Over 750 people, both from the public sector and indigenous groups, and including a small PSA staff delegation led by PSA Kaihatu Janice Panoho, attended kanohi ki te kanohi – with hundreds more online – hearing First Nations speakers in a series of plenaries, panels and yarning circles discussing First Nations administration in Australia and Aotearoa.
Progress and challenges
The conference focused on the progress and the challenges for both countries as their respective governments endeavour to ensure a true partnership between the Crown and First Nations peoples to enable an influential indigenous voice in the public service. It examined First Nations policy through the lenses of Australia’s National Agreement on Closing the Gap commitments, particularly the four Priority Reforms, as well as the New Zealand Public Service Act 2020. The NZ Public Servce Act clearly sets out the responsibility of the public service, particularly its leadership, in supporting the Crown’s relationship with Māori under Te Tiriti.
Discussions highlighted the challenges faced by Indigenous professionals and workers in the public sector, including discrimination and lack of support, calling for greater efforts to address these issues. The PSA delegation noted that there is need for a union-led discussion in this forum to show the role of unions in progressing the Crown-Māori relationship under Te Tiriti through valuing and supporting Māori workers in the public service and the fair delivery of public services to Māori.
Collaboration and partnership
One of the key themes of the conference was the need for greater collaboration between indigenous communities and the public sector. First Nations speakers from Australia and Aotearoa shared their insights and experience of how transformative approaches that include First Nations knowledge, perspectives and values can serve the wider public and First Nations’ interests.
They emphasized the importance of building partnerships based on mutual respect and understanding, the need for the public sector to recognise and value the unique perspectives and knowledge of Indigenous communities the role of indigenous knowledge and expertise in decision-making, and the importance of addressing systemic barriers to indigenous representation in public administration.
Minister for Māori-Crown Relations, Kelvin Davis, opened the conference, speaking of his determination to make government agencies in Aotearoa New Zealand understand Te Ao Māori and work towards equitable outcomes for Māori. He said that policies that were “good for Māori were good for New Zealand” and that he wanted all public servants to be “somewhere on the bridge” that linked Pākehā culture with Māori culture, rather than relying on Māori to cross the bridge to the Crown side.
