Blame game continues over city's Maori board

Auckland Mayor Len Brown and Local Government Minister Rodney Hide are playing a blame game over the Maori Statutory Board and its proposed budget of $3.4 million.

A public furore over a funding agreement for the unelected board has forced a backdown from Mr Brown, who is sending it to the full council for a likely cut on Monday.

It was rushed through the finance committee as an extraordinary item of business last Tuesday.

Mr Hide, who set up the board as part of the Super City reforms under his name, has written to Mr Brown to clear up any confusion after noting the mayor had described the legislation as "loose".

In his letter, Mr Hide continued to distance himself from the cost of funding the board and his opposition to it, saying the Cabinet, a parliamentary select committee and Parliament itself had agreed to it.

He had threatened to resign if Maori were given seats on the Auckland Council and said the board had been politically forced on him.

Mr Hide said his view on the matter and official advice he had received was that Parliament provided for the board to appoint members to committees that dealt with the management and stewardship of natural and physical resources.

The House did not expect the council to decide it needed Maori appointees on 11 council committees.

"However - and for me this is the crucial point - I recognised it is up to the council to decide its committee structure ... and take responsibility for deciding the levels of support and staff provided to the board," he said.

Mayor Brown hit back, saying the letter did nothing to clear up any of the vagueness.

He said Mr Hide's legislation said the board had the right to appoint up to two members to council committees dealing with natural and physical resources. It required the council to provide staff and fund the operations of the board.

"There is no procedure for the resolution of differences in interpretation of the vagueness of the legislation that the council and the board might have," the mayor said.

"Many of the current issues around levels of funding and the extent of representation result from the way Mr Hide's legislation has been drafted."

One of Mr Brown's left-wing allies on the council, Mike Lee, has said the bill for the board should be sent to Mr Hide and Prime Minister John Key.

Mr Lee said the Government created the board through legislation. It would have been cheaper to have had two elected Maori members on the council.