April 09, 2019
Korako shows faith in electoral process
National's Māori affairs spokesperson is disappointed his party didn't let a bill appointing Māori to seats on Environment Canterbury go to select committee – but the government only has itself to blame.
Nuk Korako says by allowing the Canterbury Regional Council bill to go forward in the name of Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene it became seen as a grab by Ngāi Tahu to get two seats without being democratically elected.
A better way would have been to make it a Government bill, forcing New Zealand First to back it.
He says it's not the end of Māori hopes for representation on the council.
"I ran for the Christchurch City Council. I'm a list MP based in the Port Hills. We've got two able candidates that are going to run for ECAN this year. We just have to get out there, Māori, and get ourselves elected," Mr Korako says.
He says he was on the Ngāi Tahu board when then local government minister and Rodney Hide and environment minister Nick Smith told it in 2010 they were sacking the councilors and replacing them with commissioners, including two from Ngāi Tahu, but those seats would disappear when democracy was returned.
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