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Prime Minister John Key has barred his MPs from going to next Thursday’s national water hui at Turangawaewae Marae – but a spokesperson for King Tuheitia says the Maori king didn’t want them there anyway.
Tukoroirangi Morgan says the hui has been called because all Maori have interests in water.
He says the issue can’t be left to the New Zealand Maori Council and the select few hapu who took the water claim to the Waitangi Tribunal but Maori don’t need to speak to the Government until they are ready.
“The Prime Minister was never invited because this was always our private time, our opportunity to have a significant discussion about a strategy to protect our interests,” he says.
Mr Morgan says the hui will give more Maori a chance to hear directly from Sir Taihakurei Durie, the co-chair of the New Zealand Maori Council, about what the Waitangi Tribunal finding on water means for them.
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