Why the UK NZ free trade agreement is good for Maori and why we need to build on top of it

Over the last few weeks there has been a lot of discussion about the value of free trade agreements when it comes to Maori with the signing of the New Zealand UK FTA. With the Maori economy valued at more than $60 billion dollars our focus has traditionally been on building our domestic presence – well, to be honest, that’s not entirely true. If you unpack the Maori economy at least a third of it is reliant on overseas trade or takes advantage of it – from our ownership of more than 50% of fisheries quota and export of kai moana to the hundreds of millions of dollars generated in tourism (pre pandemic) and from our owner of between 10-40% of the primary production of beer, lamb, dairy and kiwifruit, the bare knuckle truth is we are heavily invested in offshore trade. As Maori we can whakapapa that trading all the way back to the late 1700’s with Maori often trading goods and service between Aotearoa and Poihakena (Port Jackson, Sydney) and into the Pacific Islands. My own Great, Great Grand father Sir Charles St Julian played a pivotal role in trade across the Pacific from his base in Sydney - In 1849, St Julian was appointed the Hawaiian Kingdom's Consul in Sydney by King Kamehameha III and Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert Crichton Wyllie. On August 4, 1853, he was appointed as "His Majesty's Commissioner, and Political and Commercial Agent to the Kings, Chiefs and Rulers of the Islands in the Pacific Ocean, not under the protection or sovereignty of any European Government". In his papers, even as far back as the 1800’s, he had a great aspiration for what we now refer to as Indigenous free trade agreements.

That aspiration of his, and shared by me, was achieved in part during the negotiations of the free trade agreement between New Zealand and the United Kingdom with the bringing into being of the Indigenous Chapter. In the analysis of the agreement published in February 2022 that chapter is best summed up this way: that it is a dedicated chapter focused on enhancing Māori trade and economic cooperation. It recognises the unique relationship between Māori and the British Crown as the original signatories to Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi and the special circumstances arising from this. The chapter recognises the value that Māori leadership and a Te Ao Māori perspective contribute to protecting and promoting Maori economic aspirations, including in the realisation of opportunities created by the Agreement and enhancing cultural and people-to-people links between the UK and Māori. The primary purpose of the chapter is to promote cooperation between the Parties to enable and advance Māori economic and wellbeing aspirations. At the same time, the chapter records and complements a range of other areas across the Agreement to enhance Māori participation in trade and investment opportunities. These include: General Exceptions (the Treaty of Waitangi exception clause), Government Procurement, Digital Trade, Intellectual Property, Trade and Gender Equality, Trade and Environment, and Small and MediumSized Enterprises. Specific areas of focus for potential cooperation highlighted in the chapter include: collaboration to enhance the ability for Māori-owned enterprises to access and benefit from the trade and investment opportunities created under the Agreement; collaboration to develop links between UK and Māoriowned enterprises, including with Māori-owned SMEs and strengthening e-commerce opportunities; and efforts to continue to support science, research and innovation links between the UK and Māori communities.

So not only is this agreement good for Maori it sets the baseline for what can now be achieved through negotiations with the EU and existing agreements as they are negotiated. In part, that lesson of needing to protect our intellectual property and culture rights – taonga in every aspect, is not just important but it serves to protect those rights for future generations. But more to the point is the economic aspiration of Maori as a people, as global entrepreneurs, power houses not just in culture but also in business. More to the point there is another massive opportunity for us a Maori nation to latch onto and that is the depth and spread of our own diaspora – the number of our people now settled in other lands. In Australia that number is already in the hundreds of thousands, across Asia, North America and Europe that number is in the tens of thousands – our opportunity is seizing that chance to not only build that network but harness it.

That causes me to advocate that we rethink sometimes just our local understanding of the Te Ao Maori term to be more about where our people live, work and play – and in doing so recognising that we are just home in Aotearoa we are very much a global people. In doing so we don’t just join up our trade and business interests we also provide a pathway to ensure our whanau are connected back to country, back to culture, back to being Maori no matter where on the planet they live.

Finally I will say this – it is and always will be Maori who speak for Maori. It is Maori who know what is best for us, for our Tamariki and our mokopuna. That is why it is always important to ensure that a Maori voice is present not just at home, but also abroad.

Matthew Tukaki is the Chair of the National Maori Authority, former Board Member of the United Nations Global Compact and Australian Representative to the UNGC, member of New Zealand’s World Class Network (KEA) and former Chair of the Sustain Group.