Archives NZ: Managing Care Records – a te ao Māori Perspective
Earlier this year we partnered with Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand to improve their recordkeeping practices around State care records. We were asked to provide guidance around how to give effect to Māori data sovereignty principles, Māori data governance, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations to both current and archived care records. Keep reading to learn more.
“Hutia te rito o te harakeke, kei hea te kōmako e kō”
If you remove the central shoot of the flax bush, where will the bellbird sing?
Acknowledgement
We extend our deepest appreciation to the children and vulnerable adults who were abused while in care and bravely shared their experiences with the Royal Commission which informed this report. Their courage was invaluable in guiding our focus on enhancing Māori data sovereignty, governance, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations to support meaningful change and improve care practices. We also acknowledge The Royal Commission's work in engaging with all contributors.
Background to The Project
In 2018, the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate historical and systemic abuse and neglect in State and faith-based care. The purpose of this inquiry was to hear from survivors about their experiences and to transform the way care is provided to our most vulnerable people.
During the Royal Commission of Inquiry, significant issues with the recordkeeping practices of State care records were identified. These issues have created immense additional stress and trauma for survivors. These issues include:
a lack of guidance on how to obtain records;
records being spread across numerous government agencies;
long delays to access records; and
records being missing, incomplete, inaccurate or even deliberately destroyed.
Robust recordkeeping practices are crucial for supporting the rights of those who have experienced abuse in care. These records help survivors understand their experiences in care, learn about their whakapapa/personal history and access support.
Ensuring these records are accessible and well managed is important for helping survivors in seeking justice and with their healing journeys.
The Role of Te Rua Mahara
Te Rua Mahara are responsible for the creation and management of public records, including those related to State care.
In response to the Royal Commission’s 2021 redress report, He Purapura Ora, he Māra Tipu from Redress to Puretumu Torowhānui, Archives NZ and the Crown Response Unit established a programme of work which includes:
A records retention and disposal project to protect and preserve key records
The development and implementation of shared principles to guide how organisations respond to records requests, including how to make redactions
A website providing centralised information on how to access care records
Cataloguing and indexing work to improve survivor access to a broader range of existing records
Design of a tailored service for survivors who need support with access to records about their time in care
Another key priority for Te Rua Mahara for this programme of work was understanding how te ao Māori perspectives could be upheld in the management of State care records.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry highlighted the disproportionate impact on Māori who are overrepresented in State care. This meant that many of the State care records that Te Rua Mahara holds contains information that is important to, or about Māori. As a result, Te Rua Mahara needed to understand how to improve their recordkeeping practices to align with te ao Māori perspectives and values.
To support this mahi, Nicholson Consulting were asked by Te Rua Mahara to review how Māori data sovereignty principles, Māori data governance and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations should be applied, both to current and archived care records.
Our Approach to This Mahi
This project was led by our Māori Data service area, who applied their expertise in the areas of Māori data sovereignty and Māori data governance to this mahi.
Upholding Māori data sovereignty, Māori data governance, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations honours the mana of survivors by providing them control over their information and ensuring it is handled with cultural respect.
This helps provide support and justice for survivors and their whānau through reflecting Māori values and addressing past wrongs. This strengthens whānau connections, upholds identity, and aids in collective healing.
The process that we took to form our recommendations were broken down into three key phases:
Reviewing key Te Rua Mahara documents which outline how things were done previously, and the issues identified by the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
Interviewing key Te Rua Mahara stakeholders and recordkeeping specialists to understand the background and context of the care records including creation, management, use and understanding record access procedures.
Gathering all analysis and feedback from interviews to form a final report.
The Final Report
Our final report provides 30 recommendations around how Te Rua Mahara can manage care records to better give effect to Māori data sovereignty, Māori data governance and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. These recommendations are in line with a number of the Royal Commission [RC] recommendations, including but not limited to recommendation 14 and recommendations 117-120 that the Puretumu torowhānui system and scheme and future care functions should give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and uphold human rights, recommendations 15-17 that the system and scheme embed human rights, and include the recommendation it should be designed and operated to uphold the rights of Māori as indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand, recommendation 78 relating to the importance of protection and enhancement of the mana and mauri of Māori in care, and recommendations 81-84 relating to best practice data collection, record keeping and information sharing.
We structured this report against the eight Māori Data Governance pou (pillars) from Te Kāhui Raraunga and their Māori data governance model released in 2023. Te Kāhui Raraunga developed this model to guide the public service on implementing system-wide data governance in a way which is grounded in Te Ao Māori, delivers on Māori aspirations and needs, and in alignment with the Crown’s responsibilities under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The eight pou are:
Pou 1: Data Capacities and Workforce Development
Pou 2: Data Infrastructure
Pou 3: Data Collection
Pou 4: Data Protection
Pou 5: Data Sharing, Access, and Repatriation
Pou 6: Data Use and Reuse
Pou 7: Data Quality and System Integrity
Pou 8: Data Classification
The recommendations we provided touch on cultural training for staff, developing culturally appropriate management of care records, exploring Māori data trusts, ensuring records are stored in New Zealand, and creating better guidelines for capturing child experiences.
Some of our key recommendations include:
Training staff on cultural sensitivity and support for more culturally appropriate care record management.
Exploring options for care survivors to have data infrastructure outside the public sector, like Māori data trusts, and consider storing records only in New Zealand.
Creating better guidelines for collecting or creating care records, including capturing the child's voice and experiences.
Implementation of recommendations will help transform the management of care records
This project highlights the opportunity to create a more positive change to the way care records are managed and will hopefully assist in providing some closure or healing for those who experienced abuse in care. It will also help record agencies to better understand the Public Records Act from a Māori data sovereignty and Te Tiriti o Waitangi lens so that organisations can strive for best practice rather than basic legal standards.
We believe the implementation of these recommendations will help transform the management of care records in ways that are more culturally respectful and mana enhancing for survivors and their whānau. Further, the approach can be replicated for other record management work as well.
If you or your organisation need guidance on how to give effect to Māori data sovereignty, Māori data governance or Te Tiriti in your mahi, reach out for a kaputī at hello@nicholsonconsulting.co.nz