Clark defends 'robust exchange' on Maori violence

Prime Minister Helen Clark has denied reports that two Maori ministers "summoned" women's refuge head Merepeka Raukawa-Tait to the Beehive over her comments on domestic violence.

Ms Raukawa-Tait, chief executive of the National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges, has said that Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia and associate minister Tariana Turia summoned her to a meeting.

At it, they criticised her for sending out "the wrong message" about Maori.

That message related to comments Ms Raukawa-Tait had made criticising Maori men and the "gutless" Maori leadership following a spate of horrific bashings involving Maori children. She said Maori should stop "pussyfooting" around the issue of domestic violence.

But Helen Clark said yesterday that the ministers could not have summoned Ms Raukawa-Tait.

"She is not employed by the Government. She can't be summoned by anyone. One assumes she agreed to come to a meeting. There was a rather vigorous exchange of views. She interprets that one way, the ministers appear to interpret it another.

"I'm sure from what I've read that there was a robust exchange of views but, of course, she is not bound to take any notice of anything any minister says to her because ministers do not employ her. Her own council does."

Helen Clark said she could not stop ministers talking in a "robust" fashion and that she had not had a chance to talk to the ministers about the incident.

Mr Horomia has confirmed the meeting and that he and Ms Turia had expressed concern "about the negative focus on Maori whanau." But he rejected any interpretation of those comments as a criticism.

Ms Turia has said that at the meeting, she read to Ms Raukawa-Tait a letter to her ministerial office from a social worker about the way the recent deaths of several Maori children as a result of domestic violence were being painted by the media.

They were being portrayed as though Maori were the only ones bashing their children and that this was the result of some inherent genetic weakness, she said.

"If media want to pick up and highlight family violence, what they should be doing is looking at family violence right across every sector, right across every nation in this country - not just targeting Maori families."

Recent welfare statistics show Maori children are about five times more likely to be abused than Pakeha children, although that has been interpreted as socioeconomic, with Maori far more heavily represented than Pakeha among the poor.

Act's social welfare spokeswoman, list MP Muriel Newman, said the ministers' attempts to shut down Ms Raukawa-Tait were shameful.

"One of the reasons New Zealand has such shocking child abuse statistics is that the issue has been shrouded in a veil of ignorance," Dr Newman said.

"When the Government ignores child abuse, it is no better than those families whose children are being abused and fail to speak out. It is simply shameful."

- NZPA