Te Puni KÃ Âkiri (TPK, also called in English the Ministry of MÃÂori Development) is the principal policy advisor of the Government of New Zealand on MÃÂori wellbeing and development. Te Puni KÃ Âkiri was established under the MÃÂori Development Act 1991 with responsibilities to promote MÃÂori achievement in education, training and employment, health, and economic development; and monitor the provision of government services to MÃÂori. The MÃÂori name means "a group moving forward together".
Te Puni KÃ Âkiri traces its origins to the missionary-influenced Protectorate Department, which existed between 1840 and 1846. The department was headed by the missionary and civil servant George Clarke, who held the position of Chief Protector. Its goal was to protect the rights of the MÃÂori people in accordance with the Treaty of Waitangi. The Protectorate was also tasked with advising the Governor on matters relating to MÃÂori and acting as an interpreter for the courts, colonial officials, and the military. Clarke's determination to protect those rights led Governor George Grey to abolish the Protectorate Department in 1846. Grey was opposed to the legal recognition of MÃÂori customs and MÃÂori participation in the judicial system.
The Protectorate Department was succeeded by the Native Department, which was created in 1861 to manage the growing tensions between MÃÂori and European settlers which eventually culminated in the New Zealand Wars. The Native Department was tasked with delivering services to MÃÂori in the areas of education, healthcare, and policing, and to assimilate MÃÂori into European (or PÃÂkehÃÂ) society. Under the purview of the Native Department, Governor Grey established a system of elected MÃÂori committees or Rà «nanga and recruited MÃÂori into the civil service. After the abolition of the Rà «nanga system, the Native Department conducted its activities through a network of resident magistrates, commissioners, assessors, police and mail carriers. In addition, the native schooling system was established and MÃÂori electorates were created in the New Zealand House of Representatives to ensure MÃÂori representation and participation in the country's governance. In 1893, the Native Department was disbanded and its health, education, and policing functions were reallocated to other government departments.
In 1906, the Native Department was established under the leadership of Native Affairs Minister James Carroll with an initial focus on land management and MÃÂori healthcare. One early priority of the department was developing MÃÂori land in order to boost MÃÂori economic development and to stem the loss of MÃÂori to Europeans. These policies were continued by his successors including Gordon Coates and ÃÂpirana Ngata. Under the First Labour Government, the Native Department's priorities shifted to promoting economic equality and employment for the MÃÂori population. Housing and land development continued and both MÃÂori and Pakeha benefited from the government's welfare state policies. In 1947, the department was renamed the "Department of Maori Affairs" at the initiative of prime minister Peter Fraser, who introduced legislation substituting the word 'Native' to 'MÃÂori' government-wide.
Between 1906 and 1989, the Department of MÃÂori Affairs' portfolio was expanded to include the office of the MÃÂori Trustee; the provision of housing, vocational training, and relocation; the administration of New Zealand's Pacific Island affairs; safeguarding the welfare of Pasifika New Zealanders living in New Zealand, MÃÂori language revival efforts, and the management of the former Mana Enterprises and MÃÂori ACCESS scheme. By the late 1970s, the MÃÂori Affairs Department had under a thousand permanent staff across several regions. Between 1986 and 1987, the department was embroiled in the MÃÂori loan affair, which involved the department attempting to raise overseas funds for MÃÂori development purposes in an unauthorised way.
From 1951 to 1976 the Department published Te Ao Hou / The New World magazine. Its issues are now on the Papers Past website, as are those of its successors, Te Kaea (1979âÂÂ81) and Tà « Tangata (1981âÂÂ87).
In response to the MÃÂori loan affair, the Department of MÃÂori Affairs was dissolved in 1989 and replaced by two new agencies: the Ministry of MÃÂori Affairs (Manatà « MÃÂori) and the Iwi Transition Agency (Te Tira Ahu Iwi). The Ministry of MÃÂori Affairs was tasked with advising the government on policies of interest to MÃÂori and monitoring the responsiveness of government agencies to issues facing MÃÂori. The Iwi Transition Agency was tasked with helping MÃÂori iwi (tribes) to develop new capacities to expand their role in society.
Following the Ka Awatea report published by the Fourth National Government's MÃÂori Affairs Minister Winston Peters, the two agencies were replaced in 1992 by Te Puni KÃ Âkiri (Ministry of MÃÂori Development).
Under the terms of the Ka Awatea report, Te Puni KÃ Âkiri was to focus on policy advice and monitoring roles, supported by a network of regional offices. The Ministry was tasked with advising and monitoring mainstream government departments on the provision of services to the MÃÂori community. After 1992, the Ministry's focus shifted from welfare provision towards stimulating economic growth, paid employment, and education as a means of eliminating poverty.
In August 2014, it was announced that TPK would be undergoing a restructure effective by 3 November 2014, with approximately 80 staff losing their jobs.
On 1 June 2018, it was announced that Te Puni KÃ Âkiri would be partnering with the MÃÂori service provider He Korowai Trust to provide affordable "rent–to–own" housing for the MÃÂori community. According to the 2013 New Zealand census, only 29% of MÃÂori adults owned their own homes, compared to 50% of the total population. The Labour–led coalition government also announced that $15 million had been set aside in the 2018 Budget to provide assistance and resources to MÃÂori housing providers with the aim of combating homelessness and increasing MÃÂori housing ownership.
In mid-August 2024, Minister for MÃÂori Crown Relations Tama Potaka announced that Te Puni KÃ Âkiri would assume Te Arawhiti's (the Office for MÃÂori Crown Relations) monitoring and Treaty settlements compliance functions. This decision was criticised by Te PÃÂti MÃÂori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, the Green Party's MÃÂori Crown Relations spokesperson Steve Abel and the Labour Party's Peeni Henare as a "backward step" in the New Zealand Crown's relationship with MÃÂori.
Te Puni KÃ Âkiri is the New Zealand Government's principal policy advisor on MÃÂori wellbeing and development. The Ministry's other responsibilities include promoting MÃÂori achievement in health, training and employment, education and economic development; and monitoring the provision of government services to MÃÂori.
Te Puni KÃ Âkiri is managed by the Secretary for MÃÂori Development, Dave Samuels. The Ministry consists of five groups (or Puni): the Policy Partnerships Puni, the Strategy, Finance & Public Sector Performance Puni, the Regional Partnerships and Operations Puni, Critical Projects and Governance Puni and the Organisational Support Puni. The Ministry operates a national office in the capital Wellington and eighteen offices across six regions in both the North and South Islands. Te Puni KÃ Âkiri currently employs approximately 350 staff.
Three public sector organisations that fall under the purview of the Ministry are MÃÂori Television, Te MÃÂngai PÃÂho (the MÃÂori Broadcast Funding Agency), Te Tumu Paeroa (which deals with the management of MÃÂori–owned land).
The Ministry serves 2 portfolios and 1 minister. <br />