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February 20, 2023
Māori Party wants Māori disaster relief fund
Adam Gifford
Posted On February 20, 2023
Te Pāti Māori are calling on the Government to establish a $100m Māori Taiao Relief Fund, with an immediate focus on rebuilding and cleaning up marae, urupā and papakāinga impacted by environmental disasters.
Co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi say Cyclone Gabrielle has completely destroyed many marae in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti.
Many are uninsured because of the cost.
Mr Waititi says marae across the motu have opened their doors during the crisis and were the first to set up as emergency response centres for their community.
He says the past few weeks have highlighted huge problems with infrastructure and housing, and it is Māori and poorer communities who have been hit the hardest.
The party wants government to allocate an additional $100m to fund a Māori national service defence framework to give hapū, iwi and urban Māori organisations the same access, resources and infrastructure as local government in the wake of natural disasters.
It’s also calling for an equity-based adaptation fund for uninsured people from all communities to apply to rebuild homes and replace possessions lost to flooding.
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