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Labour MP Shane Jones says Maoridom needs to tackle the issue of violence head on.
He says incidents like the recent attack on tourists in Whakatane damages New Zealand’s international reputation, communities and whanau also bear a high cost.
Mr Jones says iwi leaders have spent enough time and resources on pursuing treaty settlements and tribal wealth, and they now need to look to the welfare of their people.
"We’ve got to get back now to basics, and sure I’ve been criticised over the last 48 hours because violence is violence and why are you highlighting the Maori dimension of violence but I live in the north. My critics need to come north and see what the reality is up there, and those of us who are in positions of trust must halt any normalisation of this subculture which I think gets a lot of its heritage from Black American symbols, rap music, that kind of stuff, so I don’t even consider it to be part of what I regard as healthy Maori identity," he says.
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