The First Mile

Supported by the SSHRC-funded First Nations Innovation Project

February 2, 2011

Hi everyone,

I recently learned about some work being done in New Zealand around rural broadband development for Māori communities. This article features Graeme Everton, an advocate for Māori participation in the ICT, stating that Māori communities are not meaningfully involved in the broadband policy development process. He states little or no effective consultation is being carried out during the development of New Zealand's Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI), or during the subsequent tender process.

"The group feels so strongly about the issue that they are looking at an option of a Waitangi Tribunal Claim. 'At minimum we are considering taking it to the United Nations through the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a breach of Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples' says Mr Everton."

The article also notes that Everton and members of the organization Broadband Advocates for Māori (BAM) recently set up a website, Ipurangi Māori, to highlight the upcoming decision on the RBI, and to provide a forum to raise awareness of the RBI and feedback on issues important to Māori.

Ipurangi Māori features commentary on issues related to Māori broadband, and features a link to a 2006 report about K-Net written by Adam Fiser, Andrew Clement and Brian Walmark.

The website also cites Article 23 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:

Article 23
Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for exercising their right to development. In particular, indigenous peoples have the right to be actively involved in developing and determining health, housing and other economic and social programmes affecting them and, as far as possible, to administer such programmes through their own institutions.

Best,

Rob