A report released this month by Te Puni Kokiri — New Zealand's Ministry of Maori Development — shows that in employment, wealth, health and other areas, the gap between Maori and non-Maori has widened since the late 1980s.
Progress Towards Closing Social and Economic Gaps between Maori and Non-Maori presents data collected by state sector agencies and is the first report of its kind in NZ.
Over the past decade, Maori participation in the work force has been drastically reduced. Maori unemployment skyrocketed after 1988, peaking at 27% in the early years of the National government. While it fell slightly again during the high economic growth of the mid-1990s, since 1996 it has worsened and is now over 18%, compared to a non-Maori rate of just over 6%.
The disparity between Maori and non-Maori unemployment rates has been greater among females than males, and Maori teenagers are more than twice as likely as non-Maori teenagers to be unemployed.
Between 1987 and 1997, the gap between Maori and non-Maori household income has almost doubled, from a difference of $5500 a year to $10,000.
In 1996, 36.3% of Maoris' main source of income was government benefits, as compared to 14.3% of non-Maoris. The gap between Maori and non-Maori home ownership rates has also increased.
While the disparity between Maori and non-Maori life expectancy has narrowed over the past 40 years (mainly due to a lower Maori infant mortality rate), the chances of Maori being hospitalised for asthma, pneumonia, influenza, cancer and strokes has increased. The average life expectancy for Maori men (68 years) is 5.5 years less than non-Maori, and for Maori women (73 years) it is six years less than non-Maori.
Between 1981 and 1997, the disparity between Maori and non-Maori suicide attempt hospitalisation rates almost trebled, for both females and males.
According to a July 15 NZ Associated Press report, John Tamihere of West Auckland's Waipareira Trust said that even the seemingly positive parts of the report, such as indications that more Maori are staying on at secondary school and passing sixth form, are largely illusory.
The higher numbers have more to do with a population blip of school-age Maori, and those who are staying on at school are doing so only because there are no jobs or benefits for people aged under 20, he said. "If you are Maori, even with a degree, you are likely to spend three times as long as non-Maori in unemployment."
Maori Congress convener Archie Taiaroa says Maori face unemployment rates of 60% or higher in some rural and provincial areas.
"There are a lot of Maori who haven't got a hope of getting a job ... It's only when Maori own their resources, land and forests that they get a look in."