Systemic racism review

In June 2021, Aotearoa was confronted with the worst of the Internet when a YouTube video containing discriminatory and racist threats, including threats of mass violence against Māori, was shared online. We did not step up and defend Māori communities or work to have the material removed from the Internet, and we were wrong.

The InternetNZ Council asked for an independent review that would increase our understanding of how systemic racism occurs in InternetNZ and inform a comprehensive approach to ending systemic racism within InternetNZ.

The review was led by Dr Hana O'Regan, Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive of CORE Education. It encompassed a literature review, surveys and face-to-face interviews. The reviewer provided a full report to InternetNZ, including recommendations for improvements.

The InternetNZ Council received the report and unanimously approved the recommendations in full.

We acknowledge that InternetNZ has institutional racism built into our culture and structures. These systems, and the way people have acted within them, have caused harm to Te Ao Māori.

We unreservedly apologise for the harm to Te Ao Māori. We know that from here, it is our actions that will right these wrongs.

I roto i te pōuritanga te māramatanga e whiti ana — when one is facing dark times, light and understanding will prevail. 

We sought guidance from our key Māori staff and stakeholders to ensure we’re taking a kaupapa Māori approach to the systemic racism in our organisation. 

We know right now that we are in a state of darkness. In this darkness, there is learning and new understandings to be found. And we know we have work to do to get to that state of light. We will seek guidance from our Māori stakeholders, and we want to use this whakatauki as the essence of our journey. That journey is understanding our state of pō | darkness — and moving ourselves into pūao-te-ata-tū | breaking of a new dawn. Then we will move into te ao mārama | the light.

Growing our understanding and relationship with Te Ao Māori is a priority for us as an organisation. 

We reflected on our past and have committed to a better understanding of Te Ao Māori for our future and the future of Aotearoa. We know how important it is to ensure our mahi is authentic, and reflects Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti) and the diverse peoples of Aotearoa.

To honour this commitment, we will engage people with the right cultural expertise to develop an action plan in partnership with us. This is in line with our commitment to Te Tiriti, and will hold InternetNZ accountable for the changes we have committed to make.

I roto i te pōuritanga, te māramatanga e whiti ana — when one is facing darkness, light and understanding will prevail. This approach will guide us to build an Ipurangi Aotearoa | InternetNZ that benefits all of Aotearoa.

Koinei tō mātau ōati — this is our promise.

We are committed to becoming a Te Tiriti o Waitangi centric organisation and taking positive steps forward to ensure we do better for Māori.

Addressing the issues that are identified by the independent review will help InternetNZ to fulfil our strategic goal of centering Te Tiriti o Waitangi in our organisation.

We are working on a comprehensive action plan to keep us accountable for the work that needs to be done — and to fulfil our partnership responsibility to Te Tiriti. 

Meanwhile, we have started our journey and made positive changes, but we have much more work to do.

• As part of Te Tiriti journey we appointed the Tumuaki Māori | Chief Advisor Māori. The resource to support this mahi saw the creation of Te Puni Māori — a team of three. This team provides leadership, cultural competence and organisational resources towards Ipurangi Aotearoa | InternetNZ becoming a Te Tiriti o Waitangi centric organisation (truly placing Te Tiriti at the centre of all our mahi). 
• A Māori Design Group was set up in 2021. It supported the Council to help realise equitable outcomes for Māori and guide us towards being a Te Tiriti centric organisation. Their strength in providing Māori strategic advice to our Council helped us to improve our capability and understanding of Te Ao Māori. The group provided us with valuable advice and made an impeccable impact on how we move forward.
• We are committed to internal cultural capability training and development for all of our staff and Council members.
• We are working on bespoke puni | team plans to ensure we are thinking about creating Māori equitable outcomes in all our work.