August 04, 2022
Time to open up NZ Māori Rugby League
Taitokerau Rugby League chair Hone Harawira says New Zealand Rugby League has neglected the Māori game.
The former MP has joined Tony Kemp, John Tamihere and Greg Whaiapu in a High Court action against the national administrator and its Māori subsidiary.
He says despite their experience and continued involvement in the code, including organising competitions, they have been blocked from involvement in New Zealand Māori Rugby League.
The league is also failing to create opportunities for young Māori and Pasifika players, who have to go over the Tasman to the NRL if they want careers in the sport.
“It needs to open up so you can involve people who have made a commitment, not to knock what John Devonshire and others have been doing but to try to open it up, and New Zealand Rugby League need to recognise that their history in terms of New Zealand Māori Rugby League has been bloody poor,” Mr Harawira says.
He says New Zealand Māori Rugby League hasn’t held an annual meeting in a decade, nor has it filed accounts.