Māori Wardens

Māori Wardens have specific powers under the Māori Community Development Act 1962. These powers primarily relate to the management of alcohol-related behaviour. Under the Act, Māori Wardens are authorised to:

• Warn a licensee to stop serving liquor to a Māori person,{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1962/0133/latest/DLM341145.html|title=Māori Community Development Act 1962 – Section 31: Prevention of drunkenness|website=legislation.govt.nz|access-date=2018-12-31}}
• Order any Māori person to leave a hotel,{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1962/0133/latest/DLM341146.html|title=Māori Community Development Act 1962 – Section 32: Māori may be ordered to leave hotel|website=legislation.govt.nz|access-date=2018-12-31}}
• Seize liquor at a Māori gathering or function,{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1962/0133/latest/DLM341147.html|title=Māori Community Development Act 1962 – Section 33: Disorderly behaviour at Māori gatherings|website=legislation.govt.nz|access-date=2018-12-31}}
• Retain the car keys of an intoxicated person, where necessary to prevent danger.{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1962/0133/latest/DLM341158.html|title=Māori Community Development Act 1962 – Section 35: Retention of car keys|website=legislation.govt.nz|access-date=2018-12-31}}

The national body for Māori Wardens is a charitable trust, Ngā Wātene Māori o Aotearoa | Māori Wardens of New Zealand. The organisation is governed by a board of trustees made up of regional representatives. Its mission is to "support and service our regional entities to provide support to our communities at all levels".{{Cite web |title=Who we are |url=https://maoriwardens.nz/who-we-are/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Māori Wardens of New Zealand |language=en-GB}} As of 2025, the chairperson is Linda Ngata.{{Cite web|title=Māori Wardens receive $15m funding boost|url=https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/05/17/budget-2025-maori-wardens-receive-15m-funding-boost/|website=1News|access-date=2025-05-18}}

Each rohe (region) is represented by a regional entity. The six regional entities and their corresponding rohe are:

• Ngā Purapura – Te Tai Tokerau, Tāmaki, Tāmaki ki te Tonga
• Te Rohe Pōtae – Waikato, Hauraki, Maniapoto
• Volcanic Interior Plateau/Central – Waiariki, Tauranga Moana, Mataatua, Aotea, Taranaki
• Te Tairāwhiti
• Te Piringa Manatopū – Tākitimu, Raukawa, Te Whanganui-a-Tara
• Te Waipounamu – Te Tauihu, Te Waipounamu, Wharekauri/Rekohu

Each regional entity works in collaboration with local agencies and community groups to promote and deliver Māori Warden services.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/whakamahia/maori-wardens/|title=Māori Wardens|website=Te Puni Kōkiri|access-date=2018-12-30}}

Māori Wardens also operate internationally, particularly in Australia. In states such as Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, and Western Australia, they provide support to Māori and Pacific Islander youth.{{Cite web|title=Maori Wardens Australia {{!}} Aroha ki Te Tangata|url=http://www.maoriwardensaustralia.com.au/|access-date=2022-01-11|language=en-AU}}{{Cite web|title=Melbourne's Māori street wardens are using culture to steer young people from crime|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/melbournes-maori-street-wardens-are-using-culture-to-steer-young-people-from-crime/l0l1qar1j|access-date=2025-04-29|website=SBS News|language=en}}{{Cite news|date=2016-09-17|title=Pacific Islander elders mix it with youth in Melbourne's west|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-17/pacific-islander-elders-mix-it-with-youth-in-melbournes-west/7851958|access-date=2025-04-29|work=ABC News|language=en-AU}}

The government formally recognised rūnanga in 1861 to provide for local Māori self-government.{{Cite web|url=https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Publications/WT-Report-on-the-Maori-Community-Development-act-Claim.pdf|title=Report on Crown's Review of Māori Community Development Act and Role of Māori Wardens|date=8 Dec 2014|website=Waitangi Tribunal|access-date=}}{{Rp|pages=71–72}} Māori Wardens (referred to as Kaitiaki) were subsequently appointed on the recommendation of these rūnanga.{{Cite web|date=20 Aug 1862|title=Tabular Return, shewing the names of officers, English and Native, appointed in the newly organized Districts. MAORI MESSENGER - TE KARERE MAORI|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MMTKM18620820.2.6|access-date=13 January 2022|website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

However, government involvement declined after the Invasion of the Waikato,{{Rp|page=72}} and it was not until the passage of the Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act 1945 that tribal executives gained the authority to nominate and oversee Māori Wardens in their contemporary form. The establishment of the Māori Wardens system after 1945 was largely a response to both government and community concerns that Māori were perceived as unable to manage alcohol consumption responsibly.{{Cite news|date=29 March 1938|title=Maori Welfare|work=Evening Post|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19380329.2.81|access-date=13 January 2022|via=Paperspast}}{{Cite news|date=12 June 1945|title="Curse of Race"|work=Auckland Star|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19450612.2.82|access-date=13 January 2022|via=Paperspast}}

The 1945 Act granted Māori Wardens "powers of preventing drunkenness and of otherwise controlling the consumption of alcoholic liquor among Maoris".{{Cite journal|date=1946|title=Report of the Royal Commission on Licensing|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/AJHR1946-I.2.4.2.8/1|journal=Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives|volume=Session 1, H-38|pages=37|via=Paperspast}}

With the enactment of the Māori Community Development Act 1962, Section 7 of the Act formally placed the responsibility for appointing and overseeing Māori Wardens with District Māori Councils.{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1962/0133/latest/DLM341090.html?search=sw_096be8ed80dcae60_warden_25_se&p=1&sr=2|title=Maori Community Development Act 1962 No 133 (as at 01 April 2014), Public Act 7 Appointment of Maori Wardens|website=www.legislation.govt.nz|access-date=2018-12-31}}{{Cite web|date=2017-03-11|title=Māori Wardens|url=https://maoricouncil.com/wardens/|access-date=2018-12-30|website=Maori Council|language=en-US}}

In 2013, Te Puni Kōkiri held consultations on the future of Māori Wardens, presenting options for the organisation’s future administration and role.{{Cite web|date=2013|title=Māori Wardens – Options for Change|url=https://www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/default/files/MCDA_Consultation_Fact%20Sheet_2.pdf|access-date=11 January 2021|website=beehive.govt.nz}} In July 2019, representatives at a national conference of Māori Wardens discussed ways to modernise the organisation, leading to the formation of a working group to consult with the government.{{Cite web|title=Māori Wardens Modernisation Working Group|url=https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/whakamahia/maori-wardens/maori-wardens-modernisation-working-group/|access-date=11 January 2022|website=www.tpk.govt.nz|language=en}} Further discussions took place at the 2021 conference.{{Cite web|date=2 June 2021|title=Maori wardens design structure for independence|url=https://waateanews.com/2021/06/03/maori-wardens-design-structure-for-independence/|access-date=11 January 2022|website=Waatea News: Māori Radio Station|language=en-NZ}}

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Māori Wardens worked alongside health authorities to encourage vaccination within local communities and provided support in welfare and border control efforts.{{Cite web|title=Wellington region first in the country to surpass 90 per cent Māori vaccination milestone|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-maori-90-per-cent-fully-vaccinated-in-wellington-first-dhb-to-hit-milestone/D5DLQ2AQRMQBUEMDJRRLA4QBZY/|access-date=20 September 2022|website=NZ Herald|language=en-NZ}}{{Cite web|title=Takitimu Māori Wardens out and about protecting whānau|url=http://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/mo-te-puni-kokiri/our-stories-and-media/takitimu-maori-wardens-out-and-about-protecting-wh/|access-date=20 September 2022|website=www.tpk.govt.nz|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Māori Wardens continue whānau support in Tāmaki COVID-19 response|url=http://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/o-matou-mohiotanga/maori-wardens/maori-wardens-continue-whanau-support-in-tamaki-co/|access-date=20 September 2022|website=www.tpk.govt.nz|language=en}}

Criticism that Māori Wardens constitute a form of racial discrimination dates back as far as the 1960s.{{Cite web|last=Tukaki|first=Matthew|date=22 January 2019|title=From History: How Maori Council supported the first National Maori Wardens Association|url=https://www.maorieverywhere.com//single-post/2019/01/23/from-history-how-maori-council-supported-the-first-national-maori-wardens-association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027114840/https://www.maorieverywhere.com/single-post/2019/01/23/from-history-how-maori-council-supported-the-first-national-maori-wardens-association|url-status=usurped|archive-date=27 October 2020|access-date=11 January 2022|website=Maori Everywhere|language=en}} In 1997, the then chairman of the Māori Council, Sir Graham Latimer, expressed support for the 1962 Act, stating: "Even though it is discriminatory, it is needed for our people." He argued that Māori Wardens had better relationships with Māori communities than the police did.{{Cite news |last=Robertson |first=Christine |date=16 October 1997 |title=Clamp on unruly Maori under scrutiny |pages=2 |work=Evening Post |via=Proquest Australia & New Zealand Newsstream}}

In 2011, New Zealand Police considered involving Māori Wardens in patrolling busy areas during the Rugby World Cup. Then Prime Minister John Key described the law as "antiquated and outdated" and said it appeared racist. He stated: "At the end of the day, if someone's removed from a bar, it should be because they're underage or they're intoxicated. Ethnicity's got nothing to do with it."{{Cite web|date=10 August 2011|title=Maori Warden law 'antiquated' – PM|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/maori-warden-law-antiquated-pm/JBIFUOMOXQ5JGYCB5Z4WVHUQNQ/|access-date=11 January 2022|website=NZ Herald|language=en-NZ}} Māori Wardens responded by stating that they applied Māori values to support and protect people of all ethnicities.{{Cite web|date=10 August 2011|title=Maori Wardens say they're helpers – not racist|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/82241/maori-wardens-say-they%27re-helpers-not-racist|access-date=11 January 2022|website=RNZ|language=en-NZ}}

In 2016, lawyer Graeme Edgeler described the Māori Community Development Act 1962 as New Zealand’s "most racist law," and several politicians supported his call to repeal the legislation.{{Cite web|date=6 January 2016|title=Scrap Maori wardens' powers over drunken Maori but keep the wardens themselves|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/75670024/scrap-maori-wardens-powers-over-drunken-maori-but-keep-the-wardens-themselves|access-date=16 September 2022|website=Stuff|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Sachdeva|first=Sam|date=5 January 2016|title=Politicians back calls to repeal 1960s law with 'Maori-only' crimes|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/75620521/politicians-back-calls-to-repeal-1960s-law-with-maori-only-crimes|access-date=16 September 2022|website=Stuff|language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

Fleras, A. (1981). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/20705600 Maori Wardens and the control of liquor among the Maori of New Zealand.] The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 90(4), 495–513.

Waitangi Tribunal (2014). Aroha ki te Tangata / Service to the People. In [https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Publications/WT-Report-on-the-Maori-Community-Development-act-Claim.pdf Whaia te Mana Motuhake In Pursuit of Mana Motuhake.] 253–299.

Category:Law enforcement in New Zealand

Category:Māori organisations