Donna Hall to lead case for Maori Council

Donna Hall

A Rotorua lawyer will help lead the charge to try and cement the future of the New Zealand Maori Council.

Donna Hall will be acting on behalf of the council at a Waitangi Tribunal hearing in Wellington next week, objecting to the consultation process and any proposed changes made by the Government to the Maori Community Development Act 1962. The act established the council, which is supported by Maori committees, Maori wardens and community officers.

The council is a body for the representation and consultation at a national level for Maori.

Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples said yesterday the act would remain as is, but further work would take place next year for the future of Maori wardens and whether they should be a separate stand-alone entity.

Ms Hall said they planned to reassert their right under the Treaty of Waitangi and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which New Zealand signed.

"The New Zealand Government doesn't get it," Ms Hall said.

"Under the Treaty and UNDRIP, Maori people have the right to design and lead the process for reforming through self-governing legislation, through our own representative institutions.

"The minister [Dr Sharples] is still wanting reforms [regarding Maori Wardens] but who will be the governing authority? The problem is the Crown cannot lead those changes," Ms Hall said.

"The New Zealand Maori Council is the only representative authority with legislation force behind it who represent all Maori."

Dr Sharples said the council still had a role to play in Maori community development. This followed on from 20 hui across the country, led by Te Puni Kokiri in September, for public consultation.

"The overwhelming view was that the New Zealand Maori Council should remain and provide services in Maori communities.

"The council has also advised me that it is currently rejuvenating its structure. I have taken those views on board, and this week Cabinet agreed there would be no changes to the act in respect of the New Zealand Maori Council," Dr Sharples said.