KEY POINTS:
Pita Sharples has told Maori the constitutional status of the Treaty of Waitangi is "going nowhere" in the near future, and the Maori Party must focus on getting enough influence to change the lot of its people in the short term.
At the party's annual conference on the weekend, Dr Sharples said the party would be agitating for progress in areas that affected the wealth of Maori families.
He said the party remained committed to issues such as the seabed and foreshore, entrenching the Maori seats, and ensuring the Treaty was given greater legal status. But he said the Treaty "was going nowhere under National and Labour" and any move to enshrine it in a constitution was unlikely unless New Zealand became a republic - "and that's miles away."
"The thing at hand now is our people's situation. Education, health, poverty, violence are all things striking our people. There are so many who don't even earn $20,000 a year. How the hell can they bring up kids on something like that?"
Both Dr Sharples and Mrs Turia said a stock-take of all the money spent on Maori was needed to ensure it was being as well spent as it could be.
Dr Sharples said the party wanted some "budgetary responsibilities" after the election "so we can actually make laws and control spending for our people in very important areas like health and education."
He said it was the "last chance" for Maori to have more influence in government after NZ First - which held five Maori seats from 1996 to 1999 and Mana Motuhake failed to deliver.
"The Maori Party has to stay firm - we can't blow this chance."
He also spoke of the gains the party had secured, including stopping the sale of Landcorp land which could be used in Treaty settlements and being instrumental in the inclusion of the Treaty in the new schools curriculum.
He said the Maori Party was the first to condemn the Ruatoki police raids and the use of the Terrorism Act.
Dr Sharples also referred to Winston Peters' censure by the privileges committee for failing to disclose a $100,000 gift from Owen Glenn towards his legal costs. The Maori Party was among those who backed the censure, earning a rebuke from Mr Peters who accused them of betraying another Maori. Labour had refused to back the censure, and Dr Sharples said it had come as a shock to see others act "almost outside their integrity" to protect a political ally.
The party's conference was preceded by its campaign launch, likely to be the most relaxed, informal launch this election, at the Frankton Markets in Hamilton - in one of the three Maori electorates the Maori Party hopes to take from Labour.
