In New Zealand, Māori are entitled to the same level of well- being experienced by non- Māori citizens. However, disparities between the two populations are evident. In 2010, a new public policy approach to health and social service delivery was announced: one underpinned by Māori values, and which ostensibly provided the Crown with another mechanism to reduce health and social well- being disparities. The whānau (family) centred approach seeks to achieve the goal of “whānau- ora” (well- being of the extended family) and requires health services to work across traditional sector boundaries to improve client health.

Rangatiratanga is a nodal discourse that subsumes a number of smaller discourses. This paper utilises critical discourse analysis to examine the emergent discourses of rangatiratanga within the context of Māori fisheries management. Three Tiriti o Waitangi translation texts and six Waitangi Tribunal texts relevant to fisheries were selected as the texts.