The government's military style academy pilot will get under way in a week. (File image) Photo: 123rf
Oranga Tamariki has acknowledged it should have engaged with mana whenua earlier when designing the government's pilot boot camps for young offenders in Palmerston North.
The acknowledgement comes after RNZ asked the organisation on 8 July what involvement local iwi had had in the process and when that involvement had begun.
After four follow-up emails, Oranga Tamariki responded on 19 July with a statement saying a range of te ao Māori practitioners were consulted in the development of the military style academy pilot, but the agency "acknowledges that it would have been better to have engagement with mana whenua earlier in the process".
"We are grateful that we are now establishing the right engagement and relationship with mana whenua as we continue to progress the pilot."
It is not clear what engagement and relationship with mana whenua has been established at this stage, with the pilot beginning in a week's time at Te Au rere a te Tonga, a Youth Justice residence in the rohe of Rangitāne.
Oranga Tamariki chief executive Chappie Te Kani confirmed this weekend that nine of the 10 boys taking part in the pilot were Māori.
Labour's spokesperson for children, Willow-Jean Prime, said it was disgraceful that New Zealanders were only learning now that Oranga Tamariki had not been properly engaging with mana whenua from the start, given that the pilot started in a week.
She believed it was misleading for Oranga Tamariki to say there was support and involvement from Māori for the boot camps.
Oranga Tamariki was using mana whenua to "give credibility to their boot camp experiment", she said.
"But given the late stage of this new development, it's not genuine partnership with mana whenua.
"We know that [the] majority of the participants will be Māori, it is important to have Māori input into the detailed design of this programme.
"They are inviting mana whenua to work with the government on their agenda, not to work in partnership on what mana whenua would like to see delivered and made available to these rangatahi."
Rangitāne Māori education expert Professor Meihana Durie, a descendant of Rangitāne from the hapū of Te Rangitepāia, was surprised about the lack of consultation with his hapū.
Professor Meihana Durie. Photo: RNZ/Justine Murray
When Durie first heard of the boot camp proposal, he was surprised because of the legacy of te rangimārie or peace in the area, he said.
The tradition for his hapū was about emphasising mātauranga or education, alongside manaakitanga and an expression of aroha to others, he said.
That stemmed from a legacy set in place in the mid-1800s by his Rangitāne ancestor and leader, Hoani Meihana, alongside another Rangitāne leader, Te Peeti Te Aweawe, who wanted his "descendants to be the instigators of reconciliation and peace".
Durie said their Rangitāne tīpuna, Hoani Meihana and Te Peeti Te Aweawe, laid down a foundation for accepting and working alongside settlers from other iwi and countries, and said it was up to the next generations to uphold that legacy.
"So we really do have a duty as Rangitāne to ensure that young people in our rohe and within our city, rangatahi, particularly those rangatahi who are in vulnerable positions, that we are doing our utmost to show, I guess, an expression of aroha and manaakitanga towards them.
"In this particular instance, our view is that the idea of a boot camp being held with rangatahi who are already vulnerable, in the rohe of Rangitāne, for us, it doesn't sit right and it doesn't sit in alignment with our kaupapa of te rangimārie."
The New Zealand Defence Force has distanced itself from the pilot, saying it only had a governance role.
But as recently as 1 July, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the boot camp's location in Palmerston North was "close to the Defence assets that are there that can be used, as I understand, from time to time".
An example of the uniform youth taking part in the pilot will be required to wear. Photo: RNZ / Rachel Helyer-Donaldson
Durie was concerned that military pathway for the rangatahi did not reconcile with the values of manaakitanga, aroha, whanaungatanga, and kotahitanga.
"Those are principles that are absolutely pivotal to well-being and to good health from a Māori perspective."
Durie said his people of Ngāti Te Rangitepāia have not been consulted about the kaupapa of rangimārie.
"When you are undertaking an initiative as significant as the boot camps, surely one would want to talk about the kaupapa that are pivotal parts of mana whenua existence."
Had consultation occurred, his hapū could have stated they believed other things could be done to better the lives of vulnerable rangatahi, he said.
He referred to it as a lost opportunity.
"Meaningful consultation is also about actively embracing and taking on the things that mana whenua would believe and understand to be important.
"So I would say that the door needs to stay open."
When asked for comment about the involvement of mana whenua, Children's Minister Karen Chhour said in a statement she was keenly aware of the importance of the cultural aspects of the programme.
The minister said she has "encouraged mana whenua, and other hapu and iwi around the country, to be involved in supporting their young people as they move through the different stages of the pilot, especially when transitioning back into the community".