successful business in New Zealand, integrating with the Māori economy is essential.

Acuity spoke to leading voices around the country to find out more about the cultural, social and legal underpinnings of the treaty, and where businesses can get good advice on honouring the principles.

What are the principles of the treaty?

New Zealand is one of only a handful of nations without a constitution, but the Treaty of Waitangi is considered a founding document. While there is no complete or defined list of principles within the treaty, there are three well-established central principles known as the three Ps:

1.    Partnership: a good-faith relationship between Māori and the Crown

2.    Participation: the Crown creates opportunities for tāngata whenua (Indigenous people) to engage with decision making at all levels of governance

3.    Protection: the Crown must prioritise the protection of Māori interests, rights, taonga (assets) and rangatiratanga (sovereignty).

These principles underpin New Zealand’s governance, business and social landscapes, so understanding them is critical for anyone doing business in New Zealand – and that includes chartered accountants.

“If you look at Wakatū as an example, they are operating on a 500-year intergenerational vision. So, when they’re doing business, they’re not just asking ‘what do the next five years look like?’. They’re looking at the next 100 years.”

How does a business incorporate these principles?

Heidi Rosser is CA ANZ’s New Zealand manager, inclusive culture. She says that every business has plenty of opportunities to start incorporating the principles of the treaty.

“There are junctures in every organisation; perhaps a decision needs to be made about a new product or service, a development or an investment, restructure or recruitment. Maybe it is time to review a process, policy, supplier agreement or program,” she says.

“As a starting place, these junctures represent good opportunities to consider the principles. You could work in partnership with mana whenua [Māori people] to design a new development that affects them or their rohe [area], consider if your policy allows real access for Māori to participate as graduates or senior managers, work out how your organisation can contribute to the protection of te reo Māori [Māori language] with signage and everyday use, or get a quote or tender from pakihi Māori.

Amy McLean, business coach and founder of Te Kāinga Wāhine, says the key thing for businesses who want to meaningfully engage with Māori is to develop and implement a strategy.

“It starts with having a Māori strategy and actually having a commitment on paper that is led from the top, that says what we’re doing and why, not just ‘hey, this year we’re going to send some staff on a te reo [Māori language] course’ or ‘this year we’re going to start doing a karakia’ [ritual chant],” she says.

“Actions without strategy are not actually embedding the practices within the organisation,” McLean says. “When you embed a Māori strategy into your organisation, you’re committing to these actions creating value in your organisation, and it also holds the organisation to account in terms of honouring te tiriti.”

“[Some businesses are] getting tenders and quotes through Amotai from the many pakihi Māori owned by iwi [communities] and whānau [family] Māori who employ thousands of both Māori and non-Māori.”

Getting it right

Major accounting practices and banks increasingly have Māori units, such as Deloitte’s Hourua Pae Rau or ASB’s Māori banking unit Te Waka Whaihua. When it comes to external engagement, Rosser says there are plenty of possible partners.

“[Some businesses are] getting tenders and quotes through Amotai from the many pakihi Māori owned by iwi and whānau [family] Māori who employ thousands of both Māori and non-Māori,” she says. “Other smaller examples include how PwC in Ōtautahi [Christchurch] went about designing their new experience centre, or how many organisations give and benefit from Māori interns through the TupuToa [Internship Programme].”

Resource co-management agreements, joint ventures in tourism or product development and Māori-focused employment initiatives are other common examples of how businesses integrate with the Māori economy and the treaty principles.

What do some businesses get wrong?

Rosser says that the biggest thing businesses are getting wrong is not engaging at all. She points out that not engaging means missing opportunities to connect with a burgeoning te ōhanga Māori (Māori economy), projected to be worth NZ$100 billion by 2030, and a growing, youthful population and talent pool of nearly one million people of Māori descent.

On the other hand, she says, another mistake is launching in with good intentions, but without doing enough foundation work.

“When you’re looking at a new market, you can’t just jump in.” she says. “As an organisation, you have to ask why do you want to be inclusive? Buying into the concept of inclusion and inclusive workplaces and leadership is the starting point,” she says.

Similarly, inclusive business specialist and leadership coach Sel Leigh says that businesses need to be clear about their motivations.

“Are we doing it because everyone says we have to? That's not a good reason. Are we doing it to tick a box? That's not a good reason,” she says. “We’re really good at thinking that if we put a name on a piece of paper, we’ve met our obligations… [it’s] not about that at all.”

Both McLean and Rosser point out that many businesses approach engagement with relatively short-term thinking.

“Te tiro ā-Māori [ki tōna ake ao, Māori world view] is grounded in building relationships, so whether you think you’re going in there to tick a box or to get something done or not, Māori are entering that same conversation with the perspective of building a relationship,” says McLean.

“If you look at Wakatū as an example, they are operating on a 500-year intergenerational vision,” she says. “So, when they’re doing business, they’re not just asking ‘what do the next five years look like?’. They’re looking at the next 100 years.”

“Stop looking at the quarterly figures,” Rosser says. “Try looking seven generations ahead, which is how far ahead many [Māori businesses] are thinking when they make their decisions.”

“Don’t come demanding, come equipped. You want to come with integrity. So that means understanding why you’re doing it, who you’re doing it for and why it’s important.”

Getting started

Sel Leigh says that the place to begin is with the right mindset.

“I would say humility is a good place to start,” she says. “Respect, connection, relationship-building: do it face-to-face and show hospitality, even if you’re the one that’s coming along.

“Don’t come demanding, come equipped. You want to come with integrity. So that means understanding why you’re doing it, who you’re doing it for and why it’s important.”

McLean says that the first step is rangahau (seeking knowledge). She says that often councils, schools and public entities have connections and relationships with local iwi and Māori community representatives that businesses and organisations can engage through.

“The first [undertaking] is going out and building some relationships with key people within your rohe or within your region. And that starts with mana whenua. That starts with the people of the area.”

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CA ANZ resources

CA ANZ offers a number of resources to help firms, businesses and members increase their understanding, capability and confidence with the Treaty of Waitangi and te ā-Māori (Māori world).

●      To brush up on common greetings and business-related terms in te reo Māori, go to the CA ANZ guide Māori Language for Business.

●      To help CAs of Māori and Pasifika descent connect, there is a Wellington-based Wellington Māori and Pacific Special Interest Group.

●      There is a range of courses, workshops and resources for Aotearoa New Zealand businesses on the CA ANZ website.