The Māori economy is growing rapidly, with its asset base rising to $126 billion in 2023, surpassing the previous $100 billion projection for 2030.
These findings come from the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s (MBIE) Te Ōhanga Māori 2023 report released today, driven by key data from Census 2023.
“We have a lot of asset base with all land, fisheries, and forestry, so naturally we are going to have that as our highest sector of our Māori economy, and it continues to grow,” says Shar Amner, General Manager Te Kupenga Māori Economic Policy and Strategic Partnerships at MBIE.
“We are not going to do away with our land, our whenua; it’s just going to remain, so we just need to do better with it.”
Its contribution to GDP increased from $17 billion in 2018 to $32 billion in 2023. The focus has shifted from traditional sectors like agriculture, forestry, and fishing to services like administrative, professional, and support services.
However, the three largest sectors were professional, scientific and technical services at $5.1 billion; administrative, support, and other services at $4.2 billion; and real estate and property services at $4.1 billion.
In addition to the Māori asset base and it’s value added to Gross Domestic Product, the report found significant growth across the Māori workforce, Māori-owned businesses, and Māori population.
Whiwhinga Mahi
Māori employment (including employers, employees, self-employed, and unpaid workers) totaled 390,700 in 2023, seeing a 19 percent rise.
The report also found more Māori are now employed in high-skilled jobs compared to those in low-skilled jobs.
Shar says, “With a renewed focus on tourism across Aotearoa New Zealand, we’re pleased to note that Māori tourism contributed $1.2b to GDP in 2023, up from $975m in 2018.”
Taupori Māori
I piki anō te taupori Māori mā te 14 ōrau i te tau 2023 mai i te 775,800 ki te 887,500.
Hei tā te Minita Whanaketanga Māori, i a Tama Potaka, kei te whanake haere te taha ōhanga o te ao Māori.
“The important thing is that we are growing as a demographic, and we are growing in terms of asset value, but that doesn’t mean anything if our culture, [society], and our communities aren’t growing healthier and wealthier.”
Hei tāna anō, me aronui ngā tamariki ki ngā mahi i te kura, e piki ai te ōhanga o te motu whānui.
“Kids doing something to improve their situation and their opportunities either to be [supplying] business or professional services to others or just be selling goods overseas—that’s where the biggest growth is gonna come.”
Pakihi Māori
Tōna 24,000 ngā pakihi Māori i Aotearoa nei i te tau 2023—he pikinga nui nō te tau 2018, e 19,200 te kaute o ngā pakihi Māori i taua wā.
“The number of self-employed Māori surged by 86 percent, while the number of Māori employers increased by 91 percent,” te kī a Shar.
Ki Tāmaki Makaurau kitea ai te maha o ngā pakihi Māori i Aotearoa. Tūhene atu i te 5000 ngā pakihi.
“Māori business growth, Māori economic growth, Māori community growth is gonna be at the beating heart of [Aotaroa’s economic growth]—without that heart, I don’t think we’re gonna get there as a country.”
“It’s not just going for growth for a certain part of the country; it’s actually going for growth for everyone.”
Cultural Capital Untapped
The MBIE report also referred to KIWA Digital, a world-leading cultural creative agency and indigenous-owned media technology business, as one of the case studies. It developed VoiceQ—technology that enabled dubbing into various indigenous languages.
Amner used ‘culture’ such as tikanga, identity, and mātauranga māori as a significant x-factor and one of the four bottom lines used to measure the Māori economy.
“It’s a value add for us as iwi māori and pakihi māori and corporations for that Māori economy. We just need to continue to do what we know is best for our whenua, our tangata, our people, our maunga, and our awa. As long as we keep that as our core, everything else will look after itself.”
