Iwi Economics and Mathematics
Applying number skills to real contexts of Māori economic life — land, fisheries, and collective decision-making
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- We are learning to apply arithmetic — division, multiplication, and percentage — to real economic contexts.
- We are learning about the scale and structure of the Māori economy in Aotearoa.
- We are learning to evaluate economic decisions through both numerical and ethical reasoning.
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- I can solve multi-step money problems involving multiplication, division, and subtraction.
- I can calculate profit, loss, and per-person distribution.
- I can explain why an economic decision might be evaluated as "just" or "unjust" beyond just the numbers.
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
This handout integrates Mathematics and Social Sciences within the structure of Te Mātaiaho.
- Mathematics / Pāngarau: Students apply number operations — multiplication, division, percentage, and multi-step calculation — in real economic contexts (Level 3–4).
- Social Sciences / Ākona Pāpori: Students investigate how economic decisions are made within iwi and hapū structures, and how concepts of justice apply to resource distribution.
- Unit 4 — Ōhanga me te Tika: The Māori economy is a case study in collective resource management and intergenerational economic thinking.
Context: The Māori Economy
Key fact: The Māori economy in Aotearoa was estimated to be worth approximately $70 billion in 2022. This represents land, fisheries, tourism operations, commercial property, and other assets held by iwi and hapū trusts.
Iwi (tribal groups) and hapū (sub-tribes) in Aotearoa manage significant economic assets collectively. These include:
- Whenua (land): Farming, forestry, leased land, and conservation areas
- Kaimoana (seafood): Iwi own approximately 40% of New Zealand's commercial fishing quota following Treaty settlements
- Tourism: Cultural tourism operations, geothermal attractions, and adventure tourism
- Commercial property: Shopping centres, commercial buildings, and industrial land
These assets are managed through iwi investment arms (like Tainui Group Holdings or Ngāi Tahu Holdings) that reinvest returns into whānau wellbeing, scholarships, marae development, and distributions to tribal members.
Maths Problems: Iwi Economic Contexts
Show all your working. Use a calculator if your kaiako allows it.
Problem 1: Whānau Distribution
A hapū trust receives $240,000 from a land lease agreement for the year. The trustees decide to distribute it equally among all 480 registered whānau members.
a) How much does each whānau member receive?
Working space
b) If instead only adult members (340 of the 480) receive a share, how much does each adult receive?
Working space
c) A trustee proposes keeping 20% of the distribution as a reinvestment fund for marae repairs. If they do this, how much is left to distribute, and what does each of the 480 members now receive?
Working space
Problem 2: Kiwifruit Orchard
A Māori land trust leases 30 hectares of whenua to a kiwifruit operator. The orchard produces 45,000 trays of kiwifruit in a good season. Each tray sells for $8.50. Labour costs are $150,000 and the land trust receives 15% of gross revenue as its lease payment.
a) What is the gross revenue from the kiwifruit crop?
Working space
b) What is the land trust's lease payment for the season?
Working space
c) What is the kiwifruit operator's profit (gross revenue minus labour costs minus land trust payment)?
Working space
d) If the trust reinvests its lease income into a scholarship fund that pays $5,000 scholarships, how many scholarships can it fund?
Working space
Problem 3: Sell or Lease? A 50-Year Decision
A hapū owns 50 hectares of farmland. A developer offers to buy it outright for $2,400,000. Alternatively, the hapū could lease it at $38,000 per year.
a) If the hapū sells the land, how much does it receive immediately?
Working space
b) If the hapū leases the land for 50 years at $38,000 per year, what is the total income over 50 years?
Working space
c) Which option generates more total income over 50 years? By how much?
Working space
d) The lease option keeps the whenua in hapū ownership. The sale option does not. List two reasons why the hapū might choose the lease even if the sale generated more money.
Working space
Problem 4: Fishing Quota
An iwi owns fishing quota worth 600 tonnes of snapper per year. They use 400 tonnes through their own fishing company and sell the remaining quota to outside operators at $3,200 per tonne.
a) How many tonnes of quota do they sell?
Working space
b) What is the income from selling quota?
Working space
c) Their own fishing company processes the 400 tonnes and sells it at an average of $12 per kilogram. What is the gross revenue from their own processing? (Note: convert tonnes to kilograms first.)
Working space
d) Processing and labour costs are $1,800,000. What is the profit from the fishing company?
Working space
Problem 5: Tourism Operation
A hapū runs a cultural tourism experience near a geothermal area. They charge $85 per adult and $45 per child. Last year they hosted 4,200 adults and 1,800 children. Running costs were $320,000.
a) What was the total revenue from adult tickets?
Working space
b) What was the total revenue from child tickets?
Working space
c) What was the total profit after running costs?
Working space
d) The hapū board votes to put 30% of profit into a marae development fund and distribute the rest equally among 620 hapū members. How much does each member receive?
Working space
Justice Reflection
Think about the economic decisions in these problems — distributing money, choosing to lease rather than sell, reinvesting in scholarships and marae.
What makes an economic decision "just"? Is it just the numbers — who gets the most money? Or are there other factors? Write a response of 3–5 sentences using at least one example from the problems above.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
The concept of tino rangatiratanga — often translated as self-determination or sovereignty — applies directly to economic decisions. When an iwi decides what to do with its land, fisheries, or financial returns, that decision is an expression of rangatiratanga: the right to determine one's own path.
This is why land ownership in te ao Māori is not just an economic question. Land is not merely an asset that generates income — it is the physical expression of identity, history, and whakapapa. When Māori say "ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au" (I am the river, the river is me), this is not poetry; it is a statement of relational identity that has real implications for how economic decisions about that river should be made.
The mathematical choice between "sell or lease" (Problem 3) captures something important: the lease option keeps the relationship intact across generations. A Māori economic framework might ask not just "which earns more over 50 years?" but "what do we owe to those who come after us?"
Discussion: If tino rangatiratanga means having the right to make your own economic decisions, what responsibilities come with that right?
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Resources already provided
- Related handout: Economic Choices: The Basics — introduces the conceptual framework for the economic contexts used in these problems.
- Related handout: Economic Justice Deep Dive — pairs the numerical work here with data analysis and comprehension.
- Calculator use: At the kaiako's discretion. The problems are designed to be accessible with calculators for students who find arithmetic a barrier to engaging with the economic content.
- Extension data: BERL (Business and Economic Research Ltd) publishes an annual Māori Economy report — the 2022 edition is publicly available online.
- Status: Ready to print and use
Aronga Rerekē · Differentiated Pathways
Tīmata · Entry Level
Complete Problems 1 and 3 only. Use a calculator and focus on the single-step calculations (parts a and b of each problem). For the justice reflection, talk through your ideas with a partner first.
Paerewa · On Level
Complete all five problems. Show your working clearly and write a full justice reflection connecting at least one problem to the concept of tino rangatiratanga.
Tūāpae · Extension
Create your own iwi economics word problem using real data from a publicly available iwi annual report (e.g. Ngāi Tahu Holdings, Tainui Group Holdings). Write the problem, provide an answer key, and explain what the economic decision in your problem reveals about justice or rangatiratanga.
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to critically examine economic systems — understanding how wealth, power, and resources are distributed in Aotearoa New Zealand, and exploring indigenous and alternative economic frameworks that prioritise collective wellbeing, mana, and tino rangatiratanga over individual accumulation.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain how economic inequality is produced and sustained through systems, not just individual choices.
- ✅ Students can describe at least one alternative economic model — including a Māori or indigenous framework — that challenges dominant assumptions about wealth and justice.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide structured comparison frameworks (e.g., two-column tables: "current system vs alternative") for entry-level access. Offer extension tasks asking students to research a specific Māori economic enterprise (e.g., Ngāi Tahu Holdings, Tainui Group Holdings) and evaluate how it balances commercial success with cultural values.
ELL / ESOL: Economic concepts (equity, redistribution, exploitation, surplus value, collective ownership) need concrete grounding — use local NZ examples and visual infographics. Allow oral discussion of economic justice issues before written analysis. Draw connections to students' home countries' economic systems as valid comparative frameworks.
Inclusion: Economic discussions can touch on students' lived experiences of poverty, precarity, or privilege — create a safe, non-judgmental space. Neurodiverse learners benefit from concrete case studies rather than abstract theory. Frame economic justice as a systems problem, not a personal failing — this reframe is both accurate and inclusive.
Mātauranga Māori lens: The Māori economy before colonisation was not "primitive" — it was a sophisticated system of reciprocal exchange (utu), collective resource management (rāhui, kaitiakitanga), redistribution through manaakitanga, and wealth measured in relationships and obligations rather than individual accumulation. Colonisation deliberately disrupted these systems through land confiscation and the introduction of individual title. Contemporary Māori economic development — through iwi corporations, Māori land trusts, and social enterprises — represents a reclamation of rangatiratanga in the economic sphere. The concept of ōhanga Māori (Māori economy) offers a genuinely alternative framework for thinking about justice, sufficiency, and collective flourishing.
Prior knowledge: Students benefit from basic familiarity with how markets and governments work. No specialist economics knowledge required — the unit builds this progressively through accessible case studies.
Curriculum alignment
- The Economic World — Social Studies: Understand how economic decisions affect people, communities, and environments, and how different groups seek to influence economic systems and outcomes.
- Understand — Social Studies: Systems shape how people and groups organise themselves — including economic systems that distribute power, rights, and resources.