The Maori Party is still pushing for dedicated Maori seats on
Auckland's new super city council, although the Government
previously turned down the proposal.
It is instead proposing establishing an independent Maori
statutory board that would advise the council on policy
matters.
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples attended a hui in
Auckland today and later said the board was insufficient to
represent Maori interests.
He said if the Maori Party decided to launch a public
campaign for Maori seats, MP Hone Harawira would lead it.
Mr Harawira is on leave from Parliament until it resumes
after the summer recess following the trouble he got into
over his unauthorised trip to Paris while on a parliamentary
visit to Europe, and the racially offensive email he sent in
defence of it.
Dr Sharples told Radio New Zealand it was unlikely the
cabinet would reverse its decision, and another option was
for Maori to support a mayoral candidate who favoured
dedicated seats for Maori.
He said Mr Harawira had worked on the issue in the past, and
he was confident the MP would do a good job leading a
campaign if one was launched.
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