Waitangi Treaty’s Impact on Business Operations and Employment

During the reign of England, there are many injustices that were done to people in different countries. New Zealand is one of the countries that were colonized. After a long reign, the treaty of Waitangi was signed. In essence, the Treaty is a piece of document that acted as an agreement between the Crown and the Maori Tribes leaders’ representative in 1840 (Human Resource Institute of New Zealand, 2015). In other words, TOW is a covenant between Maori people and the crown. TOW is one of the important documents that have ever been prepared in the history of New Zealand due to its business implications as well as its significance to the wellbeing of the Maori tribes in New Zealand. The treaty has a number of regulations regarding business operations and employment. The most significant aspect of the treaty is that it advocated for the protection of  Maori rights in terms of acknowledging the Maori tribe’s rights and the ownership of Maori land and the protection of their lifestyle (New Zealand Immigration, 2017). It was established that the government should ensure that all the needs of Maori are addressed and also take back whatever they took from Maori people as a way of restoring faith. The government is held responsible for handling the grievances of the indigenous people and should foster equity among the New Zealanders (New Zealand Immigration, 2017). Considering these facts, it is apparent that the treaty has a significant impact on the New Zealanders life in various ways such as their way of living and how they conduct their businesses. The purpose of this report is to analyse the application of the Waitangi Treaty in a local business setting.      

In the spirit of honouring the treaty, the Rotorua lakefront development project incorporated some cultural concepts. According to Sparks (2018), it is noted that the main design principle of the lakefront boardwalk is to present the people’s stories and their unique cultural identity in a renowned environment that matches international standards. The development concepts centres on the cultural experiences of the Maori people. The project can be considered as one of those that acknowledge the existence of the treaty since specific guidelines were laid down that advocate for community engagement and cultural design concepts. The engagement process in the project involves the Ngati Whakaue, the iwi who have ownership of the Rotorua lakefront (Dyall et al., 2014). The Te Arawa Lakes Trust and Pukeroa Oruawhata will also be directly engaged (Boast, 2006). The guiding principles of the project are values for the treaty and value to Maori. The development strictly follows these principles which is one of the ways to show respect to the Maori people and honouring the Treaty. The case study is an example that shows the significance of the treaty to the people and to the business world in general especially on matters regarding corporate social responsibility.     

Case Study: Rotorua Lakefront Development Project

The Treaty of Waitangi has three main principles that are relevant in business and other sectors when applied effectively. In essence, the treaty principles act as a moral framework for the implementation of the policies. According to Murton (2012), people should be aware of the Tikanga regarding Maori people and that which applies to the iwi and rohe the places in which people work. The principles show the importance of recognising the language variations of the New Zealanders and the differences in Tikanga and Takiwa. The Treaty is guided by three primary principles: partnership, participation, and protection. Partnership refers to the spirit of working together with the tribe, sub-tribe and the Maori communities to ensure the rights of the Maori people are respected and protected (Hudson & Russell, 2009). Participation, on the other hand, refers to the involvement of Maori in matters regarding governance, design and management, implementation and analysis particularly research that involves Maori (Hudson & Russell, 2009). The third principle, which is protection, refers to the active protection of Maori individual and collective rights, the Maori culture, Maori data, cultural values, concepts, practices, norms, and language (Hudson & Russell, 2009). 

According to Oh (2008), the principle of partnerships operates in a social model that is bicultural. This principle confirms the significance of cultural identity and recognises the presence of the Maori context within the entire country (Durie, 1995). The bilateral kind of a relationship ensures that the business community and Maori and linked and work together towards achieving a common goal. The relationship does not end in business only, but also in other important areas such as education, politics, sports and health. The principle of partnership gives the Maori a sense of belonging and fosters a good relationship between the New Zealand government and the Maori tribes and their acknowledgement of the Government’s rights of governance. Both parties are responsible for improving each other’s welfare. Efficiency is the primary objective of the partnership principle. Stone (2000) argues that in order to achieve maximum value of particular resources, one should compare the benefits in various ways of handling things can help communities to achieve the most out of the scarce resources available. The principle of a partnership will help the New Zealanders to achieve efficiency through the proper utilization of resources, such as the lakefront. The principle guides the government and the business community on how they can equitably use the resources in achieving the greater good of the society. Any project or service delivery to Maori should ensure that they are fully involved in order to let them identify the most relevant initiatives and needs of the people. When it comes to resource allocation, a utility is a very important criterion to evaluate the rationality of the decisions.

Treaty of Waitangi’s Principles in Business

The principle of participation is based on the egalitarian model of society (Hayward, 1997). In this type of community, the primary assumption is that people must enjoy equal social, economic and political rights and privileges. Considering this fact, business opportunities should be provided to the people according to their needs. This principle helps people to realise that every individual has equal rights and privileges. In the business arena, every organisation is expected to support the local people. Community participation is key to the success of any project. Every community member is entitled to services of appropriate standard (Larner & Craig, 2002). The primary objective of participation is equity. Participation fosters equality in many aspects of an individual’s world. The principle of equity promotes social justice. According to Lashley (2000), social justice can be defined as the total fairness of a community or society in its distributions of resources and problems. Based on the social justice principles, every person is entitled to equal rights and privileges such as education, healthcare and minimum income. The principle offers a basis of evaluating issues in business that concern the local people.

The last principle is protection which is applied as a duty of services to acknowledge and recognise the cultural beliefs, practices and values of Maori (Orange, 2015). With this regard, the principle ensures that Maori are given culturally acceptable services. This principle is crucial as it shows businesses the importance of protecting the local people’s resources. The main goal of the protection principle is liberty. In this case, liberty refers to freedom or the choices that one chooses as long as they do not harm others. Kingi (2007) states that curtailing other people’s liberty is essential for the preservation of the society in which the people can flourish and enjoy freedom of choice. It is imperative to note that the expressions will still fall within the Government’s defined activities. With this regard, the strategies of any business activity should pay particular attention to reorienting the operations to Maori interpretations of identity, health models and expectations of the services (Ministry of Health, 2000). This principle is still relevant today because it dramatically affects how investors interact with Maori tribes in New Zealand.      

The Rotorua Lakefront project as discussed in the case study has applied the TOW principles in a number of ways. First of all, the entire project is guided by two main principles whose implications are similar to the TOW principles. The first principle is value the role played by TALT and Te Arawa regarding the lakes. In this case, it is required that the project should incorporate Matauranga Maori which is in line with the TOW principle of participation. The second principle of the projects in the case study is value tea ao Maori which requires that Maori people should be reconnected to the Te Arawa lakes as a way of instilling a sense of collectivity. Another example of TOW principles inclusions and considerations is the cultural design of the lakefront and engagement of the community in all phases of the project.       

Partnership

The TOW principle considerations in the case study have some importance on the people’s life. Strict adherence to the principles implies that there will be community engagement, protection and involvement throughout any project. From the case study perspective, it led to closer engagement of the community. The considerations of the principles led to cultural safety as the government and other stakeholders aimed at improving the lives of Maori (Wepa, 2015).

There have been threats to remove the Treaty principles from legislation. Maintaining the principles in the legislation is essential. The principles should also be applied in court decisions to ensure that Maori welfare and life are protected. The TOW should find a place in New Zealand since this will determine whether the principles will be relevant or not. Maori should be consulted at all times on matters of public relevance as a way of honouring the treaty and its principles.      

Conclusion

The TOW principles have great influence in various sectors such as health, business, and education, among others. The treaty provides a framework on how Maori community can be engaged in the government and other development projects. This has promoted self-determination among Maori tribes. The TOW principles provide clear guidelines that enable Maori to take part in many areas, particularly health. The implementation and adherence to these principles will foster unity and a sense of belonging among the New Zealanders.   

References

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New Zealand Immigration. (2017). The Treaty of Waitangi. Retrieved from https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/living-in-nz/history-government/the-treaty-of-waitangi

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Orange, C. (2015). The treaty of Waitangi. Bridget Williams Books.

Sparks, Z. (2018). First concept plans revealed for Rotorua Lakefront, council applies for more funding. Retrieved from https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12103932

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