The Systemic Injustice of Pokies Across the Indigenous Homelands of Aotearoa
Tracks
Springbrook Room
| Wednesday, May 14, 2025 |
| 11:20 AM - 11:40 AM |
Overview
Peti Waaka, The Problem Gambling Foundation Of New Zealand
Speaker
Health Promoter Peti Waaka
Health Promoter
The Problem Gambling Foundation Of New Zealand
The systemic injustice of pokies across the Indigenous homelands of Aotearoa
Abstract
Mā te wā kawhakahokia mai ngā hua e ngaro atu, Time always gives back what was lost (Morrison, 2000). Prosperous, flourishing and thriving futures for Māori as tāngata whenua over their homelands is a human right underpinned by Indigenous rights conventions He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni 1835, Te Tiriti o Waitangi 1840, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2010. Decolonising futures and achieving social justice free from racial discrimination requires an analysis of these instruments as tools to identifying barriers and opportunities for development towards not only equitable outcomes but sustainable political authority for mana whenua (Durie, 1991; Durie, 1989, 1998; Henare, 1991, 2011, 2014). This master’s thesis rangahau/research explores the barriers and solutions to implementing Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the instrument that guides relationships between Māori and the Crown into local government pokies policy processes.
Evidencing systemic and structural injustices through Kaupapa-Māori and Māori-centered research methodologies is pertinent to the call for social justice and transformative change. This research examines the normalisation and proliferation of highly addictive pokies accessible throughout Māori communities in context to public policy processes as a potential site creating inequitable health, social and economic outcomes for tāngata whenua (Dyall, 2007; Dyall et al., 2012; Dyall, 2002; Herd, 2021). Through a critical Tiriti analysis of existing literature and interviews with expert informants, the findings may suggest ineffectiveness of current public policies to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi and within the pokies ‘community funding model’. These findings may recommend changes to the gambling legislative framework for the inclusion of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This research contributes in solidarity towards the significant contributions of Drs Dyall, Morrison, Herd, and others, in political resistance, advocacy and justice for Māori as the Indigenous peoples to Aotearoa.
Evidencing systemic and structural injustices through Kaupapa-Māori and Māori-centered research methodologies is pertinent to the call for social justice and transformative change. This research examines the normalisation and proliferation of highly addictive pokies accessible throughout Māori communities in context to public policy processes as a potential site creating inequitable health, social and economic outcomes for tāngata whenua (Dyall, 2007; Dyall et al., 2012; Dyall, 2002; Herd, 2021). Through a critical Tiriti analysis of existing literature and interviews with expert informants, the findings may suggest ineffectiveness of current public policies to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi and within the pokies ‘community funding model’. These findings may recommend changes to the gambling legislative framework for the inclusion of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This research contributes in solidarity towards the significant contributions of Drs Dyall, Morrison, Herd, and others, in political resistance, advocacy and justice for Māori as the Indigenous peoples to Aotearoa.
Biography
Of Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāruahine, Ngāpuhi – Peti is a Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University student completing the Master of Health Science thesis component due for submission February 2025. She is a Health Promoter for The Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand based in Kirikiriroa, Waikato.
