(Extract Quality Assurance Document – 3.2)
EmployNZ acknowledges He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (Declaration of Independence 1835) and te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840) as founding documents of our bicultural nation, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
EmployNZ is committed to honouring te Tiriti o Waitangi. We acknowledge that te Tiriti o Waitangi expresses the special place of Māori as tangata whenua who hold tino rangatiratanga over all their lands and taonga, for as long as they wish.
Comittment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
As a tertiary education and social service provider, we are committed to contributing to a te Tiriti o Waitangi-honouring education and social service sector in which Māori are free from racism, discrimination and stigma and free to exercise their mana. We will work towards bringing effect to the various government agency strategies and commitments they have developed to address their obligations acting on behalf of the Crown, for Māori, as a provider within the context of our niche provision and services.
As a business based in Tauranga, EmployNZ acknowledges the mana of tangata whenua and the authority they hold over their rohe. We recognise and respect the ancestral and spiritual landmarks that are sacred to the whānau, hapū, and iwi of Tauranga moana.
We understand the principles within te Tiriti o Waitangi and will use these principles to inform our strategic direction, decision making, how we can contribute towards Māori aspirations and the relationships required to bring effect to our direction and to be accountable for our commitments.
Our relationships, our understanding of tangata whenua aspirations and strategic goals, and how we go about our daily lives will be our outworking of the principles as we work towards the vision gifted to us, “Te Taumata Oranga- We Change Lives”, making a difference in the lives of our students, clients, their whanau and the stakeholders we serve.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi Articles and Principles
EmployNZ understands that the articles of te Tiriti o Waitangi have been interpreted and expressed through a set of principles. We have taken these principles as guidance on what is meant by, and expected from, the principles at an organisation level and at a practice level, considering the context of our organisation.
We consider the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi at a governance, planning and stakeholder engagement level. Our intent is to build our competencies and establish enduring relationships which will support us to serve our staff, students, clients and their whanau and the Māori communities, marae or hapū they are connected to.
We believe these principles are best upheld as we weave their intent into our everyday approach, as we work alongside our students and clients to move them into, through and out of our programmes and services and then into the next step of their pathways. We are committed to achieving success for our Māori students, clients and their whānau and aim to provide mana enhancing experiences.
We acknowledge that as we are contracted to government agencies, we are required to uphold the principles in the context of education and social services, and bring effect to their commitments however we are also driven by our vision which requires us to be making positive changes to the lives of our students and clients and we believe the combination of both approaches will contribute towards improved achievements and outcomes for Māori.
The principle of self-determination
We acknowledge that this principle provides for Māori self-determination and mana motuhake. We believe that we are contributing to this when we seek out the strategic direction, aspirations and needs of whānau, hapū and iwi and plan how we can make a contribution to their goals, kaupapa or objectives communicated within their documentation and requests. These aspirations are critical aspects in our decision making when planning strategic direction and the relationships that we need to have in place to meet those aspirations. Our contribution to these aspirations will become a key driver for us as we work towards fulfilling our vision as we serve the needs of our Māori communities.
We are also upholding this principle when we are working alongside each of our Māori students or clients to understand what it is that they want to achieve, their aspirations and when we weave those into how we communicate, motivate with them and plan for their pathway while they are with us. Our role in this is to guide and support them to make an informed decision about the next step in their pathway to employment.
The principle of partnership
We acknowledge that this principle requires EmployNZ to understand and to be understood about what our role in our communities is, and how we can support and serve our students, clients and their whānau in a way that is aligned with hapū and iwi aspirations. We will seek meaningful, and enduring relationships for the benefit of Māori. Where there are practical ways we can work alongside whānau, hapū, marae or iwi directly to make our contributions to their aspirations, we will approach the appropriate person(s) for feedback and advice on how to proceed. Where requested to meet a need, or work with other organisations collectively to meet a need, EmployNZ will partner with the Māori organisation(s) or representative(s) to work towards the stated goals.
We believe we are working on partnerships when we work alongside our students and clients to support them to achieve the commitments they have made within our programmes and services and to start building a future where they are confident, independent young adults who can contribute to their communities.
The principle of equity
This requires EmployNZ to promote equitable access, participation and achievement of education performance, pathways and outcomes for Māori. We will use parity measures across our of participation, achievements and outcomes as a key focus of our education performance framework and be accountable for any parity gaps. We will monitor the parity to help us identify the contributing factors and to determine how we could close the gap as we move forward. We will consider this achieved when we consistently achieve a zero gap per annum. There will always be work that can be done to improve the rate of achievement and outcomes for Māori and we are committed to moving past achieving equity and towards rates that show Māori are achieving better than non-Māori.
The principle of active protection
This requires EmployNZ to actively promote mātauranga Māori, tikanga Māori and te Reo Māori in our everyday life onsite to ensure that we provide opportunities for these taonga to be seen, heard and felt throughout our organisation. We will encourage our students and clients to take home and into their community, what they have learnt and taught to others while they were with us. We will continue to develop resources, activities and sessions to promote te ao Māori and te Reo Māori so all staff and students can experience the taonga and make their own commitments to seek further understandings and learnings.
Commitment to our journey
EmployNZ is committed to our journey to continually add to our cultural competencies, capabilities and knowledge as we work with our staff to increase participation, encourage the te ao Māori perspectives and te Reo Māori within our organisation and work to close the parity gaps by lifting our rates of achievement and establishing meaningful pathway options and outcomes for our students and clients.
We acknowledge and respect the mana of tangata whenua within EmployNZ who can communicate in te Reo Māori, hold the tikanga, kawa, and mātauranga Māori learnt from their whānau or educators. We understand that these competencies exist in a range of levels and we are grateful when these taonga are shared with other staff, students and clients where a person feels comfortable to do so. We also understand that we all need to take organisational and personal responsibility in developing our own cultural competencies, understanding and learning te Reo Māori, gaining understandings and learnings about te ao Māori and be open to receive and offer learnings from mātauranga Māori.