Te Arawhiti

Te Arawhiti
The Office for Māori Crown Relations
Crown Entity overview
Formed	January 1, 2019
Preceding agencies	Office of Treaty Settlements; Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Team; Settlement Commitments Unit; Crown/Māori Relations Unit;
Type	Departmental Agency
Jurisdiction	New Zealand
Headquarters	Justice Centre, 19 Aitken St, Wellington, New Zealand
Minister responsible	Tama Potaka, Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti;
Crown Entity executive	Lil Anderson;
Child agencies	Te Kāhui Whakatau (Treaty Settlements); Te Kāhui Takutai Moana (Marine and Coastal Area); Te Kāhui Whakamana (Settlement Commitments); Te Kāhui Hīkina (Māori Crown Relations);
Website	www.tearawhiti.govt.nz

Te Arawhiti ("The Bridge"), also called the Office for Māori Crown Relations, is a public service departmental agency in New Zealand. Established in 2018 by the 52nd New Zealand Parliament, it oversees the government's work with Māori as part of the Crown-Māori relations portfolio. Its creation included consolidating several existing government units and offices into the agency, including the Crown/Māori Relations Unit, the Office of Treaty Settlements, Takutai Moana Team and the Settlement Commitments Unit.^[1]^[2]^[3]

History

The portfolio mandate was established after a public engagement process in 2018 led by the former Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti, Kelvin Davis where twenty hui (meetings) around New Zealand were held, attended by 1600 people, and 227 written or online submissions were received.^[4]

In late May 2024, 1 News reported that Te Arawhiti had overspent its budget, with expenses rising to NZ$30 million. While the previous Labour Government had allocated the agency NZ$12 million in 2023, this was not enough to cover its operating expenses including fees for settling Treaty of Waitangi claims. As a result, 200 claimants including the Ngātiwai groups were facing uncertainty in having their claims settled.^[5]

In early July 2024, Te Arawhiti proposed cutting 13 jobs. The department was directed to cut 6.5% of its budget as part of the National-led government's wider public sector cuts.^[6]

On 13 August 2024, Crown–Māori Relations Minister Tama Potaka announced that Te Arawhiti's monitoring and Treaty of Waitangi settlements compliance functions would be shifted to Te Puni Kōkiri (the Ministry for Māori Development). In response, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said that the Government "has given us a really loud message that it doesn't see itself having a contemporary relationship with iwi (tribes) post-settlement." Similarly, the Green Party's Māori Crown Relations spokesperson Steve Abel and the Labour Party's Peeni Henare condemned the restructuring as a backward step in the Crown's relationship with Māori.^[7]