I roto i ngā tau kua taha ake nei, he mata rua ngā

kaupapa kua whakatūhia e te Kāwanatanga mō te iwi

Māori. He āhua tātā hoki tā te iwi Māori whakatakoto

kerēme ki te Kāwanatanga. Kāore pea e tika te noho

tahi a te Māori me te Karauna, mēnā he tuku moni

noa iho te hua ka puta i ngā kerēme. Me whai kā

tētahi huarahi whakawhiti kōrero, e noho pai ai ngā

āhuatanga i waenganui i te Māori me te Karauna, mā

konei e haere whakamua ai tō tātou whenua o Aotearoa

whānui. Mēnā ka arohia te āhua o tā tātou noho tahi i

Aotearoa, kaua ko te utu noa iho i ngā hē o mua, katahi

ka whakatitinatia ai nga ahuatanga o te tino

rangatiratanga, koia hei whakakākahu i ngā tika e pā

ana ki te whenua, te tuakiri tangata, me te mana

tōrangapu.

Māori Affairs policy has historically proven double-edged

in simultaneously advancing yet diminishing

Māori aspirations. Recent emphasis on claims-making

as a key policy component is shown to be fraught with

contradiction and neo-colonisms, no more so than

around the ambiguous benefits of 'throwing money'

at a problem rather than working through the

differences in a relationship. Proposed instead of a

claims-making model of Māori Affairs is a

constructive engagement approach that seeks to recalibrate

Māori-Crown relations by advancing

innovative patterns of belonging. A commitment to

constructive engagement not only bolsters the chances

of living together with our fundamental differences in

a post-colonising Aotearoa. A focus on relations rather

than restitution also enhances the principles and

practices of tino rangatiratanga rights as a framework

for establishing Māori models of self-determination

over jurisdictions pertaining to land, identity, and

political voice.