Q&A with Lil Anderson SHENAGH GLEISNER talks to Lil Anderson of Te Arawhiti about what public servants are doing and what they can do to change Māori Crown relations.
feature I am the most excited about. It leaves nowhere to hide and tells each of us that being a public servant from 2020 onwards means that you understand the history of our country and you understand what Te Tiriti means and why it is important. What I really like is that unlike some acts, it does not stop at a Treaty clause. It enshrines the Māori Crown relationship and tells us we must build capability.
What message does the new Public Service Act give to public servants about Crown Māori relations? The Act reinforces all of the important reasons why we want to work in the service of others and puts those reasons up in lights so the public knows what to expect from all of us and can hold us to account. Importantly for me, the Act explicitly requires us to reflect Te Tiriti in our everyday work. It sets clear expectations in relation to developing and maintaining capability to engage with Māori. It encourages us to reflect the culture, aspirations, and values of the communities we serve, particularly Māori. It asks us to be open to doing things in a different way. It does not tolerate silos or narrow views but tells us that the public wants and needs us to join up more often and better. What will public servants do differently as a result of the Act? There are four things: 1.
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Be prepared to work differently – COVID-19 showed us the beauty and the beast of technology. It kept us connected to each other and to the public we serve at a time when we really needed it. But it also showed us how important kanohi ki te kanohi really is and how much we miss it once we start to get Zoom or Zui fatigue. Serving the public where they live – We saw during COVID that from Wellington, our key role was to support our regional public servants, iwi, and local government. It saw decisions being shifted to regions. It saw local leadership working together in ways that Treaty settlements have tried to create for over 25 years. These ways of working should continue. Working across and together is the new norm – The COVID response saw the formation of the C4C Governance Group with 11 chief executives from across the system working to support regions and New Zealanders in the response and recovery. The model works so well it will continue for at least the next two years. The Act asks us to look more towards these types of models as well as joint ventures, boards, and system leadership. The public service must support the Crown’s relationship with Māori under Te Tiriti – As you can imagine, this is the
6 PUBLIC SECTOR December 2020
What are some practical steps public servants should be taking to make the Public Service Act, in relation to Crown Māori relations, come to life? Again, there are a few things – mostly dependent on your starting point. The overarching step for all of us is to acknowledge its importance. Tell people – tell your staff and your workmates that it is important. Acknowledge where you are on your journey across the bridge and don’t think it’s too late to start learning. If your starting point is as someone who hasn’t wanted to take a step across the bridge – maybe look to understand why that is and address the things that are preventing you from doing so. This is no longer a choice in a modern public service. When you get past the willingness, it really is about the fundamentals – do you know about our history, not just from 1840? Do you know what the Treaty says and what followed its signing? What significant events led us to this point in the Māori Crown relationship? Understanding te reo Māori, not just because you want to be able to deliver your pepeha or mihi but because language connects. Wherever you start, take a step forward and keep going. Think about how I can apply what I learn to my everyday work. How can I incorporate more te reo? How do I change the way I engage with Māori and how do we do this as an organisation? Does what I know change the lens through which I view my policy work? What would partnership look like in our work? Let’s talk about the positive vision. Imagine we are three years in the future. Paint us a vivid picture of what would delight you. It is a multi-faceted vision: •
Treaty settlements are complete or nearly complete, and takutai moana issues are being addressed – this is an important foundation for the Māori Crown relationship.
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Our words have mana – our commitments are being honoured and we are operating above a “list of things to do to honour a Treaty settlement”, but through engagement and partnering, we are doing these things anyway.
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Across the public sector, every agency has a capabilitybuilding programme and each staff member has committed to their journey across the bridge.
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Our journey as a public service is starting to show a difference in the timeliness, depth, and outcomes of engagement with Māori and includes policies that reflect this change – we know who to engage with, and the when, why, and how is tailored to need.
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The examples of partnership across the public service outnumber the contracts for services we have with Māori.
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The system shares responsibility for the Māori Crown relationship – it’s not just left to Te Arawhiti.
