Rohe arotahinga 3: Ki te whakapiki whiwhinga mahi a te Māori, ka tautoko i ngā pakihi Māori me ngā kaiwhakahaere ā-iwi kia eke hei whakahaere hiranga i te taiōhanga o Tāmaki Makaurau Advance Māori employment and support Māori business and iwi organisations to be significant drivers of Auckland’s economy

A prosperous Auckland economy will include more opportunities for Māori, especially rangatahi, to gain the essential skills to increase their employment and income levels and to help drive Auckland's economic growth.

Tāmaki Makaurau presents Māori with economic opportunities across many sectors. There is potential for innovation, entrepreneurship and increasing international business opportunities.

Māori business leaders, iwi A number of hapū (section of a tribe) related through a common ancestor. , Māori collectives, local government and others in the private sector need to work together to take up commercial and digital opportunities.

Support systems for Māori business owners need to be more accessible and well-coordinated, and enable the Māori business ecosystem to flourish.

Tāmaki Makaurau has a strong, vibrant and growing base of Māori entrepreneurs and assets, particularly in high-value manufacturing and construction. These industries also have large, highly-skilled Māori workforces.

Māori businesses have an emphasis on Māori values, joint ventures and enduring relationships.

They are commercially driven with well-defined long-term goals that promote a  sustainable approach. They also focus on growing the Māori asset base and creating direct benefits back to iwi. This embeds a process that both empowers communities and cultivates an untapped part of the economy.

A visible thriving Māori economy creates unique opportunities for Auckland. Greater Māori economic success will have benefits for all Aucklanders and contribute to the further development of an internationally attractive Auckland economy.

Globally, consumers are increasingly interested in sustainable and responsible business practices and products.

This interest aligns well with Māori values, and provides an opportunity for Māori to continue to apply a te ao Māori approach that is of growing value to the world.

How this can be done

Priorities for Māori in Tāmaki Makaurau include:

• improving economic outcomes by backing the strengths of the Māori economy
• tackling the root causes of the significant gap in income between Māori and non-Māori. 

Iwi and Māori communities, government, organisations and businesses will be instrumental in developing new ideas, methods and solutions needed to improve Māori economic wellbeing.

Areas that could be looked at include:

• supporting Māori business development
• boosting rangatahi participation in education and training
• increasing Māori employment and wages
• supporting collaboration of iwi and Māori collectives to share lessons and maximise economic value
• supporting a te ao Māori approach to Māori enterprise development
• supporting Māori entrepreneurial initiatives
• continuing partnerships between council and iwi.

Learn more about Kia Ora Tāmaki Makaurau, council’s performance measurement framework for outcomes that Māori identified as mattering most to them.

Related information

• Impact of new technology
• The Tripartite Economic Alliance
• The importance of soft skills
• Educational achievement of Auckland's children and young people
• Why lifting productivity is important
• Groups that experience poor education and employment outcomes
• Māori and Pasifika Trades Training programme

More information about this outcome