Closing the Gaps was a policy of the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand for assisting socio-economically disadvantaged Māori and Pasifika ethnic groups in New Zealand through specially targeted social programmes.
Overview
The aim of Closing the Gaps was to reduce the most visible disparities in socio-economic status and opportunity between Māori and Pacific Islander groups and other groups. The policy had a social development and social inclusion approach to social policy. Closing the Gaps aimed to balance individual and collective rights and responsibilities by integrating Māori and Pacific Islanders more extensively into the paid labour market.
Context
The socio-economic gaps between Māori and non-Māori stem from a history of colonialism. Land alienation and the Māori labour migration resulted in structural inequalities in socio-economic status between Māori and non-Māori, a central concern of Closing the Gaps. These inequalities were exacerbated by the neoliberal policy reforms pursued by the Fourth Labour and Fourth National governments. Increasing inequality throughout the 1980s and 90s disproportionately affected Māori and Pacific Islanders, who were over-represented at the bottom of New Zealand's socio-economic landscape. In June 2000, Winston Peters, leader of the New Zealand First party, described the program as "social apartheid". critics argued the policy was ultimately damaging for Māori because it perpetuated negative stereotypes that normalised and reinforced Pākehā dominance.