Iwi favoured for seats on Auckland's Maori board

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples and Prime Minister John Key. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Maori Statutory Board members who will work with the Auckland Council have been named by Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples.

Chosen by an iwi selection committee, the nine-member board is made up of seven mana whenua representatives for Ngati Whatua, Waikato and Hauraki tribes and two "mataawaka" members for other Maori.

Anahera Morehu, 42, who holds one of the Ngati Whatua seats, said she believed the mix of membership, which heavily favours iwi interests, was a good one.

"I believe that's the way it should be going - we do need to have the larger say. Mana whenua is a given."

Other Maori who lived in Auckland should "be taking their guidance from mana whenua as they would on the marae".

Former Cabinet minister John Tamihere, who has been appointed to one of the mataawaka seats, said he was there because iwi members lost their nerve.

After last year's hikoi and the failure to secure Maori seats, there was an agreement between iwi and urban Maori leaders not to engage in the Super City process until after a new mayor was selected. That fell over quickly, Mr Tamihere said.

"You open up the paper and you see Tuku Morgan and Ngarimu Blair have been appointed to CCOs [council-controlled organisations]. They're all jumping for jobs. All of a sudden the legislation for a statutory board's been rammed through and we [urban Maori] are out in the cold looking in. We had to make a decision to participate in a bad process."

Mr Tamihere said the purpose and influence of the statutory board were still unclear.

But David Taipari who is of Ngati Maru, Ngati Whanaunga, Ngati Tamatera and Ngati Paoa descent, said he was excited by the board's early tasks - it has to set a work schedule and then form an agreement with the Auckland Council.

"With the board being independent it's not bound by the council itself. It's quite an open end for us but at the end of day we're there to make sure the community at large recognise the interests of both mana whenua and mataawaka Maori and that we try and grow Auckland together recognising those facts."

Mr Taipari lives on the Hauraki Plains and at least one other member is believed to live outside the Auckland Council region.

He said that would not stop him being an effective board participant.

APPOINTEES

Mana whenua representatives:

* Anahera Morehu.
* Glenn Wilcox.
* David Taipari.
* Glen Tupuhi.
* James Brown.
* Wayne Knox.
* Patience Te Ao.

Mataawaka representatives

* Tony Kake.
* John Tamihere.