May 05, 2020
Iwi ready to help but Government not listening
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The chair of Wairoa to Wairarapa iwi Ngāti Kahungunu says iwi are ready to help with the COVID-19 recovery, but their offers are falling on deaf ears.
Ngahiwi Tomoana says the concentration of iwi and Māori asset holders in the primary sector is turning out to be of benefit, with agriculture, horticulture and fisheries poised to come back strongly, and forestry also waiting for its chance.
He says they have told Government they are there to help.
"In agriculture, the primary sector, the service sector, in the training and employment sector we have the ability to drive forward now and pull through our whānau who were sitting quite vulnerable pre-COVID so that's been our overture to Government, not for subsidies but 'we're here to help, what can we do,' and it's probably fallen on deaf ears at this moment," he says.
Mr Tomoana says the Crown Māori Relations Minister, Kelvin Davis, has been too busy with other portfolio responsibilities like Tourism and COVID to pay much attention to Māori.
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