Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says it’s “shocking” that the government, through the Governor-General, has not appointed someone as tangata whenua to sit on the board of the country’s national human rights institution.
Hunt was responding to comments made by a former race relations commission Dame Susan Devoy on Te Ao with Moana on Waitangi Day on Māori Television.
“A part-time indigenous rights commissioner was abolished in 2017 with a view to the Governor-General appointing a full-time indigenous commissioner who would sit on the commission’s board. But we are still waiting,” Hunt said.
Devoy had told Te Ao with Moana she was told her role was responsible for every race in New Zealand, except for Māori - a responsibility that lay with a part-time Indigenous commissioner.
She also said she had been told not to use the word racist “because that would engender all sorts of very difficult conversations.”
Devoy said she still had hundreds of “soul-destroying” emails on her computer, 75% from Pākehā expressing anti-Maori and anti-Treaty sentiment, from everything as small as “I resent being called a Pākeha” to what she saw as much bigger and more important issues, worthy of a frank discussion.
Racism persists
“What does that say to me? People are very anti-Māori, very anti-Treaty. It hasn’t gone away. It’s still there.”
But Hunt said the Human Rights Commission Te Kāhui Tika Tangata was continuing to evolve so it can better serve the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Hunt was appointed a year after Devoy left the commission.
The chief commissioner acknowledged Devoy’s work and some of her remarks underlined the need for a full-time indigenous rights commissioner.
Hunt says a race relations commissioner with responsibility for racial, ethnic, and religious communities, and the human rights of tangata whenua, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi was old-fashioned and didn’t fit the needs of contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand.
In the meantime, the current race relations commissioner, Meng Foon, says he is working to serve all communities around the country.
Build harmony
“The role is challenging and one that, although shaped by legislation, has to be organic and adaptable to fit society’s needs.
“My role in helping build a harmonious and socially cohesive Aotearoa provides that I am here for all New Zealanders, whether tangata whenua or tangata tiriti."
“Personally I have an affinity with both, recognising the status of Māori as tangata whenua and the importance and contributions of tangata tiriti.”
Both Hunt and Foon believe a full-time indigenous rights commissioner would improve work in social cohesion, acknowledging the unique challenges tangata whenua face. The race relations commissioner would then bring more focus and attention to racial, ethnic, religious communities in advancing their equality and safety.
Hunt says an Indigenous commissioner would also better reflect the journey Te Kāhui Tika Tangata is on.
“The Human Rights Commission is working hard to become a tiriti-based organisation and be a role model for the public sector. But both objectives are impossible without at least one tangata whenua commissioner.”
Foon says such a move would complement and reinforce the investment the commission has made to increase the operational capacity of its Ahi Kaa Indigenous rights team.
“With any organisation, there are often historic issues that need resolving. As race relations commissioner I am pleased that Te Kāhui Tika Tangata is on a journey of improving internally so it can better serve externally. This journey includes becoming a tiriti-based organisation.”