November 28, 2017
Auckland Council fails Maori audit
Auckland's Independent Maori Statutory Board says Auckland Council is missing significant opportunities not just for Maori but for the region as a whole by failing to invest in Maori outcomes.
The board released a independent assessment by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers of the council’s activities to improve Maori economic, social, cultural and environmental development over the past two years.
It found Te Toa Takitini, a group of senior managers from council and council-controlled organisaitoons set up after a simiilar auditr in 1014, has only been partially effective.
Budgets have been under spent, particularly in areas like putting Maori wardens on trains, road safety programmes aimed at young Maori drivers and passengers and marae based road safety initiatives.
Expenditure was over-reported, with Te Toa Takitini reporting the Auckland Tourism and Economic Development Agency (ATEED)’s expenditure on Maori outcomes $222,600 higher in 2016/17 than ATEED reported in its own financial statements.
Chair David Taipari says a council committed to lifting the wellbeing of Maori could unlock significant social, cultural, economic and environmental returns.
Lifting Maori income and employment rates to mirror those of Pakeha in Tamaki Makaurau would add $1.8 billion per year into the Auckland economy.
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