August 28, 2013
Maori Council review genuine threat
Greens leader Metiria Turei says the New Zealand Māori Council is right to be alarmed about a review of its empowering Act.
The council is urging supporters to turn out and speak in its support at a series of consultation hui in the Māori Community Development Act that start next week.
It is also questioning why Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples is conducting the review now, while it is about to go into the Waitangi Tribunal for stage two of its Māori water rights claim.
Ms Turei says that’s a fair question.
"A huge amount of the treaty jurisprudence is due to the Māori Council taking the Crown to court over treaty issues, and even in more recent times the asset sales were delayed because of Māori Council action, so I think it has proven itself to be quite an incredible force for Māori in taking on the Crown over very broad pan-Māori issues, so reviewing it and how it operates and its role at this moment by the National Government is a genuine threat to its existence," she says.
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