December 22, 2015
Urban Maori concerns heard
Labour’s Tamaki Makaurau MP creating a separate responsibility for urban Maori was a significant step for the party.
Peeni Henare was give the role in and end of year reshuffle as well as a place in the shadow cabinet, capping a big year for the first term MP.
He says it changes the conversation about Maori from being only about the tribal space and treaty settlements.
He says there are second and third generation families living in the major cities who don’t have a strong affiliation to their marae, iwi or hapu and who therefore tend not to benefit from settlements.
"It’s not that they are different because we are whanau and we are one people but there are some certain needs and challenges urban Maori face that some of our whanaunga out in the rural areas don’t – overcrowding in housing; some of the big poverty issues that affect people in Tamaki Makaurau, most of them are Maori," Mr Henare says.
His office has been swamped this Christmas by people who are struggling to get by.
FULL INTERVIEW: PEENI HENARE
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