Te Ōhanga Māori i Tāmaki Makaurau – Auckland’s Māori Economy

The Māori economy in Tāmaki Makaurau drives the wider Aotearoa Māori economy forward.

Prepared for The Southern Initiative (TSI) and Auckland Council, Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL) presented a follow on report from Te Ōhanga Māori 2018, analysing the large Māori economy in Tāmaki Makaurau - Te Ōhanga Māori i Tāmaki Makaurau – Auckland’s Māori Economy.

Tāmaki Makaurau was home to 23 percent of the wider Aotearoa Māori population in 2018, and with a much younger population, Māori in Tāmaki Makaurau are entering the workforce at a much faster rate than non-Māori. Furthermore, this Māori workforce was spread across a more diverse range of industries, in more high-skilled and high-wage occupations than Māori in the wider Aotearoa.

However, underlying challenges and barriers created a tale of two cities within the Tāmaki Makaurau Māori economy. Large proportions of Māori were still overrepresented in low-skilled and low-wage occupations in comparison to non-Māori. This unequal distribution of income and wealth limits the delivery of wellbeing for Māori in Tāmaki Makaurau.

The Tāmaki Makaurau Māori economy has unlimited potential that needs to be tapped into, it is home to the largest number of Māori in Aotearoa, and is the driving factor for pushing the wider Aotearoa Māori economy forward. Addressing underlying barriers and challenges for Māori in Tāmaki Makaurau, and the wider Aotearoa would allow for the Māori economy to reach full potential, and deliver wellbeing benefits for whānau right across Aotearoa.

The full report is available through TSI on their website.