10. Question No. 10—Māori DevelopmentPAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai) to the Minister for Māori DevelopmentQuestion No. 10—Māori Development10. PAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai) to the Minister for Māori Development: What recent reports has he seen on the state of the Māori economy?Hon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister for Māori Development): Last week I spoke at the release of the report Te Ōhanga Māori with the headline finding from the report being that Māori are making up a much larger part of our economy and given the young Māori population and as we rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19 Māori have a significant part to play in the future wellbeing of the New Zealand economy.Paul Eagle: What are some of the key insights from Te Ōhanga Māori?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Aside from the key headline figure that the Māori asset base is near $70 billion one of the real strengths is our people themselves. The Māori labour-force is growing five times faster than the non-Māori labour-force which is reflected in the growth of Māori who are self-employed or who are Māori employers. If these rates continue there will be 4500 new Māori employers next year and 4600 more Māori who are self-employed.Paul Eagle: What other Government initiatives does Te Ōhanga Māori indicate will help grow the Māori economy further?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: The report identifies that social procurement will support Māori business growth as we recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Māori business and jobs are a priority for this Government which is why we have set a 5 percent target for Public Service contracts for Māori businesses as an important step not only towards a more inclusive society but to support the growth of Māori business overall.Christopher Luxon: Will he rule out this Government implementing the He Puapua recommendation to provide increased Māori ownership of the foreshore and seabed?SPEAKER: Order! Order! That just doesn't get close to the question within the responsibility of this Minister or anything which flows from it. This is a question on the state of the Māori economy.Christopher Luxon: Point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Well the member's relatively new; so I'll be a little more liberal with him. Generally when a ruling's been made one doesn't challenge it because it sort of results in getting tossed out.Christopher Luxon: Thank you for your patience. The He Puapua report though was commissioned by his department and it does refer extensively to the Māori economy and to the natural capitals and the resources of New Zealand. Sixty-five percent of our economy is built on the natural capitals of New Zealand. It seems a relevant question around the Māori economy.SPEAKER: That's right and it might well have been if the member had phrased his question well. He might have got there and it might have been acceptable; he didn't.Paul Eagle: Why are reports like Te Ōhanga Māori important?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: There's still much to do to continue to build Māori participation in the economy. Reports like Te Ōhanga Māori are critical as we need the good information they provide that enables Government to develop strong policies that focus on whānau thriving and continue to support ways for Māori to be resilient to be strong to have prosperity and of course wellbeing.