Maori Party – Policy at a Glance
3 min read
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples
Transport
- Improved public transport with fewer emissions.
- Shift focus from private car use to public transport, walking and cycling.
- Improve urban design and broadband so people are less likely to travel.
- Education
- Primary and secondary schools are required to teach heritage studies including a history of the Pacific, in line with the aspirations of Pacific people.
- All new citizens must complete a course in the history of Aotearoa and the Pacific.
- Financial literacy becomes a core part of the curriculum.
- Free ECE for four year-olds.
- Playcentres and Kohanga Reo are funded under the 20 hour allocation of free childcare.
- Reward schools for addressing underachievement and succeeding in innovation.
- Increase Te Reo courses and increase Maori language teachers.
- Start a three-year recruitment drive for Maori teachers.
- Reduce tertiary fees and introduce a universal student allowance.
- Student loan repayments only start when your income is 1.5 times the average wage.
- Better public information on school performance.
- Mana whenua representation on all public school and tertiary governance boards.
Law and Order
- No law and order policy on their website.
Economy (incl. tax)
- First $25,000 of annual income earned would be tax free.
- Food exempt from GST.
- Increase minimum wage to $16 per hour.
- Implement a financial transaction tax.
- Reduce business tax by 5 percent
- Support business development incentives
- All public servants will have to be competent with Maori culture.
- Review KiwiSaver to see whether it is fair.
- Preserve land and restrict it from foreign ownership.
- Invest in deep-sea fishing boats which would create 5,000 jobs.
- Insert a Treaty clause into overseas investment legislation giving iwi the right of refusal.
- Focus on job creation is areas where there a skill shortages health, infrastructure, finance and green energy.
Environment
- GE free New Zealand.
- Ban 1080.
- Retain and resource enviro-schools.
- Develop iwi environmental monitoring/evaluation of rivers/lakes/sea/water supply.
- Promote development of renewable energy resources to preserve oil, gas and coal.
- Support organic food production.
- Urgently progress aquaculture settlements.
- Oppose the sale/lease of land for mining.
Social Welfare
- Establish a Ministry of Families.
- Eliminate child poverty by 2020
- Look into reintroducing the universal child benefit.
- Raise core benefits including superannuation and veterans pensions.
- Solo parents/those on low incomes will be sponsored into workforce training.
- Reinstate the training incentive allowance.
- Lower the superannuation age of entitlement to 60 for groups with a low life-expectancy.
Asset Sales
- No asset sales but would encourage iwi to invest in assets if they were sold.
Health
- Improve access to health.
- Free health services for under-sixes and over-sixties.
- Ban tobacco.
- Initiate wellness checks every six months.
- Fund programmes to reduce high rates of diabetes and heart disease.
- Implement annual oral health checks for low-income families.
- Whanau-focused alcohol and drug addiction restoration services, including in prisons.
- Encourage regular cervical and prostate cancer checks.
- Ensure universal coverage of the vision and hearing screening programme.
Maori
- Whanau Ora is the way forward where families determine what is in their best interests.
- Incentives for Maori skills, qualifications and participation in the labour market.
- Incentives to encourage the growth of privately and collectively-owned Maori businesses.
- Full funding for the Waitangi Tribunal.
- Promote chief-to-chief land negotiation.
- Embed Maori electorate seats.
