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Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says he still supports the idea of Maori wardens having more autonomy.
The Waitangi Tribunal has found the Crown breached the Treaty of Waitangi in trying to shut the New Zealand Maori Council out from managing the wardens.
It also said it was up to Maori to review the Maori Community Development Act, which sets out the roles of the council and the wardens.
Mr Flavell says it was the Maori Affairs Select Committee that decided the Act needed to be updated, and that call was taken up by his predecessor Pita Sharples.
"It was about giving support to the wardens and allowing them to have a say about their own destiny and their own future, and I as the new minister am clear that I want to support them in that. Against that, the Waitangi Tribunal report says it is up to Maori to determine that so my role as the minister is to give support to the wardens should they wish to pursue that action, but of course there are some splits and the hope will be that I will be looking to see if they do want a hand, to offer the resources to allow them to pull together, whichever way they want to go in the future," he says.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH TE URUROA FLAVELL CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjQ3NzI=
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