Minister for Māori Crown Relations explained

Post:	Minister for Māori Crown Relations
Insigniacaption:	Coat of arms of New Zealand
Incumbent:	Tama Potaka
Incumbentsince:	27 November 2023
Department:	Ministry of Justice
Style:	The Honourable
Member Of:	Cabinet of New Zealand Executive Council
Reports To:	Prime Minister of New Zealand
Appointer:	Governor-General of New Zealand
Termlength:	At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation:	2017
First:	Kelvin Davis
Salary:	$288,900^[1]
Website:	https://dpmc.govt.nz/cabinet/portfolios/maori-crown-relations-te-arawhiti

The Minister for Māori Crown Relations is a minister in the New Zealand Government responsible for overseeing Te Arawhiti, the Office of Māori Crown Relations.

Role and responsibilities

The role was created in October 2017, following the 2017 New Zealand election and the formation of the Sixth Labour Government. Its first occupant was Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis; Davis had initially expected to be appointed Treaty Negotiations minister, but his Ngāpuhi heritage proved to much of a conflict of interest, due to Ngāpuhi and the Crown's ongoing efforts to broker a Treaty settlement.

The portfolio differs from the similar Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations portfolio, which is responsible for brokering Treaty settlements between Iwi and the Crown, and is instead responsible for ensuring the that Government honors its settlement commitments with Māori.^[2] The minister is also responsible for coordinating significant Māori/Crown events, ensuring engagement between the government and Māori is meaningful, and providing ministerial oversight of Te Arawhiti, the Office of Māori Crown Relations.^[3] During the Sixth Labour Government, the holder of the portfolio chaired the Cabinet Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Committee.^[4]

List of ministers

Key

No.		Name	Portrait	Term of office		Prime Minister
	1	Kelvin Davis		26 October 2017	27 November 2023	width=1 style="color:inherit;background:"		Ardern
width=1 style="color:inherit;background:"							Hipkins
	2	Tama Potaka		27 November 2023	present		Luxon

Notes and References

1. Web site: Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances Determination. parliament.nz. 30 March 2023. 2016.
2. Web site: Moir . Jo . Kelvin Davis too 'conflicted' by Ngāpuhi ancestry to be Minister of Treaty Negotiations . . 9 January 2023 . 2 November 2017.
3. Web site: Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . DPMC . 14 October 2020 . 9 January 2023.
4. Web site: (MCR) Cabinet Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Committee . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608012901/https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/cabinet-committees/mcr-cabinet-maori-crown-relations-te-arawhiti-committee . 2023-06-08 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.