Morgan to stay head of Tainui parliament

Tukoroirangi Morgan will keep his job as chairman of the Waikato-Tainui tribal parliament after the iwi's executive committee decided a vote to oust him did not get the necessary numbers.

A resolution to oust Mr Morgan as chairman of the executive board of the parliament, Te Kauhanganui, on the grounds that he allegedly brought the iwi into disrepute was supported by 30 marae and opposed by 27.

However, there were two abstentions and six invalid votes, meaning there was some uncertainty about whether he had been dumped.

Acting chairwoman Patience Te Ao said the rules of Te Kauhanganui clearly stated that such a resolution needed the support of 50 per cent of marae, meaning it needed the support of 33 of the 65 voting marae.

"That threshold was not met when the vote was taken on Saturday," Mrs Te Ao said in a statement today.

"Te Arataura (the iwi's executive committee) took independent legal advice which confirmed its interpretation of the rules, and a resolution passed to reaffirm Mr Morgan as chairman."

A Tainui spokesman told NZPA that for a marae's vote to be valid it needed all three of its representatives on Te Kauhanganui to support its position, and it was possible some or all of the six marae for which invalid votes were cast may have been due to a lack of unanimity among their representatives.

Mrs Te Ao said the board hoped this decision would end the issue.

"However, we will work hard with Te Kauhanganui to resolve any outstanding matters."

- NZPA