Willie Jackson: Crown-Māori relations at an all-time low

Senior Minister Paul Goldsmith says the government has steadied the ship, put the economy back on track and made New Zealand safer.

But Labour’s Māori development spokesperson Willie Jackson says Māori are experiencing a very different reality.

In a wide-ranging discussion with Mata with Mihingarangi Forbes, Minister for Māori-Crown Relations Paul Goldsmith defended the coalition’s record, pointing to economic recovery, falling national crime figures and Treasury forecasts of 220,000 new jobs over the next four years. Goldsmith said those jobs would create huge opportunities for Māori, young and old.

Jackson wasn’t buying it. “We’ve got Māori youth unemployment at a record high. I think it’s between 15 and 24. We’re up around 25 percent.” He went further, describing Crown-Māori relations, a portfolio held by Goldsmith, as being at an all-time low and an embarrassment.

As evidence, Jackson pointed to the extraordinary reception government ministers received at this year’s Koroneihana.

The annual gathering commemorates the accession and coronation of the Māori monarch, Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po. Goldsmith and fellow Minister Tama Potaka were among the government representatives seated opposite the Queen’s speakers, who delivered pointed criticism of the coalition’s approach to Te Tiriti and legislation affecting Māori rights.

Among the most forceful was Waikato -Tainui leader Tukoroirangi Morgan, “175 pieces of legislation you have passed through the House in 2.9 years. Thirty of those affect us. Māori. Representation, participation. Those things that were enshrined in our Treaty settlements, gone. And I listen to you today rejoice about people who had mana, like Jim Bolger. You’ve got a cheek.”

“The Waikato Raupatu settlement was signed after waiting 132 years and co-signed by Queen Elizabeth. You’ve got a cheek. Who are you? Who are you people to even think that your mana is greater than Queen Elizabeth and Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu?”

Goldsmith rejected Jackson’s assessment of Crown-Māori relations, arguing Morgan did not speak for all Māori. He pointed to ongoing engagement through the Iwi Leaders Forum and said different parts of Government maintained relationships with Māori groups across the country.

The discussion moved to crime where the two politicians disagreed. The Minister said he was particularly proud of his record in Justice, pointing to fewer victims of crime nationally. Given Māori were more likely to be victims, he said, that was great progress for Māori too.

It’s an argument Prime Minister Christopher Luxon made when the coalition announced the return of the three-strikes law in 2024. Asked whether the legislation would disproportionately affect Māori and Pacific peoples, Luxon argued it would target serious repeat offenders and benefit Māori, who were overrepresented among victims.

So, two years on, had that prediction come true?

Jackson said it hadn’t. And the Ministry of Justice’s own figures raise serious questions about whether Māori are sharing in the national improvement. Goldsmith pointed to the government’s headline figure of 37,000 fewer victims of violent crime since 2023.

But for Māori, the numbers tell a different story. The Ministry’s May 2026 violent crime update shows the estimated number of Māori victims increased by 11 percent from the October 2023 baseline, rising from 44,000 to 49,000, that’s 5,000 more Māori victims, not fewer.

And it wasn’t a one-off. May marked the fourth consecutive quarterly increase in Māori victim numbers. When challenged on the Māori figures, Goldsmith responded that “there are a number of reports around”.

The figures come from the Ministry of Justice’s own survey, which is also used to measure progress against the government’s violent crime reduction target.

The discussion also returned to unemployment, a portfolio Jackson held in the previous Labour Government. Jackson described Māori unemployment as being at record levels. The Māori unemployment rate stands at 10.8 percent, compared with the national rate of 5.6 percent, with Jackson arguing the situation is even worse for Māori aged 15 to 24.

There were moments of lighter political sparring too, on arts and culture, Goldsmith reminded viewers he had secured $18 million for Te Matatini. Jackson promptly claimed the credit, saying he had negotiated the funding himself.

And in a quick-fire round to finish, both politicians were asked to name the best Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. Goldsmith nominated himself. Jackson declared Goldsmith the worst, instead naming former ministers Andrew Little, Margaret Wilson and Doug Graham.