Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Tēnā koutou katoa – Greetings to everyone.
Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda cannot be achieved by government alone. The cooperation and participation of all sectors of society is required, especially Māori as Aotearoa New Zealand’s indigenous people.
Aotearoa New Zealand is committed to SDG 16 and building an inclusive, diverse and equal society where peace and justice are underpinned by strong institutions.
Māori experience longstanding disparities and face more barriers accessing justice and participating in democracy than others. Māori are overrepresented at every stage of our criminal justice system, both as offenders and victims, and they are severely overrepresented in our prison population.
I want to highlight two initiatives today that demonstrate this commitment to partnership with Māori at both a tribal and community level in the justice area.
Firstly, a Māori leadership group has been formed to partner with the government on criminal justice issues and discuss how to lead reformation with a Māori worldview. This partnership approach aims to identify shared goals and aspirations to transform the justice system.
Secondly, we are bringing a Māori worldview into our court systems, through a new model for the District Court.
This involves drawing on Māori customary practices and behaviours, the Māori language and taking learnings from existing specialist courts into the District Court system. It will also improve the information available to judges about people’s backgrounds and needs.
The New Zealand government is committed to working with Māori on economic, social and environmental issues, over which the SDGs, including SDG16, provide a frame of reference for future domestic policy development.
A full written statement on this topic will be uploaded through the e-portal.
Tēnā koutou katoa. - Many thanks to you all.