November 14, 2017
Hui fee sparks call for change
There's a call for Maori to lead any discussion on their own development.
Australian company Liquid Learning has come under fire for charging thousands of dollars to attend its Maori Women in Leadership conference next month but refusing to pay fees or expenses to its Maori speakers.
Federation of Maori Authorities chair Traci Houpapa says she regularly turns down invites to attend or speak at such conferences.
She says Maori should stage their own, in partnership with credible event management companies.
"Across the board you are starting to see non-Maori organisations capitalising on and leveraging our Maori market opportunity, so whether you are comfortable with that or not it is market reality, it is the business model that is running, and what we need to do as Maori, as ngai tatou te iwi Maori, is start supporting our own," Ms Houpapa says.
FOMA is holding its annual economic summit in Rotorua this weekend, and it also runs an annual Huihuinga Wahine Maori women’s leadership summit.
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