Biculturalism in New Zealand: A Case Study of Fonterra and PKW

This report discusses the prevalence of biculturalism in New Zealand society since 1975 and the role of government initiatives and business organizations in incorporating indigenous populations into mainstream social activities and business. The case study of Fonterra and PKW highlights the advantages of biculturalism in business dynamics in New Zealand.

Running Head: HISTORY
HISTORY
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1HISTORY
Executive Summary
Biculturalism is an important aspect that has prevalence in the New Zealand society since 1975.
However, the Maori settlers wanted to break the prolong isolation from the mainstream New
Zealand society by signing the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 with the White settlers. Nevertheless
the domination from their British counterparts halted the assimilation up to the last half of the
20th century. In this regard, the government initiatives and the interests of the business
organisations were very important in order to incorporate the indigenous population of New
Zealand into the fold of the mainstream social activities and business as well. The Fonterra
Company paved the way for the New Zealand society to include the indigenous communities. It
can be concluded that biculturalism is a significant tool in order to continue dynamic business
activities in New Zealand. In fact, the role of the government in formulating further assistance
facilitates the practice of biculturalism and makes a world equal for all.

2HISTORY
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Analysis...........................................................................................................................................4
The treaty of Waitangi.................................................................................................................4
Bicultural practices in New Zealand............................................................................................4
Fonterra and Raukawa Iwi...........................................................................................................5
Fonterra and PKW.......................................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Recommendation.............................................................................................................................8
Reference.........................................................................................................................................9

3HISTORY
Introduction
Biculturalism is an important aspect that has prevalence in the New Zealand society since
1975. However, the Maori settlers wanted to break the prolong isolation from the mainstream
New Zealand society by signing the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 with the White settlers (Frey et
al., 2016). Nevertheless the domination from their British counterparts halted the assimilation up
to the last half of the 20th century. In this regard, the government initiatives and the interests of
the business organisations were very important in order to incorporate the indigenous population
of New Zealand into the fold of the mainstream social activities and business as well
(MacDonald, 2016). The Fonterra Company paved the way for the New Zealand society to
include the indigenous communities. The company mainly puts focus on the global dairy
nutrition with products like milk, yoghurt, cheese and ice creams. In addition to this, their
connection with the Raukawa Iwi made the situation helpful to establish a multicultural
environment. The Raukawa Iwi community is a traditional Maori community of New Zealand
who are highly communicate with the Fonterra Company. Furthermore, their involvement in the
PKW is also an example of the bicultural practices that the business organisations in New
Zealand have taken into consideration. In this context, the aim of this report is to illustrate the
relationship between the indigenous groups of New Zealand and the initiatives fostered by the
society in order to make the bicultural practice successful. Furthermore, the roles of Fonterra
Company and PKW in this context are also played a significant part into the discussion.

4HISTORY
Analysis
The treaty of Waitangi
The treaty of Waitangi is considered to be a pivotal part in establishing a practice of
biculturalism in the region of New Zealand. It can be argued that before the Treaty of Waitangi
the Maori and the British settlers perceived separate culture. After the signing in 1840s the
Pakeha-Maoris were the first community to accept the trend of biculturalism. However,
domination and exploitation by the European settlers prevailed in the region for a long time that
was protested and agitated by the Maoris in course of time. Subsequently, in the latter half of the
20th century the New Zealand government wanted to resolve this escalating situation by
implementing the Treaty of Waitangi Act in 1975 (MacDonald, 2016). According to the act, a
tribunal was established for the Maori community providing the indigenous people a platform to
ventilate their grievances. In fact, the amendment of the act in 1985 legalised both English and
Maori texts was a cornerstone for establishing biculturalism as a popular practice in New
Zealand. It facilitated the government initiatives to implement another act, namely the Maori
Language Act in 1987 to recognise the Maori language as one of the official languages in the
country. Therefore, the government initiatives formulated a healthy environment to set up the
bicultural trend.
Bicultural practices in New Zealand
As a result of that the bicultural practices is intensely bestowed in the society of New
Zealand. The term bicultural strictly identifies the Maori and non-Maori communities in the
region. It can be argued that the trend of biculturalism is an act to provide equal rights to
indigenous people of New Zealand and dedicated to protect and preserve their rights. In this

5HISTORY
context, since 1970s the New Zealand people have been witnessing the trend towards developing
a bicultural society. The business sector also gets the essence of biculturalism. For an example,
the report of Aotearoa New Zealand expressed that a bicultural partnership was epitomized by
the formation of a Tangata Whenua Caucus in 1986. The role of ANZASW is to foster bicultural
partnership with the diverse collaboration of its members in social development (Bi-Cultural
Partnership, 2018). It incorporates a number of planning like shared history and equal
responsibilities between the partners, development towards the autonomy for building
interdependency, advancing social practices among the indigenous and non-indigenous people of
New Zealand and enhanc9ng the collaborative responses by sharing knowledge, wisdom and
experience.
Fonterra and Raukawa Iwi
It can be argued that the Fonterra Company holds maximum market capitalisation in New
Zealand. As a matter of fact, the company is entitled to incorporate the principles of
biculturalism in its organisational activities in a great deal of manner. For an instance, the
Lichfield site of the company is the second largest cheese plant of Fonterra and employs a
number of aboriginal people in its business. A general perception about incorporating the
aboriginals in private business is that the indigenous people are entitled to do labour work or jobs
that require physical strength highly. However, this is not the case in the scenario of Lichfield
site (Bi-Cultural Partnership, 2018). There are Maori employees employed in the site with the
designation of mechanical and electrical apprentices.
The site piloted a bicultural policy in the year 2014 and started doing partnership with the
local Raukawa community (Iwi). In fact, this effective strategy was the brain child of the South
Waikato Operation Manager of Fonterra, Sam Mikaere who wanted to set up an effective policy

6HISTORY
for the benefit of the organisation. It can be asserted that the recruitment of the Maori young men
was not only based on the bicultural policy rather those people earned their reputation to fit for
the jobs. The Business Development and Relationship Manager of Fonterra also corroborated the
fact that the young recruited Maori people are very efficient and dedicated to their work
(Biculturalism, 2018).
It is also stapled with the similar interest expressed by the Raukawa community as well.
The Raukawa people also appreciated the efforts of the Fonterra Company and want to give their
best effort for the benefit of the Fonterra organisation. In fact, the introduction of the Raukawa
people also beneficial for the Raukawa community and paves the way for them to blend with the
mainstream society. Thus, it helps to spread the benevolence of biculturalism across the nation.
Fonterra and PKW
In course of the discussion another major example that the Fonterra Company has set as
an example of bicultural practices is the incorporation of the Maori people in the business
activities of the organisation. Parininihi Ki Waitotara (PKW) is dairy farm that recruits Maori
young people and based in Taranaki, Aotearoa. The PKW produces largest volume of dairy
ingredients from a single factory around the world. Established in 1972, the PKW has a team of
1000 employees (He Whenua, 2018). In fact, PKW is the largest supplier of Fonterra with a
production of 14 million litres of milk every day.
Nevertheless, the significant characteristic of the PKW is its incorporation of a large
number of Maoris in the farm. As a matter of fact, the dairy farm is based on the Maori
community and communicating with them through farming, commercial property and forestry.
The organisational activity of PKW is firmly followed the principles of biculturalism. For an

7HISTORY
instance, the working relationship inside the PKW ushers a positive and dynamic communication
between the top level management and the employees (Frey et al., 2016). Moreover, a great deal
of rapport between various departments also enables the company to retain the policy of
biculturalism.
For the benefits of the employees and creating a good understanding among the staff
from both PKW and Fonterra often meets in events. There are a number of reasons behind
organising such events. The reasons are:
i. To establish a good relation among bicultural employees in both PKW and Fonterra.
ii. To share the different cultures of bicultural staff and enrich the practice of biculturalism.
iii. To socialise the indigenous employees and make them comfortable with the changing
situation.
iv. To promote the healthy relationship and benefits of the biculturalism to the Maori people.
Conclusion
The biculturalism is proved to be effective and efficient in the context of business
dynamics in New Zealand. It can be argued that most of the business organisations in the country
are going to implement the bicultural policy as an effective tool for their business dimension.
Besides this, the bicultural practice also develops certain kind of social sustainability that also
helps the business organisations to retain their image in the competitive market. In this regard,
the case study of Fonterra and Parininihi Ki Waitotara (PKW) are very relevant and significant.
The Fonterra Company and its associate PKW truly depicts the advantages of biculturalism in
business framework in New Zealand. Both the companies and the local Maori people get benefits
from this set up. Therefore, it can be concluded that biculturalism is a significant tool in order to

8HISTORY
continue dynamic business activities in New Zealand. In fact, the role of the government in
formulating further assistance facilitates the practice of biculturalism and makes a world equal
for all.
Recommendation
 The government regulations must have the provision in order to safeguard the rights and
interests of the Maori tribes in New Zealand.
 The business organisations must possess the ethical considerations while recruiting
indigenous people.
 Respect the tradition and culture is considered to be one of the important factor and both
the indigenous and mainstream society must follow it.

9HISTORY
Reference
Bi-Cultural Partnership - Aotearoa New Zealand Association for Social Workers. (2018).
Retrieved from https://anzasw.nz/bi-cultural-partnership/
Biculturalism – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. (2018). Retrieved from
https://teara.govt.nz/en/biculturalism?utm_source=newzealandnow.govt.nz
Frey, R., Williams, L., Trussardi, G., Black, S., Robinson, J., Moeke-Maxwell, T., & Gott, M.
(2016). The views of informal carers’ experiences of services (VOICES): towards an
adaptation for the New Zealand bicultural context. BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care.
He Whenua – Parininihi ki Waitotara. (2018). Retrieved from https://pkw.co.nz/he-whenua/
MacDonald, D. B. (2016). Do We Need Kiwi Lessons in Biculturalism? Considering the
Usefulness of Aotearoa/New Zealand's Pākehā Identity in Re-Articulating Indigenous
Settler Relations in Canada. Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de
science politique, 49(4), 643-664.