Space Minister Judith Collins. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The Māori Working Group on Aerospace say they have not been consulted at all on the government's new strategy for space and advanced aviation.
Space Minister Judith Collins launched the New Zealand Space and Advanced Aviation Strategy on Tuesday at the Aerospace Summit in Christchurch.
Working Group chairperson Pauline Harris said it was a shock to hear about the strategy for the first time on Tuesday morning.
The Māori Working Group had been in operation for a number of years to advocate for Māori rights and interests in aerospace, she said.
The strategy makes no reference whatsoever to Māori, a marked shift from the 2023 strategy, she said.
"The major concern is that we are not even present in the aerospace strategy, the concern is also that we need the opportunity to develop our own research and development portfolios in this sector as well and to be able to be probably resourced by the government to do that."
Harris said the strategy lacks robustness at the moment and needs input from Māori to get the full picture.
The Māori Working Group had invited the government to partner with them, she said.
"We want to partner with the government, we're inviting them to partner with us so that we can design and discuss what an aerospace strategy would actually look like that included Māori as Te Tiriti partners."
There were huge opportunities for Māori companies and new Māori-led initiatives in the aerospace sector but there needs to be better Māori representation, Harris said.
In a statement, a spokesperson from the New Zealand Space Agency said Māori aerospace stakeholders were last consulted during the development of the original Aerospace Strategy and National Space Policy in 2022.
The new strategy draws on those two documents, they said.