The last several months have been very busy, with our new Te Kaihautū Māori, Jack McDonald, hitting the ground running, visiting Māori members across the country and leading some significant pieces of work on their behalf, fighting back against this Government’s latest attacks on kaupapa Māori and te Tiriti o Waitangi. This comes at a time when Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina is preparing for Hui Taumata, PSA Congress and the general election later this year.
WAITANGI TRIBUNAL
One of our key focuses has been on advancing the interests of our Māori members through Waitangi Tribunal inquiries.
Wai 2700 Mana Wāhine
In February 2026 we surveyed wāhine and gender diverse Māori members about their experiences as workers in public and community services navigating individual, organisational, and systemic barriers that affect equitable outcomes. We received 873 responses and submitted the survey to the Tribunal in April, as evidence to the PSA’s claim, which has been active since 2017.
Wai 3565 Treaty Principles Reform Urgent Inquiry
Our Māori members were granted interested party status in this inquiry, meaning that we had the opportunity to put forward evidence. Despite a short turnaround to provide evidence, more than 100 Māori members responded with submissions detailing the impact of weakening and removing references to te Tiriti principles in law. Jack presented this evidence at the Tribunal hearings in Wellington on the 3rd of June.
Wai 3327 Te Reo Use in Public Sector Urgent Inquiry
In October 2025 the Waitangi Tribunal released their report on this urgent inquiry, to which Māori members of the PSA had been an interested party. Their findings were a damning indictment of Government policy. The PSA has begun a process of reaching out to public service departments around their response to the report recommendations.
DEVELOPMENT OF PSA TE AO MĀORI STRATEGY
Jack and Te Rōpū Hautūtanga, the PSA’s Māori leadership team, have begun developing a long-term PSA te ao Māori strategy aimed at strengthening a coordinated, union-wide approach to implementing Ngā Kaupapa and te Tiriti o Waitangi, with the aim of growing Māori membership, improving kaupapa Māori support for members and staff and enhancing the PSA’s presence within te ao Māori.
Central to this mahi has been engaging across sectors and teams to ensure collective ownership and success, including meeting with Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina, sector committees, organising groups, enterprise rūnanga, and networks such as Te Whānau Atawhai.
Further hui are planned for the coming months, , culminating in a final presentation at Hui Taumata before wider feedback and sign-off. The initial guiding kaupapa of the strategy include:
• Ārahitanga – building Māori capacity and capability within the PSA
• Tutukitanga – demonstrating the PSA’s influence through industrial and policy gains
• Whakawhanaungatanga – deepening the PSA’s relationships within te ao Māori
• Kanohi kitea – raising the PSA’s profile within te ao Māori
• Kotahitanga – working in solidarity across the NZCTU Rūnanga to strengthen Māori unionism
The intention is that this strategy will guide the union’s kaupapa Māori and te Tiriti work into the future.
HUI TAUMATA
Hui Taumata is being held on 6–7 August this year at the Brentwood Hotel in Wellington.
The theme this year is focused on the general election:
Whiriwhiria! Kei a koe te mana!
Hui Taumata will bring together close to 100 Māori delegates that represent over 12,000 Māori members across health, public services, state sector, local government, community and iwi sectors.
Delegates will have the opportunity to hear from Māori MPs, attend talks from invited guest speakers and leaders across Aotearoa, and participate in workshops.
