Chronology for 1990-current
Kei hea te rito? Bi-culturalising welfare
Multiple waves of welfare reform occur throughout this period in line with changing government leaders and governments. Between November 1990 and 1999 the National Government welfare reforms were made under Ruth Richardson. Economic and Social Initiative (ESI) outlines proposed social and employment policy changes ‘(Jim Bolger, Ruth Richardson and Bill Birch were the authors)’. This led to the Employment Contracts Act 1991, and eligibility and benefit cuts to increase work incentives, work testing and means testing family benefit via new ‘Family Support’ payments.[i] go to footnote
‘Māori welfare dependency rose while incomes decreased to such an extent that in 1990 the average income of Māori households languished at about 20 percent below the average income for New Zealand households as a whole’.[ii] go to footnote The rate of Māori unemployment continued to climb, reaching 25.4 percent of the total Māori workforce in 1992.’[iii] go to footnote By the end of this period the wellbeing of Māori children remained a dominating issue. In July 2020, there were 4,179 tamariki Māori in state care, representing 69 percent of the total care population. By 31 December 2020, Māori comprised 75 percent of the children and young people currently in the Youth Justice custody of the chief executive. This compared to the nine percent in custody who identified as New Zealand European or other.[iv] go to footnote
Between 1999 and 2008 the Fifth Labour Government placed some emphasis on addressing inequalities and family development. A further round of benefit cuts and beneficiary obligations followed with the National Government 2011–2017. This National Government also focused on more targeted spending through adopting a Social Investment approach.
Iwi Māori sought greater control over their welfare. It was a period of growth of post-settlement agreements or accords, where largely settled iwi were engaged in long-term work with different government departments focusing on a range of cultural, social, economic and environmental outcomes for their people.
Chronology events
Displaying 41 - 50 of 270 events.
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Tohunga Suppression Act
Prohibited traditional Māori healing practices.[i]
Date: 1907 Period: 1900-1937 -
Native Land Act
This Act prohibited customary whāngai practices. Instead, formal adoptions needed to be legally registered through the Native Land Court.[i]
Date: 1909 Period: 1900-1937 -
Pensions Act
This Act consolidated statutes relating to old age, widows, and military pensions. The Act did not apply to Māori who were receiving money appropriated for Native purposes under the Civil List Act 1908. Application required an applicant’s age to be corrobo…
Date: 1913 Period: 1900-1937 -
Māori contingent leave for war
Te Hokowhitu a Tū: Altogether 2,227 men served overseas. Three hundred and thirty-six Māori men (15 percent) who served in the war, on Gallipoli Peninsula or the Western Front, were killed. Of those who returned, nearly 40 percent had been wounded.[i]
Date: 1915 Period: 1900-1937 -
Māori Soldiers Fund
Lady Liverpool with Miria Woodbine Pomare formed a Māori Soldiers Fund which drew upon the resources of 28 Māori women’s committees across the country.[i]
Date: 1915 Period: 1900-1937 -
Military Services Act
The Military Services Act 1916 introduced conscription. Initially conscription applied only to Pākehā, but in June 1917 it was extended to Māori. Nearly 30,000 conscripts had joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force by the end of the war. New forms of pe…
Date: 1916 Period: 1900-1937 -
Eastern Māori Patriotic Association established
Set up by Āpirana Ngata to raise funds for Māori returned servicemen, because of the doubt that the Government would act fairly in providing land for rehabilitation.[i]
Date: 1917 Period: 1900-1937 -
Influenza epidemic
The official figures released at the time grossly underestimated Māori suffering; their death rate was seven times higher than for Pākehā. It is now thought that more than 2,100 Māori died in the epidemic.[i]
Date: 1918 Period: 1900-1937 -
The Epidemic Allowance (Epidemic Pension)
The Epidemic Allowance (Epidemic Pension) was introduced as an immediate response to the sudden deaths during the influenza epidemic of 1918. The Allowance provided for widows whose husbands had died in the epidemic and for the support of children of widow…
Date: 1918 Period: 1900-1937 -
Housing Act
Introduced due to a housing shortage that had become acute with the return of soldiers, a scarcity of labour and a rise in the cost of building materials. The Scheme operated for only three years during which time 800 houses were built.[i]
Date: 1919 Period: 1900-1937
Footnotes
- [i] go to main content Ben Loughrey-Webb, ‘The Welfare Reforms of the Fourth (1990-99) and Fifth (2008-2014) National Governments: A Critical Analysis and Evaluation’, MA Thesis, University of Otago, 2015, pp. 63-8.
- [ii] go to main content Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2014, p. 426.
- [iii] go to main content Tangata Whenua, p. 426.
- [iv] go to main content For this and further examples, see: He Pāharakeke, he Rito Whakakīkinga Whāruarua (justice.govt.nz)