Our hope is that the Smokefree Coalition’s submission to the Māori Affairs Select Committee Inquiry into the determinants of wellbeing for Māori children will assist you in submitting further evidence from your own organisation to this important Inquiry. For record keeping’s sake, please forward a copy of your organisation’s submissions to Smokefree Coaltion Director Prudence Stone at director@sfc.org.nz.

This will help us prepare for the oral presentation to the Select Committee. We will also inform you of the date of this oral presentation when the time comes, in the hope that you might attend in support. Please request that your submissions be made in person to the Select Committee.

We also encourage you to rally submissions from your Māori caucuses, focus groups, advisors, kuia/kaumatua, youth ambassadors, and above all, from your Māori stakeholder communities. As there is no lead advocacy agency in our midst to rally submissions on behalf of Māori children, we must see it as our group responsibility to do so. Every Māori can contribute their story of growing up in Aotearoa, and relate to the Select Committee what were the social determinants of their wellbeing. The more Māori that do, the better chance this Inquiry has of attaining public support for historical recommendations to government, like those achieved in the Māori Affairs Select Committee's last Inquiry on the tobacco industry and the consequences of tobacco use for Māori.

Description

The terms of reference are to inquire into:

1. the historical and current health, education, and welfare profiles of Maori children. This would take account of the transmission of life circumstances between generations, and how this impacts on Maori children
2. the extent of public investment in Māori children across the health, education, social services, and justice sectors—and whether this investment is adequate and equitable
3. how public investment in the health, education, social services, and justice can be used to ensure the well-being of Māori children
4. the social determinants necessary for healthy growth and development for Māori children
5. the significance of whānau for strengthening Māori children
6. policy and legislative pathways to address the findings of this inquiry.

The deadline for submissions is 16 March.

How to make a submission

Submissions can be emailed as an attachment to interregnum.submissions@parliament.govt.nz.

The committee requires two copies of each submission if made in writing. Those wishing to include any information of a private or personal nature in a submission should first discuss this with the Clerk of the Committee, as submissions are usually released to the public by the Committee. Those wishing to appear before the Committee to speak to their submissions should state this clearly and provide a daytime telephone contact number.

To assist with administration please supply your postcode and an email address if you have one.

Further guidance on making a submission can be found from the Making a Submission to a Parliamentary Select Committee web page.