MĀORI SOCIAL POLICY
The book discusses Māori social policy and Māori affairs policy - although the distinctions between these two are not clearly articulated. My comments are focused on both the policy framework that the book presents, and its analysis of the State's organisational response to the need for a Māori policy capacity.
The authors state that government policy towards Māori is focused on two related areas: settlement of Treaty of Waitangi claims, and the provision of social services. Yet the ensuing discussion is much more concerned with Treaty claims concerning land and natural resources than with the provision of social services. There are currently over twenty claims to the Waitangi Tribunal on health and other social policy issues, and the report on the Waipareira claim is awaited with interest. While there is some discussion of the mainstreaming of social services for Māori, and mention of the development of Māori providers, the text largely ignores the impact of Treaty analysis on the practice of social policy and on the responsiveness of service providers. Such an endeavour would be a valuable contribution to social policy debate.
The book canvasses issues of ownership and control, but other policy concerns over the distinct roles and responsibilities of iwi and the state with regard to provision of services for Māori are not addressed. In particular, the authors do not make clear that achievement of Treaty settlements does not abrogate government from its Article 3 obligations to ensure citizenship rights to services, nor from its responsibility under Article 1 for good government. This lack of attention to claims pertinent to social policy is more than