TE IRA TANGATA
Mana tuku iho
Mana deriving from a strong base of identity and belonging.
Mana tuku iho encompasses a sense of identity and belonging to community. It is foundational to waiora (wellbeing). The 2021 Stats NZ General Social Survey found that 80 per cent of New Zealanders found it easy or very easy to express their identities. But the proportion of respondents who found it easy was lower among several groups, including recent migrants (62 per cent) and people of Asian (63 per cent), Pacific (75 per cent), and Māori (77 percent) ethnicity.
A sense of cultural belonging is another key part of mana tuku iho. The use of te reo is central to this belonging for Māori. Maihi Māori – the Māori language strategy developed by and for iwi and Māori – supports the use of te reo as a first language. The proportion of Māori who reported speaking te reo as one of their first languages rose from approximately 17 per cent in 2018 to nearly 23 per cent in 2021.
Mana tauutuutu
Mana found in knowing and fulfilling one's rights and responsibilities to the community, and in the participation and connectedness of an individual in their community.
Mana tauutuutu is a considerable community asset in both times of plenty and times that require resilience. Community cohesion and strength have been vital to New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with iwi and community organisations providing manaakitanga for those most in need.
Trust in other people and institutions is central to mana tauutuutu. In the 2021 Stats NZ General Social Survey, people rated their trust in most New Zealanders at an average of 6.7 on a scale of 0 (no trust at all) to 10 (complete trust). This response was similar to that received to an identical question asked in 2018. However, these results were not distributed evenly across the population, with 15- to 24-year-olds and Māori and Pacific peoples reporting lower average levels of trust in others.
Mana āheinga
Mana in the individual's and the community's capability to decide on their aspirations and realise them in the context of their unique circumstances.
Access to high-quality healthcare is a vital plank of mana āheinga, as it provides a foundation for people to realise their aspirations. In the 2021/22 New Zealand Health Survey, the proportions of New Zealanders who reported being unable to access general practice (GP) services due to cost or wait times being too long were 10.7 per cent and 11.5 per cent respectively. The Government's Budget 2022 $102 million funding boost for community healthcare providers and $86 million funding increase (over four years) for GPs in high-need areas will improve this access.
Income adequacy is another indicator of mana āheinga, as it provides a foundation for growing other aspects of wellbeing. The proportion of New Zealanders who report not having enough money to meet their everyday needs has nearly halved in roughly the past decade, from 16.6 per cent in 2010 to 8.8 per cent in 2021. These rates are higher for disabled people (12.0 per cent), 15- to 24-year-olds (11.6 per cent), sole parents (17.5 per cent), and people of Māori (15.6 per cent) and Pacific (21.4 per cent) ethnicity.
Mana whanake
Mana in the form of the power to grow sustainable, intergenerational prosperity.
Ensuring that our rangatahi have access to a high-quality education is central to mana whanake. It underpins our strategy to lift regular school attendance and literacy and numeracy skills across Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as recently announced changes to ensure that children with the highest needs have those needs met.
The success of the Māori economy is an important lever for enhancing the mana whanake of Māori communities in particular. Te Puni Kōkiri research indicates that Māori-owned business – particularly those with wāhine Māori shareholders – employ more Māori than non-Māori businesses do. And while growth in the number of Māori-owned businesses has been slower in the past decade than it has been for non-Māori-owned business (11 per cent versus 18 per cent in the same 10-year period), there are signs that the pace of growth in the Māori economy has accelerated in recent years.