Tēnā koutou katoa
Welcome to the Office for Māori Crown Relations – Te Arawhiti
The work of the Office for Māori Crown Relations – Te Arawhiti recognises the need to shift the relationship between Māori and the Crown from one based solely on historical grievance to one focused on the future. We support the Crown in its Treaty obligations, recognising that good faith engagement with Māori will lead to better outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders.
Our strategic framework includes a focus on five high-level priorities:
- We complete the settlement of all historical Treaty claims.
- We enable the recognition of customary takutai moana legislative rights.
- We enforce requirements on the Crown to meet its Treaty settlement commitments.
- We support the Crown to lift its performance to work with Māori to achieve better outcomes.
- We are the strategic advisor to Cabinet, Ministers, and public service agencies to enable good policy decisions that uphold Māori rights and interests.
Te Arawhiti, established in December 2018 as a departmental agency hosted by the Ministry of Justice, brings together the previous Office of Treaty Settlements (including the Takutai Moana team) and Post Settlement Commitments Unit (Te Kāhui Whakamana), alongside the newly established Te Kāhui Hīkina (Crown Māori Relations Unit).