• A woman successfully appealed against a decision refusing to cover food costs for her husband’s tangi in a funeral grant. 
• The Social Security Appeal Authority found that kai is an integral part of the tangihanga process. 
• The Ministry of Social Development will not appeal the decision and is considering its implications. 

When a woman with limited means was organising her former husband’s tangi she applied for a $1960 grant, just over half of which was to cover kai for the mourners. 

However, the Ministry of Social Development, which gives out funeral grants under strict criteria, said no to the kai and would only pay $775 for the casket. After some argument, MSD also agreed to pay $162.39 for the petrol used to take the man’s body to the burial ground. 

However, it drew the line at the $1026.25 she sought for kai, or food, for the tangihanga. MSD told her this did not meet its understanding of a “reasonable” funeral expense. 

But the woman appealed the decision, first to a Benefit Review Committee, which agreed with MSD, and then to the Social Security Appeal Authority, which has now come down in her favour. 

The authority has decided MSD was wrong to turn her down, and that the place of food – or kai – in Māori custom is “more than just a meal” and is an essential ritual in the tangihanga process. 

The authority said this made it a reasonable expense in terms of applying for a funeral grant. 

The authority’s decision has the potential to change the scope of what can be included in the modest grants, limited to $2559 for each funeral, that are handed out by MSD. 

MSD: Considering the implications 

The ministry’s deputy chief executive for organisational assurance and communication, Melissa Gill, has acknowledged the appeal authority’s decision and told NZME that MSD would not be appealing it. 

“We are currently considering the broader implications of the decision,” she said. 

In recent years, MSD has given out just under 5000 funeral grants a year, with an average total annual cost of $9.7 million. 

This means the average grant was less than $2000. 

The Ministry of Social Development makes an average of just under 5000 funeral grants each year. Photo / 123rf 

For comparison, the maximum funeral grant paid by ACC where the death has been caused by an accident is $7793. 

The woman and her late husband, with whom she was separated at the time of his death in October 2022, have not been publicly identified in the recently released decision. 

That decision states all parties involved in the case agreed the woman’s whānau was of “limited financial means”. 

The authority said there was no dispute the financial criteria for hardship assistance outlined in the Social Security Act 2018, which is linked to the family’s assets and earnings, were met in this case. 

The woman was also seeking what was considered a “modest sum”. The total for her whole application was $1963.94, nearly $600 below the cap of $2559. 

The $1026 the woman claimed for kai was verified with receipts. 

MSD told the authority the funeral grant was intended to pay costs directly associated with the burial of the deceased, and in its view this did not extend to the cost of kai at tangihanga or funerals. 

Under its policy, the costs that could be included in the funeral grant were undertakers’ fees for preparing the body for cremation or burial, the cost of a casket, newspaper notices, hearse fees, and compulsory fees for the purchase of a burial plot, or cremation fees. 

The funeral grant policy excluded “costs considered to arise from choice”, such as flowers, donations to clergy or missions, koha, chapel fees, car hire and a death certificate. 

“The ministry considers that the cost of food is not an essential cost associated with the burial of a body and is a variable cost decided by the family for cultural reasons,” the authority’s decision said. 

But the woman argued, among other things, that the policy failed to honour the ministry’s commitment as a treaty partner under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

In the case that the woman’s lawyers took to the authority, she said this wasn’t just about special benefits for Māori – her argument reflected international covenants that allowed for diverse cultural, spiritual and religious beliefs and practices. 

It was not intended to disadvantage other racial or cultural groups. 

‘No special privilege conferred’ 

The authority said it agreed that acknowledging tikanga within the scope of reasonable funeral expenses for Māori “does not confer special privilege and does not diminish the rights of other New Zealanders”. 

“We have found that the phrase ‘reasonable funeral expenses’ can be interpreted broadly and allows consideration of cultural, spiritual and religious practices of Māori and all New Zealanders,” its decision said. 

The authority said the Supreme Court had recognised that traditions of tangihanga were “central to Māori society”. 

“Tangihanga practices deeply intertwine the spiritual and communal aspects of Māori,” the authority’s decision said. 

“Central to this process is the role of the whānau pani (the bereaved family), whose primary responsibility during tangihanga is to mourn the deceased. 

“Food is not only an important source of sustenance but is also a vital element in the spiritual and social healing processes,” the decision said. 

“The practices of kai and hākari (feast) during the tangihanga process are integral to Māori. 

“Kai, or food, is considered noa (ordinary) and serves as a crucial element in lifting the tapu associated with death. 

“Additionally, the hākari, held after the burial or cremation of the tūpāpaku (the deceased person’s body), allows for the expression of manaakitanga (hospitality), as the hosts provide for their guests as a display of respect and care. 

“This feast is more than just a meal; it is a ritual encapsulating the essence of Māori communal life.” 

For these reasons, the authority said the cost of kai associated with tangihanga was integral to the process and a “reasonable funeral expense”. 

“Accordingly, the ministry’s decision to exclude the cost of kai from the funeral grant was incorrect.” 

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay.