Te Tiriti o Waitangi Audit
Every three years we conduct a Te Tiriti o Waitangi Audit to assess the Auckland Council group’s performance in acting in accordance with statutory references to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and statutory responsibilities to Māori in Tamaki Makaurau. It is how we measure and evaluate progress or change in Māori wellbeing over time. The audit process enables us to provide guidance on what is required of council and council organisations and how to achieve those requirements.
Audit Scope
The Council group's effort, through Te Tiriti o Waitangi Audit Response Programmes over the last nine years, has been to address the recommendations from the first Audit (in 2012) that set a comprehensive baseline. These inaugural 80-odd recommendations leveraged well known business models, to recommend a shift in the Council group from policy development to operationalisation of initiatives, to advance Māori interests through the design and implementation of supporting processes and controls.
These were big recommendations for significant change to build stronger foundations in the Council group's approach to Māori responsiveness that enabled systemic achievement of Treaty objectives and better outcomes for Māori.
The scope of the 2021 Audit focused on five key themes:
Mana whenua participation in decision-making processes (for decisions made at a governance level)
Council processes that facilitate and provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to decision-making processes
Council’s own quality assurance mechanisms over Māori Impact Statements in reports to Committees
Clarity and consistency of organisational leadership and direction setting for the organisation to be Māori responsive and achieve Māori outcomes
The framework for managing Māori Responsiveness Plans, which contain key initiatives that support the Council to be more responsive to Māori, and enhance delivery of both the Council’s statutory obligations and contribution to Māori outcomes.