Internal Barriers to Māori Progress
I have long held the view that the real barriers to Māori progress today lie within ourselves. I recognise that there are very real and significant external barriers preventing Māori people from achieving our goals. The recent Māori health inquiry before the Waitangi Tribunal is the latest example of a project providing significant evidence of these external barriers, this time in New Zealand's health system. The current Royal Commission concerning Abuse in Care is another venue where external barriers working against Māori health and wellbeing is being discussed and analysed. I do not wish to suggest that there are no external barriers to Māori development for indeed there are. However, I do wish to highlight the barriers that we Māori create for ourselves, the barriers that exist within ourselves. Second, I wish to say that it is these internal barriers that represent the most significant ways by which Māori aspirations are denied, Māori hopes are dashed, Māori plans are th