Te Tiriti O Waitangi - the National Code of Ethics Document

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Author	Message
ariana_youthworkers@xtra.co.nz Member	# Posted: 22 Apr 2008 17:15 Reply Te Roopu met recently in Auckland apart of the discussions held included the National Code of Ethics that is currently being developed, how should or could the Te Tiriti O Waitangi be included in the document? A: Te Tiriti O Waitangi document should sit at the front of the document? B: The document should refer to the document throughout the Code of Ethics, referring to the relevant articles, keeping the Te Tiriti O Waitabgi a living document? C: Which dialect should be used? D: How will the National Code of Ethics support Maori Youth Workers, if at all? Post your feedback, join the discussion
ariana_youthworkers@xtra.co.nz Member	# Posted: 22 Apr 2008 17:26 Reply [url= http://www.youthworkers.net.nz/te_roopu.html][/ur l] Find out more about Te Roopu
Anonymous	# Posted: 2 May 2008 15:22 Reply I think this is amazing. I think that Te Tiriti o Waitangi should be the underlying principle behind all our work, there should definately be a section specifically relating to te tiriti o waitangi and why not follow example of te tiriti and have an english and maori version. You do not want to limit it just to Maori youth workers or disclude those Maori who due to colonisation did not grow up knowing te reo. And with talking about Ethics, there will be some old tikanga and kawa that could provide useful.
Lone Ranger Member	# Posted: 8 Aug 2008 23:34 Reply I think the code of ethics should be apolitical and work on its own. Te Tiriti is a separate issue from and within youthwork which, to be effective, must be inclusive of all young people. You can still work to the code within a treaty context so there shouldn't be any conflicts of interest....young people first, everything else comes after.
Manu Caddie Member	# Posted: 9 Aug 2008 13:55 Reply haha - you're kidding eh? EVERYTHING is political mate - making a statement that something should be apolitical is a political position. What does 'young people first' mean? I don't think young people should be first in everything.
Lone Ranger Member	# Posted: 9 Aug 2008 18:42 Reply In youthwork we should be ensuring young peoples' needs are met forst and foremost, I believe this is not necesarily a treaty issue and that the code of ethics should be about ensuring young people are safe and workers are ethical before we look at treaty issues. The code does address treaty issues so it shouldn't be a problem....to tint the whole document "treaty" before you get to page one is unnecessary. It is possible to transcend politics....you just have to want to :-)
Manu Caddie Member	# Posted: 10 Aug 2008 21:53 Reply I think it's a convenient myth to think we can somehow transcend politics. The choices we make when we shop, what we choose to do with our free time, the language we speak all have significant political implications. Te Tiriti is the closest thing this country has to a constitution - it establishes the right of non-Maori to live in this place and the right of Maori to maintain control over the resources and participate in the governance of the country. Of the Treaty is not going to cover every situation and we do need a new constitution - but the principles upon which the document are based are ones that should inform our priorities as youth workers - whether we are working with Tangata Whenua or Tangata Tiriti (or both). Youth workers are in a unique position as influential people in the lives of the next generation - the attitudes, values and aspirations we have for our communities and this country will rub-off on the young people and families we work with. The "Real Work" report on the state of youth work in Aotearoa revealed that a disproportionate number of young people connected to youth workers are Maori - if the rights of indigenous peoples are not central to our work - and the ethical framework influencing that work - then youth workers run the risk of by default promoting the kind of cultural assimiliation that was a conscious focus of successive governments up until at least the 1960s (and reintroduced to the political agenda by Don Brash's speech in Orewa on 27 January 2004). I guess part of it depends on what we decide "young peoples' needs" are. If a core need of every [young] person is identity and a sense of belonging to other people and a place then cultural needs are just as important as physical, intellectual, social and spiritual needs.

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