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The New Zealand Maori Council is accusing Te Puni Kokiri of illegally siphoning off almost $7 million of the money put into the Maori wardens since 2007.
The Waitangi Tribunal today opens a three-day hearing at Pipitea Marae in Wellington into the council’s claim over proposed changes to the 50-year-old Maori Community Development Act and the administration of the wardens.
Co-chair Sir Taihakurei Durie says under the Act the district Maori councils are responsible for wardens in their areas, and there is no legal role for the Ministry for Maori Development.
He says when Winston Peters secured funding for the wardens from his Labour coalition partner, the ministry stepped in and created new internal positions to do what the councils were supposed to do – chewing up 68 percent of the budget.
"Winston promised them the land of milk and honey. These people found that when they got the milk, the cream had been taken off it. That’s how it has been going ever since. You’ve got Te Puni Kokiri, which has no authority in terms of the Act to be managing the wardens whatsoever, has their staff up there drawing off the larger proportion of the funding in what they call 'administration'," he says.
Sir Taihakurei says Maori wardens are not part of government or the police, but are an expression of self-government by Maori communities.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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