Mokopuna Voices Summary 2021

Who the Office of the Children's Commissioner heard from#

In October 2021, Office of the Children's Commssioner (OCC) heard from a wide representation of children and young people and collected voices from five face-to-face engagements and an online survey to inform this report. One of these engagements was with mokopuna Māori in a rumaki Māori (Te Reo Māori immersion classroom). The surveys reached 611 children and young people from a range of schools and community partners; 99 survey respondents identified as mokopuna Māori. The online survey was distributed to schools and community partners alongside a toolkit, so they had the option of either facilitating discussions with mokopuna or distributing the online survey. OCC conducted five focus groups with 50 mokopuna.

What OCC asked#

The purpose of this project was two-fold:

1. Support children and young people to have their views heard by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in preparation for the New Zealand Government’s sixth periodic review of the Children’s Convention.
2. Hear and share the views of children and young people on areas identified by the United Nations in the List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR).

To design the engagements and discussion topics, OCC considered the LOIPR, existing OCC reports containing the voices of children and young people, Te Whare Tapa Whā (a widely recognised Māori model of wellbeing), and other relevant domestic issues, which helped ensure that OCC was asking mokopuna about their whole world. Below are the questions and prompts OCC used to both guide engagements and develop the survey:

• I feel accepted as Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand
• I have opportunities to learn and express Māori culture when I want to at school/kura and/or in my community (e.g., speak te reo Māori, waiata (song), kapa haka (cultural performance group), karakia (prayer, recite ritual chant), pūrākau (narratives), and history
• My whānau has access to marae (traditional meeting places of Māori) and/or cultural activities such as collecting kaimoana (seafood), weaving, carving, and waka ama (canoe rowing)
• I can go to the doctor/access medical help when I get sick
• I can get around my community safely
• The house I live in works for me and my whānau
• The house I live in is warm and dry
• I spend time in nature
• I have opportunities to practice traditions that are important to me
• The issue of climate change is important to me
• I feel that the Government is doing enough to take action on climate change
• I feel that I belong at school/kura
• I feel that I can be myself in my community
• There are spaces in my community where I can play
• My whānau can access the supports they need
• I feel well supported by my school/kura
• I feel that my views are listened to and taken seriously about issues I care about at school/kura and/or in my community
• I know how to have a say in decisions that the Government makes
• I feel that the Government takes action on issues that I care about

Who OCC asked#

OCC distributed the survey to schools and community groups alongside a toolkit to enable them to run face-to-face discussions before completing the survey (if desired). Overall, the OCC received 611 survey responses. The Mai World team ran five focus groups, which resulted in 60 mokopuna participating in focus groups both online and in-person.

How OCC analysed the results#

The outputs from the survey and face-to-face engagements were considered as part of a two-day analysis hui (meeting). This involved the core project team, additional OCC facilitators and a small number of additional people who had not been involved in the project until that point. The purpose of the workshop was to come to a consensus on what the overarching themes were for in-person, online face-to-face engagements and online survey.

Limitations#

As with any project, there were limitations to OCC’s approach:

• OCC were limited in the ability to engage extensively in-person due to COVID-19 Alert Level changes, which restricted travel between regions in New Zealand;
• During engagements many mokopuna recorded their own voices on post-it notes, which were then collected afterwards. This made it difficult to attribute demographic data to the voices. All mokopuna in one of the face-to-face engagements were disabled so OCC are able to give this identifier; and
• OCC was not resourced to deliver engagement with mokopuna Māori exclusively in Te Reo Māori. As such, OCC cannot guarantee the voices of these mokopuna were captured, as there were some elements which were discussed only in Te Reo Māori.

What OCC heard#

For the majority of mokopuna the OCC heard from, their lives in New Zealand are going well. However, for some mokopuna there are factors that affect the full realisation of living a good life in New Zealand. This included ensuring mokopuna are supported by their communities, mokopuna have what they need for their whānau (extended family unit) to thrive, and to be heard on issues that matter to them. The following five key insights were drawn from analysis of all face-to-face engagements and survey results and should be read in the context of other reports submitted to the Committee that share mokopuna voices.

1. There are places where I can be myself, but not everywhere
2. Safe places to hang out help me create my community
3. My whānau needs the right support so that we can thrive
4. I want to be heard by my community and Government
5. Climate change matters to me and I want to know more

Read the report.