Te Arawhiti, the Office for Māori Crown Relations, is being “gutted” with 40% of staff set to go, according to the Public Service Association.

Under proposals revealed to staff today, 44 roles will move to Te Puni Kōkiri, which will take over some of its key functions, while a further 42 of the remaining 170 will be axed.

Eight new roles will be established.

Te Arawhiti will focus on its legislative functions to progress settlements under The Treaty of Waitangi and the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act.

Te Puni Kōkiri will take over the post-Treaty settlement implementation and other functions.

Janice Panoho, Te Kaihautū Māori for Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi/Public Service Association, said the “flawed” plan would be a significant setback for Māori-Crown relations.

“Te Arawhiti is left doing important work but will have far fewer people to carry out these vital functions, which flies in the face of the Government’s commitments to progressing Treaty settlements.

Janice Panoho is Te Kaihautū Māori for Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi/The Public Service Association.

“The Government promised to listen to the evidence, but again it’s ignoring the advice of those working at the heart of Māori-Crown relations.”

Documents released under the Official Information Act show Te Arawhiti chief executive Lil Anderson warned the Government in July that the benefits of reducing overlap between Te Arawhiti and Te Puni Kōkiri were “overstated”.

Panoho said Anderson warned that the proposal “would risk government failure to achieve its Treaty settlements and Takutai Moana programme” by separating implementation from negotiation.

“This shows how flawed the plan is. The whole point of Te Arawhiti was to be a one-stop shop for accelerating Treaty settlements, supporting Māori in the future so Treaty settlement commitments were implemented and strengthening the public service capability around the Treaty.”

Data shows just over 2000 jobs were lost from the public service between December and June.