MEDIA RELEASE
FROM DONNA HALL, WOODWARD LAW OFFICES, SOLICITOR FOR NEW ZEALAND MAORI COUNCIL

The statements made earlier today by Prime Minister John Key and deputy Bill English saying the Government would look at using shares in the power companies to settle claims of one tribe but no others is “divisive, short-sighted, and contradictory” said Ms Hall.

“The statements are divisive because there is recognition of only one tribal group and for all others the Government is saying their claims are all ready taken care of or meritless. Their statements are short-sighted because they undercut the role of the Waitangi Tribunal, an independent judicial body especially empowered to inquire into customary Treaty claims. Their words are contradictory because the Prime Minister is saying that all claims are taken care of on one hand, and on the other hand his deputy is saying Government will pay compensation to this other tribe.”

“The point of the New Zealand Maori Council claim is that several Maori groups are affected and it is wrong for the Government to say one claimant group has more merit than all the others when the proper inquiry is still to be carried out.”

The first stage of the Waitangi Tribunal inquiry will begin at Waiwhetu Marae, Riverside Drive, Lower Hutt at 9am on 9 July 2012.

The article referred to above can be found at: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10815604

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