January 23, 2017
Ratana welcome outshines Waitangi
Maori party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell says he can understand the Prime Minister’s concerns about the tikanga operating at Waitangi.
Bill English attended the annual hui at Ratana Pa yesterday, saying his welcome there represented the best of tikanga in its hospitality, respect and warmth.
He contrasted it with Waitangi, where he was told by the chair of Te Tii Marae he would not be able to speak.
Mr Flavell says Mr English understands Maori issues, but he couldn’t get the guarantees he needed from Te Tii.
"Internal iwi politics on the marae at Te Tii is too up in the air. it's not as if you know who to deal with, and and that has been portrayed by the fact a number of people have been critical of the way the marae or whoever the chairperson is now, handled the situation, so we are back to square one again about how that’s handled," he says.
Bill English is due at Waitangi on February 3 to meet iwi chairs, but won’t stick around for the official powhiri or take part in the Waitangi Day programme there.
In his speech to the morehu, the Prime Minister issued a call to reawaken the spirit of enterprise among Maori because the limits of what government can do has been reached in terms of grants, programmes, and more public servants.
He says the public sector had now entrenched the concept of whanau ora, which was tino rangatiratanga he could believe in.
The other political parties will be welcomed on to Ratana Pa today, with Andrew Little leading a large delegation from Labour.
FULL INTERVIEW WITH TE URUROA FLAVELL
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