Maori performers walk out in protest

Angry members of the group Mauri carry their belongings out of the grounds of Te Puia in Rotorua. Picture / Alan Gibson

Bosses at one of the North Island's leading tourist attractions have been left red-faced after an employment stoush led to a walkout by Maori performers yesterday.

The action was taken by performance group Mauri, normally responsible for welcoming and entertaining evening visitors to Te Puia, formerly the New Zealand Maori Arts and Craft Institute.

The action left the centre's managers scrambling to apologise to around 40 tourists, who had paid up to $85 each for an evening's entertainment and hangi meal.

Taini Morrison, sister of Temuera Morrison and niece of Sir Howard Morrison, leads the 15-strong group Mauri, which has welcomed visitors to the centre for more than five years.

The walkout was followed by a haka outside the administration office of the group's employers, with family and supporters joining further haka outside the centre.

Te Puia chief executive Andrew Te Whaiti said he was surprised by the action.

However, while the tourist party was temporarily put out by the walk-out, staff from the facility rallied around to welcome the guests and keep them entertained, he said.

Ms Morrison, who is nationally acclaimed for her kapa haka and cultural knowledge, said the group - made up of whanau members ranging in age from 12 to 48 - had little choice but to stage the walkout after talks with management came to nothing.

The group learned this week that they had been dropped from performing and would be out of work when their contract expired this Monday. But attempts to confirm the rumour received a flat denial from managers.

"When they told me it really cut me to the bone. I was devastated, not just for me but for my group," Ms Morrison said. The group has been employed on an annual contract, though a formal contract had not been in place for more than three years, despite repeated requests, Ms Morrison said.

However, she said news via the "kumara vine" in July suggested new management at the centre had shoulder-tapped another group to replace Mauri. Last month the group was asked to join two other groups to audition for the position - an audition she believes was a sham.

Mr Te Whaiti denied moves to replace Mauri and said the dispute appeared to have arisen from a move to change the time the group performed, from evening to 3pm.