Ms Turei was speaking on the University of Otago campus to about 40 students on the first day of Maori and Pacific Islands Legal Issues Week.
The week has been organised by the Pacific Islands Law Students' Association and the Te Roopu Whai Putake (the Maori Law Students' Association) and includes talks by several eminent speakers.
After some earlier substantial settlements of Treaty of Waitangi claims, some sections of Maori leadership had become more corporately and commercially focused, she said.
This was understandable, given it had been hoped better Maori corporate performance would also eventually mean better overall support for iwi, and some positive developments were taking place.
But she emphasised the need for community-based leadership which also focused on broader issues.
The New Zealand Maori Council has sought a declaration on water ownership rights issues from the Waitangi Tribunal.
One member of another body, the Iwi Leaders' Group, has said his iwi was taking a "watching brief" on the tribunal proceedings.
Ms Turei noted some different perspectives had been voiced by Maori leadership groups over the water rights issue, and powerful conservative interests were adopting a "divide and conquer" approach.
Through the years, appeals to the law and to courts and tribunals had formed part of Maori attempts to counter historic injustice and the effects of colonisation, she said.
But Maori continued to face high unemployment and the need to stimulate more economic development in rural areas.
And a "whole layer of people" who needed support were not receiving it under the current economic approach, she said.
