Listen Now: 
September 28, 2022
Iwi missing in action getting nefs off couch
Adam Gifford
Posted On September 28, 2022
Download AudioFormer cabinet minister Shane Jones says many iwi are missing in action when it comes to looking after their people.
Mr Jones is concerned about a persistent minority of Maori who seem to find it hard to get off the dole, despite a widespread shortage of labour.
He says the problem needs to be addressed at community level, with schools, Oranga Tamariki and iwi working together to work with dislocated whanau.
“I think iwi leadership run the risk of being branded, if they aren’t already, as too elitist and concerned too much for example about statutory debates about water and the environment and they have forgotten how to liaise with Jake and the whanau, and if anything that is going to be an ongoing criticism of iwi – they’ve forgotten about their blue collar obligations,” Mr Jones says.
RELATED NEWS
