Note: This article was first prepared for offline presentations when the reports it discusses were released. It has since been updated and published online on the date shown.
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi (PSA) surveyed more than 900 of its members on how artificial intelligence is being used across public and community services.
Its report, Lifting the Lid, was released in April 2025. Most media coverage focused on unchecked use: 55% of members said AI was in use in their workplace, 94% of users said they had chosen to use it themselves, and only 12% had received any training. The findings that matter for Māori got far less attention.
What the public service workforce said
Across five statements on AI governance in public and community services, PSA members said:
- 76% agreed it is important that iwi Māori are involved in governing how Māori information is used in AI (48% strongly agreed, 28% agreed). Only 6% disagreed.
- 92% agreed it is the Government’s responsibility to ensure there are guardrails for AI that minimise harm to individuals and communities.
- 74% agreed it is better to take a cautious approach to AI in public and community services, even if that means falling behind the private sector.
- 62% agreed that the use of AI by public services may erode trust in government.
- 54% agreed AI has the potential to streamline services and provide better outcomes.
The PSA’s recommendations included that the Government consult widely, including with iwi Māori, in developing an AI strategy for Aotearoa.
These are not the views of Māori advocates. They are the views of the people who procure, configure and use AI inside government and community services every day. Three in four of them say iwi Māori should be involved in governing Māori information in AI. Support for Māori data governance is not a fringe position; it is the expectation of the workforce itself.
The survey asked about iwi Māori. That is where tino rangatiratanga sits, with iwi and hapū, and not with pan-Māori bodies or a single advisory group speaking on behalf of all Māori.
It is also notable that the workforce is more confident about risk than about benefit. Strong agreement that the Government must set guardrails (67%) is four times higher than strong agreement that AI will improve services (17%).
Architecture versus decoration
The national AI Strategy released in July 2025 contains many references to Māori, Māori data, tikanga and Māori data as taonga. The test is whether those provisions are structurally operative or simply decorative.
One year on, the evidence is mixed at best. In July 2026 the Ministry for Regulation confirmed under the Official Information Act that no specific Māori expertise was involved in the development or peer review of its AI guidance for regulators. Te Tiriti and Māori data sovereignty were acknowledged as important, but not explored in detail.
That is decoration. Māori interests are recognised on paper, while Māori are absent from the room where the guidance is written. The Waitangi Tribunal in WAI 2522 has made clear that Māori data is a taonga and that the Crown must actively protect Māori interests in data. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a constitutional threshold that AI governance must meet, not a consultation checkbox.
What needs to happen
- Iwi and hapū decision rights over how Māori data is used to train, test and operate AI in public services, not an advisory role after the fact.
- Māori expertise as standard in developing and peer reviewing all government AI guidance, frameworks and assurance models.
- Guardrails set by Government. 92% of the workforce expects them. Voluntary guidance with no Māori data governance obligations does not meet that expectation.
- Training that includes Te Tiriti and Māori data sovereignty. With only 12% of public servants trained in AI, there is an opportunity to build Māori data obligations into AI capability from the start.
- A cautious approach to deployment in services where Māori are over-represented, consistent with what 74% of the workforce has asked for.
My He Tangata, He Karetao, He Ātārangi framework offers agencies a practical, tikanga-based way to assess AI systems before they are deployed.
A note on the data
The PSA survey is of PSA members, not the general population, and the published results do not separate Māori and non-Māori respondents. The 76% figure is therefore a measure of support across the workforce, not a measure of Māori opinion. That is what makes it significant.
References
Ministry for Regulation. (2026, July 2). OIA response R001515: AI guidance and Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. https://www.regulation.govt.nz/assets/Publication-Documents/20260702-OIA-Response-AI-Guidance-and-Maori-and-Te-Tiriti-o-Waitangi-R001515.pdf
Public Service Association. (2025, April 14). Worker involvement critical in developing AI for the good of Aotearoa – PSA. https://www.psa.org.nz/news-media/worker-involvement-critical-in-developing-ai-for-the-good-of-aotearoa-psa
Taiuru, K. (2025). State of the nation: Māori data sovereignty / Māori data governance in 2025. Taiuru & Associates. https://www.taiuru.co.nz/maori-data-governance-in-2025/
Taiuru, K. (n.d.). Replacing public servants with AI: Costs to Māori. https://www.taiuru.co.nz/replacing-public-servants-with-ai-costs-to-maori/
How to cite this page
Taiuru, K. (2026, November 2). Public servants back Māori governance of data in AI 2025. Taiuru & Associates Ltd. https://www.taiuru.co.nz/public-servants-back-maori-governance-of-data-in-ai-2025/