The private sector has joined iwi and government representatives to boost financial literacy and savings habits amongst Māori.

The Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Income, the Federation of Māori Authorities, the National Urban Māori Authority, Ngāi Tahu, the Māori Trustee and the Bank of New Zealand are pooling resources to better advise Māori wanting to participate in long-term savings and financial literacy programmes. They will be backed by financial education experts from Massey University as well as world-leading fund management adviser, Russell Investments.

The work will be led by Phil Broughton (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu), the Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Income’s Project Manager Māori.

“Whānau want financial security and Māori businesses want to grow while maintaining majority control, so Māori people need money in the bank and the first step in that journey is basic financial literacy,” said Mr Broughton.

“This initiative will proactively seek to reach all Māori to explain the importance of savings, to boost Māori savings in the long-term, and to stress the importance of reducing debt. It’s clear many groups are already working in this field but with different approaches and resources. Capturing and directing those resources will be fundamental.”