Kelvin Davis says Northlanders want equality from Crown/Maori relationship

Kelvin Davis at a Crown/Maori relations hui in Hokianga.

Kelvin Davis says he received a clear message from Northland Maori that they want the relationship between the Crown and Maori to be equal.

Davis, MP for Te Tai Tokerau, held four hui in Northland this month to seek feedback to shape his new role as Minister of Crown-Maori Relations.

"They don't want a relationship where one side of the relationship is stronger than the other,'' Davis said.

"What they're saying is they want to be able to engage a lot more fairly with agencies, government agencies basically, and (government to) be more open to engagement with Maori on issues in ways that are appropriate for Maori.

"People are feeling quite alienated and to an extent I get the feeling that often they give up because there is anxiety and frustration in terms of dealing with the Crown."

Davis had initially scheduled two hui in Northland - in Kaitaia and Whangarei on April 7 and 8 - but added two more on April 13 in Hokianga and Kaikohe.

"I got my ears chewed out by some of my whanaunga. They said 'hey, what about us?' so I said 'okay, we'll set up a couple more.'

"I'm really glad we did in the end because they were really well attended and we got some rich discussion out of them."

Davis said about 40 people attended the hui in Kaitaia, 140 in Whangarei, and between 40 and 50 at each hui in Hokianga and Kaikohe.

The next step after more of hui around the country have finished will be compiling all the information received.

"There has to be a bit of analysis of what's been said to try and put it in to some coherent narrative and feedback to make sure people are happy with what's been captured, and that the information reflects what's been said," Davis said.