October 27, 2015
Victory against the Independent Maori Statutory Board
Victory against the Independent Maori Statutory Board
WILLIE JACKSON
I was pleased last week that my lawyers won the Appeal case that the Independent Maori Statutory Board took against me after my team had beaten them in the high court twelve months earlier.
The case arose after I challenged them originally nearly two years ago when they did not select me. The board was set up to placate Maori interests in Auckland after the Maori seats policy was thrown out despite the Royal Commission recommending that we should have Maori seats on the city council like Central government.
It is a good idea particularly in Auckland where we have hardly any Maori Councilors because Aucklanders refuse to vote for anyone who stands on a Maori agenda. So to get our voice heard the statutory board was set up. It’s no surprise that it has its critics some see it as racist but these same people won’t accept the fact that if you strengthen Maori democratically, socially and economically then Auckland and this country benefit.
The theory is that if you strengthen your weakest link then the benefits have a natural flow on effect which makes sense to me. The problem though with the Statutory board is that yet again it is a board that has been set up to look after iwi interests rather than the majority of Maori in Auckland. Mataawaka ie Maori who live in Auckland who are not associated with a tribe in Auckland make up 89 percent of the population get only 2 seats whilst the tribes who make up the other 11 percent get seven which just doesn’t add up.
What is just as wrong though is that we don’t get to choose our representatives the tribes choose theirs then ours. We have tried our best to work with this formula, the last time they went through the process we thought that we would show the tribes who had the most support because they say you should give examples of this. So John Tamihere and I did this and we got far and away the most support. In fact I got the most and while the tribes appointed John they ignored my credentials and deliberately put someone in who had very little backing from Maori in Auckland.
Now I have nothing against this person in fact him and I do business today but he has been used by the tribes who are rolling out a divide and rule strategy against us. It is incumbent on us to fix this and over the next couple of months that’s exactly what John Tamihere and I will try to do.
The selection body now have to consider my selection again after the High Court told them the process they used was deeply flawed and then the Court of Appeal said the whole selection process was unlawful.
I am not at all optimistic of them suddenly appointing me in fact I expect them to do the opposite but maybe they will surprise us all, save Aucklanders their taxpayers money which they used to fund their case and finally do something right by Urban Maori.
Copyright © 2015, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com