He waka eke hoa, engari raising waka, and not just yachts

15/07/2020

Last week, the Public Services Association published a paper by me and my friend Dr Amohia Boulton.

We were part of the PSA’s 2020 Progressive Thinking Seminars.

In our paper, Amohia and I talk about how COVID-19 has reminded us of how underprepared the world is to detect and respond to emerging infectious diseases while simultaneously confirming how well placed and effective institutions in Te Ao Māori are in being able to react decisively and positively on behalf of our people.

We argue while Government leaders remain focused on navigating the current crisis, they could also be making smarter investments in Iwi, in Māori institutions and in the Whānau Ora Commissioning agencies – as all three institutions have the potential to accelerate the nation’s COVID-19 response while also ensuring COVID-19 does not raise inequality in the same way past pandemics have.

We talk about improving service delivery to whānau, hapū and Māori by finding a balance between what worked before and what needs to happen to succeed in the ‘next normal’.

We cover what worked in the COVID-19 lockdown, what needs to be resolved, which attitudes and practices need to stop, and what must be accelerated.

Special mihi to the Public Services Association. They never retreat from arguing for policies that improve public services and the working conditions of those who deliver them. They are a powerful voice and a key player in New Zealand politics.

Disclaimer

These are my evolving thoughts, rhetorical positions and creative provocations. They are not settled conclusions. Content should not be taken as professional advice, official statements or final positions. I reserve the right to learn, unlearn, rethink and grow. If you’re here to sort me neatly into left vs right, keep moving. I’m not the partisan you’re looking for. These in...

Waitangi Tribunal Thursdays: Wai 13 …

He Waka Tē Ai Tahuri Waitangi Tribunal Thursdays is where I return to the Tribunal’s early reports, not as history or as legal analysis, but as maps of how the state is designed and how its policy advisory, delivery, and regulatory systems work. After the Motiti Island report, we turn to three short reports in succession: Wai 13, Wai 14 and Wai 15. Read quickly and independently, ...

Loose Threads: “Dear Colleagu …

Starmer, Free and Frank Advice, and What Three Jurisdictions Reveal About One Constitutional Problem On 7 May 2026, the night before local elections in which his party faced what most forecasters predicted would be a historic rout, Sir Keir Starmer emailed every civil servant in the United Kingdom. The email was, on its face, an exercise in reassurance. He thanked officials for their service. ...

Te Rā Whakamana: What the Interpre …

This is the next post in the regular Te Rā Whakamana series. The post on Cohen’s street-level entrepreneurs closed by saying that critical traditions all argue that implementation is never neutral, and that the policy frame the public management system carries always has politics built in. Today’s post takes that on. Vaughn and Balch’s chapter on a decolonial approach to policy design ...