Iwi calls intensify for MP to be stood down

Te Rangikaheke Bidois

Ngati Rangiwewehi is continuing to call for Dunedin MP Clare Curran to step down after one of its own was publicly marred.

Te Maru o Ngati Rangiwewehi, the tribal authority of the iwi, have said Ms Curran had no credibility and was not fit to represent this country.

Ngati Rangiwewehi descendant Paora Maxwell was one of two men in the running for the chief executive role for Maori Television.

However in September in Parliament, the MP accused the television board of favouritism, saying it was only through board chairwoman Georgina te Heuheu that Mr Maxwell was in contention. She also said Mr Maxwell left his role at Television New Zealand under a "cloud of of financial and staff mismanagement" and that his production company was in debt to Te Mangai Paho, the major programming funder for Maori Television.

"We are in total disbelief and find it extremely distasteful that this MP chose to put a number of accusations about Paora Maxwell into the public arena under the veil of Parliamentary privilege while he was applying for the position of CEO of Maori Television," Te Rangikaheke Bidois, chairwoman of Te Maru o Ngati Rangiwewehi said.

"That Ms Curran chose to make these allegations about Paora before he even got the job seems to us like a deliberate attempt to discredit and disadvantage him in his application and that is just wrong.

"Worse still, the allegations are wrong.

"We're really pleased that Paora has provided his rebuttal to the Speaker of Parliament regarding each claim made by Ms Curran," said Mrs Bidois.

She said they were saddened that through the actions of the MP the mana of Mr Maxwell and his integrity had been discredited, along with his whanau and iwi.

"Under those conditions we ask [Labour Party leader] David Cunliffe to stand her down.

"The mana of a people is hugely important. If she is so brave as to make statements about Paora under parliament's protection, the least she can do is provide an apology and meet with us, his people, which we have asked her to do," Mrs Bidois said.

"That's how we do things, face to face," said Mrs Bidois.

"And we expect her to respond to our call for these actions to take place."

The Board of Maori Television have not yet appointed a new chief executive after it was unable to reach a unanimous decision.