Maori MPs' row gets more bitter

By AUDREY YOUNG political reporter

The temperature rose last night in a fierce factional fight between Labour MPs John Tamihere in the urban Maori corner and Tariana Turia in the iwi corner over Maori influence in new health boards.

Mrs Turia accused Mr Tamihere of attacking the status of his own Ngati Porou iwi and perhaps being alienated from his people's customs.

He accused her of living on a different planet, saying the only thing they have in common is membership of the Labour Party.

He also noted that he was a constituency MP with a mandate from Hauraki, while she was a list MP.

Prime Minister Helen Clark is trying to calm the waters, saying the reforms do not exclude any group from working with proposed health boards to improve Maori health.

"In the middle there is a huge mainstream that says: 'For heaven's sake, let's get on with ... strategies that will improve Maori health'."

At issue is whether local tribes, termed "mana whenua" in the health reform bill, have greater rights to work with the new boards than modern organisations like the Waipareira Trust Mr Tamihere founded in West Auckland.

The bill specifies at least two Maori on each of the 21 new health boards, and says each board must maintain "partnership relationships" with mana whenua in its area.

Mana whenua is defined as "the people whose customary authority over their tribal area is derived from their tupuna whakapapa."

Mr Tamihere says it can be argued that the Waipareira Trust, with its marae, exercises mana whenua in West Auckland.

In a paper to Health Minister Annette King, he called the proposal "an attempt to reconstruct tribal hegemony."

"It is one thing to settle treaty settlements relevant to specific historical grievances on mana whenua groups; it is absolutely another thing to apply that model exclusively in contemporary areas such as health, welfare, education, justice and economics.

"Maori must be allowed to evolve ... outside the new feudal tribal constructs."

Mrs Turia, who is Associate Minister of Maori Affairs, clashed with Mr Tamihere in caucus on Tuesday and left upset.

She has been away at her brother's tangi, but last night issued a provocative statement about Mr Tamihere: "If he wishes to attack his iwi and its status, I suggest he return home to his elders to discuss it in a more appropriate forum."

What upset Mr Tamihere most was her description of "manaakitanga" - caring for others.

"When growing up," she said, "I was always told that others were looked after ... first and we were to be given what was left. The marae with which I identify operate the same tikanga today."

Mr Tamihere called Mrs Turia's statement "a romantic, nostalgic description of noble savages that I have never met."

"Ask the poor baby that just got bashed and brutalised in Wairarapa where the hell that is. If it is such a lovely and beautiful manaakitanga, what happened in Wairarapa? What happened in Whangarei? What happened with James Whakaruru?"

Social legislation was different from historic settlements.

"Health, welfare, education and justice are minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day, week-by-week requirements where you live.

"If I live in Auckland and Ngati Whatua are granted total rights over me and they only make up 10 per cent of the population, how do I participate in that?"

Mr Tamihere said he planned to support the bill's going to a select committee but would reserve his judgment on it.