The Green Party is proposing a NZ$2.44 billion government investment over four years to set up a trust owned and governed by hapū and iwi, dedicated to funding marae as critical infrastructure.

The policy, announced by Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, would create Te Rangatiratanga Trust — a standalone entity structured around two funds. The first, the NZ$2 billion Te Tōtara Haemata Intergenerational Fund, would provide long-term investment in marae and their communities. The second, the NZ$400 million Te Rākau Whakarauora Restoration Fund, would give marae immediate access to funding for urgent needs. The trust itself would cost approximately NZ$40 million to set up and run. (RNZ)

Davidson said marae were critical infrastructure and needed funding certainty to continue responding to weather emergencies and supporting communities. The party said the trust would support marae in longer-term planning, climate-resilience planning, adaptation planning, housing, social services and health services. The intergenerational fund, once matured, could return between NZ$47 million and NZ$118 million, Davidson said.

A central design feature of the proposal is how much independence the trust would have from central government. The Greens said the government would have no authority to direct investments, appoint trustees, alter funding decisions or interfere with the trust's operation beyond ordinary law. Governance would sit entirely with hapū and iwi, who would decide where funding goes.

The party would run nationwide wānanga — facilitated discussion and planning sessions — to establish the trust, its two funds and governance mechanisms, with iwi Māori designing the structure. That co-design process would determine how the trust operates in practice before any money flows.

Marae have repeatedly functioned as de facto civil defence centres during severe weather events, particularly across the North Island in recent years. The policy framing — marae as critical infrastructure — positions them not as cultural assets alone but as operational hubs in emergency response, social service delivery and community resilience. Putting that framing into a dedicated funding vehicle, rather than leaving marae reliant on ad-hoc grant rounds or post-disaster top-ups, is the core structural shift the Greens are proposing.

The two-fund architecture carries a deliberate logic. The restoration fund addresses the immediate pressures marae face when responding to floods, cyclones or other acute community needs — the kind of spending that currently depends on whatever grant cycle or emergency appropriation is available. The intergenerational fund, by contrast, is built for compounding returns over time, giving marae a predictable revenue stream for capital projects, maintenance and social services.

The broader context here is whether the fiscal arithmetic holds. A NZ$2.44 billion commitment over four years, plus NZ$40 million in establishment costs, is a substantial line item. The Greens would need to hold sufficient ministerial portfolios or negotiate the policy into a coalition agreement to advance it. The projected returns on the intergenerational fund are framed as a range — NZ$47 million to NZ$118 million once matured — and the timeline for maturation is not specified in the policy as announced.

The governance model is the element most likely to attract political scrutiny. A trust that the government cannot direct, staff or override beyond ordinary law is a significant departure from the standard Crown entity model, where ministers retain appointment powers and direction-setting functions. In the standard model, ministers can appoint board members and set the strategic direction; under this proposal, those powers would sit with hapū and iwi. Whether that degree of statutory independence is palatable to potential coalition partners, or to the public service agencies that would administer the set-up phase, is an open political question.

For the Greens, the policy does two things at once. It offers a concrete fiscal mechanism for a longstanding Māori sector demand — predictable, sustained marae funding — and it tests the political appetite for a Māori-governed entity that operates outside the Crown's direct control. How that proposition lands with voters and potential partners will depend on the election campaign ahead.