Tāmaki ki te uru, Tāmaki ki te tonga, Tāmaki herenga waka, herenga tāngata.

The west of Auckland, the south of Auckland – the gathering place of many waka and people.

Tāmaki Makaurau, or the ‘land of a many lovers’ as it is known by Māori.

Its desirability is evidenced by the numerous iwi who were drawn here for eons, producing and trading food and resources from its bountiful blue and green environment. Today, Tāmaki Makaurau still beckons people to it because of its harbours, gulf islands, maunga, cultural vibrance, diversity and economic opportunities.

Almost a quarter of all Māori and 64% of all Pasifika peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand live in Auckland, mostly in south Auckland (covering the local board areas of Māngere-Ōtāhuhu, Ōtara-Papatoetoe, Manurewa and Papakura) and west Auckland (Whau, Henderson-Massey and Waitākere Ranges). Nowhere else has this concentration or scale of Māori and Pasifika talent, making Tāmaki Makaurau the Polynesian hub of the world and its unique selling point on the global stage.

The Māori population in Tāmaki Makaurau is a dynamic mix. Firstly, there are the mana whenua who whakapapa to the region – their lineage rooting them to the whenua, maunga, moana, awa and ngahere. But most come from other iwi, often referred to as mataawaka, many of whom are the legacy of the rural-urban drift which saw whānau leave their tribal areas and move to the city to fill the growing demand for labour which accelerated after World War II.

The Polynesian diaspora, hailing from the many Pacific nations of Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, first came and settled in Tāmaki Makaurau for the job opportunities offered by the city’s increased industrialisation, driving the manufacturing power of the inner city and then south Auckland. The multi-generations of Pasifika peoples are tightly woven into Auckland’s social, economic and cultural fabric, and account for 15% of the population.

Other peoples from around the world have been increasingly drawn to the city in more recent times for employment, play, culture, love and education.

But inequality is the city’s other existential threat.

Auckland has some of the worst inequality on almost every measure than anywhere else in the country, and New Zealand features prominently in rates of inequality in the OECD. We are not the egalitarian country that we like to tell ourselves we are and Auckland is certainly a tale of two cities and stark contrasts. This inequality shows up most vividly in south and west Auckland and for Māori and Pasifika peoples in particular.

Māori and Pasifika peoples are 27% of Auckland’s population but 40% of the region’s children and young people under the age of 25 years. Almost one in every five babies across the country in 2020 and 2021 were born in south and west Auckland. If nothing else, getting equity right for south and west Auckland is crucial to having a future workforce that can support our rapidly ageing population at both city and national levels.