June 25, 2018
Koro Wetere unflappable leadership as history made
SANDRA LEE TRIBUTE TO KORO WETERE
WILLIE JACKSON TRIBUTE TO KORO WETERE
NEVILLE BAKER TRIBUTE TO KORO WETERE
MAANU PAUL TRIBUTE TO KORO WETERE
Tears are flowing for Koro Tainui Wetere of Ngāti Maniapoto, former minister of Māori affairs, a source of wisdom and stability within Waikato Tainui, and one of the first recipients of the Kiingitanga’s Order of the Taniwha.
Mr Wetere died in Te Kuiti on Saturday, a day after his 83rd birthday.
He was born at Oparure near Te Kuiti in the King Country and was a farmer and Rātana Āpotoro before being elected to parliament in 1969 as the Labour Party MP for Western Māori
He held the seat for 27 years until his retirement in 1996.
His time as minister in the Lange Labour Government was marred by the Hawaiian Loans Affairs, when the head of his department defied orders and pursued an offer of a loan for Māori development which a subsequent investigation concluded was probably part of complicated scam.
Mr Wetere did not let the controversy detract him from his own agenda for Māori development, including facilitating the return to Māori control of land that had been managed by government departments.
After parliament he served on Te Ohu Kaimoana, helping with the allocation of the Māori fisheries settlement, and on the commercial board for the Waikato Tainui settlement.
Kiingi Tuheitia said Mr Wetere spent his life committed to Māori development and considerably strengthened the Kiingitanga’s relationship with the Government of the day.
Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta says she has lost a trusted advisor and supporter in her own political journey.
She says Mr Wetere’s unflappable leadership during some critical junctures of Māori economic and social development helped with the establishment of Kōhanga Reo, extending the jurisdiction of the Waitangi Tribunal, developing a different approach to funding outcomes for Māori and putting a greater emphasis on Māori land development.
He also ensured the smooth passage of the Waikato Raupatu Settlement Act 1995 as a lasting contribution to his tribe and continued that leadership in the tribal domain when he left Parliament.
Mr Wetere is lying in state at Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia, where he welcomed so many manuhiri over the decades.
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