Te Pāti Māori unveils kai sovereignty policy

Te Pāti Māori has launched a kai sovereignty policy aimed at providing cost-of-living relief and increasing Māori ownership of food systems. The plan includes an Income Tax Kai Credit for individuals earning $60,000 or less, which would be worth the equivalent of up to eight weeks of food annually. This credit is estimated to cost between $2.8 billion and $3 billion and could support approximately 3 million people.

The policy proposes three separate $100 million investments to support food production and distribution. One $100 million Community Kai Fund would support home gardens, marae māra kai, and community-led farms, while also providing scholarships for young people to study food sciences. A second $100 million Mātai Ahuwhenua fund would support regenerative Māori agriculture and diversified small-scale production. A third $100 million would serve as seed funding for Māori collectives to establish supermarket chains.

To support these initiatives, the party intends to secure Crown or council-owned land in commercially viable areas for food production. The policy also includes the establishment of an independent Māori Kai Sovereignty Board with statutory powers to oversee food systems and represent communities. Additional commitments involve developing a Māori seed conservation strategy and opposing genetically engineered food.

Hauraki-Waikato MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke announced the policy at the Kirikiriroa Social Supermarket in Hamilton on Monday. She stated, “Aotearoa produces huge amounts of food, yet too many of our whānau are still struggling to put kai on the table”. Maipi-Clarke added, “We do not want our people permanently dependent on food parcels, supermarket duopolies or corporate-controlled food chains”.

Where reports differ

• Reports vary on the estimated cost of the tax credit, citing either $2.8 billion or $3 billion
• One report states the credit would support 64% of Aotearoa, while another says it would support 3 million people

Compiled from reports by Waikato Times, The Post, Stuff and 1News.