Chronology for 1835-1899
The colonial redistribution of welfare: Dismantling hapū ora
This period opens with a politically and socio-economically robust iwi Māori population of around 80,000 people.[i] go to footnote Whenua and whakapapa form the basis of hapū and whānau wellbeing. W.H. Oliver argues that the first instrument of social policy in New Zealand was the system set up by Hobson in 1840 for the purchase and resale to settlers of Māori land.[ii] go to footnote Pākehā welfare was dependent on the continued dispossession of Māori land.[iii]go to footnote
The New Zealand Wars (1845–1872) either directly or indirectly impacted all iwi Māori throughout New Zealand.[iv] go to footnote Related legislative measures enabled the Crown to alienate Māori land and taonga across the motu prior to and beyond the next century via confiscation, land tenure reforms, local legislative measures and contested land purchases.
Iwi Māori assertions of rangatiratanga and resistance to the alienation of lands occurred across the motu, either physically, through the courts, via direct petitioning to the government or through the simple occupation of lands. Such measures led to some government concessions, such as the Sims Commission and South Island Landless Natives Act 1906,[v] go to footnote but after 1872 resistance also sometimes led to the government’s use of force in the later 19th century and well into the 20th century. (eg, Parihaka in 1881, Waima in 1898, Takaparawhāu in 1978).[vi] go to footnote
By the end of the 19th century Māori were a minority of the national. In 1896 the Māori population hit an all-time low of 42,650, compared to a Pākehā population of just over 700,000. Although the Māori population was recovering, their communities were reeling from land alienation, decline of resources, indebtedness, diseases and Māori communities survived on subsistence economies, with a growing dependence on paid work.
Māori were either excluded or faced barriers to accessing welfare support introduced during this period.
Chronology events
Displaying 251 - 260 of 270 events.
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Families Commission disestablished
The Families and Whānau Wellbeing Research Programme, and Growing Up in New Zealand, were transferred to the Research and Evaluation Unit of MSD.[i]
Date: 2018 Period: 1990-current -
Section 70a benefit reductions removed
Under section 70a of the Social Security Act 1964, the benefit received by a sole parent is reduced for each dependent child for whom they do not seek child support [subject to some exemptions]. The reductions apply if a sole parent receiving benefit does …
Date: 2018 Period: 1990-current -
Te Arawhiti established
In 2018 Cabinet agreed to establish Te Arawhiti – an agency to oversee the Government’s work with Māori in a post-Treaty settlement era. Te Arawhiti’s scope includes: Te Kāhui Whakatau (Treaty Settlements), Te Kāhui Whakamana (Settlement Commitments), and …
Date: 2018 Period: 1990-current -
Welfare Expert Advisory Group established
The government established the Welfare Expert Advisory Group to provide advice on the future of New Zealand’s social security system. The report, Whakamana Tangata, Restoring Dignity to Social Security in New Zealand was released in May 2019, and made over…
Date: 2018 Period: 1990-current -
Child and youth wellbeing strategy
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) introduced the strategy, framework and programme of action.[i]
Date: 2019 Period: 1990-current -
Inquiries into uplift of a week-old baby
The two inquiries focused on what became known as the ‘Hastings Uplift’ by Oranga Tamariki. This involved an attempted uplifting of a baby without notice under a section 78 custody order in May 2019. The mother’s first child had been taken into care and de…
Date: 2019 Period: 1990-current -
Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities
Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities was established.[i]
Date: 2019 Period: 1990-current -
s7AA Oranga Tamariki Act 1989
Section 7AA came into force on 1 July 2019. It sets out specific duties of the chief executive in order to ‘recognise and provide a practical commitment to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (te Tiriti o Waitangi)’ as stipulated by section 4 of the A…
Date: 2019 Period: 1990-current -
Te Pae Tawhiti and Te Pae Tata launched
Te Pae Tawhiti was introduced by MSD as a strategic direction. The three strategic shifts included: Mana Manaaki (creating a positive experience); Kotahitanga (partnering for greater impact) and Kia Takatū tatou (supporting long-term social and economic de…
Date: 2019 Period: 1990-current -
Treasury introduces first Wellbeing Budget
This Budget encouraged agencies to develop wellbeing measures for reporting, and looked beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to ‘improving the wellbeing of our people, protecting the environment and strengthening of our communities.’[i]
Date: 2019 Period: 1990-current
Footnotes
- [i] go to main content ‘The first Māori census was attempted in 1857–58’. Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2014, p. 246. Earlier censuses were taken during the 1840s, however these were particular to regions and settlements and from there estimates were made by missionaries and colonists as to what the national population level might have been. Salmond and other prominent authors are sceptical of these figures and believe the numbers were greater. A census of Māori was attempted in 1867 but warfare prevented its completion. Tangata Whenua, Appendix One, p. 490.
- [ii] go to main content Cited in Margaret Tennant, Past Judgement: Social Policy in New Zealand History, co-edited with Bronwyn Dalley, 2004, p. 17.; ‘The April report: report of the Royal Commission on Social Policy’, Volume 1: New Zealand Today, New Zealand Royal Commission on Social Policy, Wellington, 1988, pp. 4–5.
- [iii] go to main content Tennant, 2004, p. 41.
- [iv] go to main content For more detailed information see the following link: https://teara.govt.nz/en/new-zealand-wars
- [v] go to main content For more information see: Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2014, pp. 256–301, and https://teara.govt.nz/en/new-zealand-wars
- [vi] go to main content Tangata Whenua, pp.322-3.