New Zealand Māori Council

The New Zealand Māori Council is a body representing and consulting the Māori people of New Zealand. The council is one of the oldest Māori representative groups. Recently, the council increased its focus on social challenges and issues that impact its constituents, with one example being the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now developing ideas and programs that reduce barriers faced by Maori.

Structure

The New Zealand Māori Council, also known as the ''Te Kaunihera Maori o Aoteaora'', was created by th
Maori Welfare Act 1962
(renamed th

by the ttp://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1962/0133/latest/formertitle.aspx?search=qs_act%40bill%40regulation%40deemedreg_Maori+Community+Development+Act+1962_resel_25_h&p=2 Maori Purposes Act 1979 to serve the greater Māori community. It often acts as the legal entity representing groups of iwi and hapū, and offers a forum for them to act collectively.

The Council exerts pressure on New Zealand governments to protect Treaty of Waitangi rights with policies that further Maori partnerships, protection, consultation, and compensation. To date, it has achieved Maori involvement in policies related to land, forestry, fisheries, radio frequency spectrum development, and language.

The New Zealand Māori Council is formed of representatives from 16 District Māori. Currently the National Executive is Co-chaired by Ven Archdeacon Harvey Ruru QSM, Chair of the Te Tau Ihu District Māori Council and George Ngatai QSM, Founder and Director of The Whanau Ora Community Clinic. Ngatai is also Chair of the Tamaki ki Te Tonga District Māori Council.

History

The 1987 "Lands" case

The council's opposition to th
State Owned Enterprises Act 1986
helped create Section 9 which said '''Nothing in this Act shall permit the Crown to act in a manner that is inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty. It also resulted in the first written version of the Treaty principles that spell out the doctrine of partnership, protection, consultation and compensation for Māori. The council was the plaintiff in the historic ''New Zealand Maori Council v Attorney-General'' case in 1987 that successfully blocked the Labour Government from alienating land and resources that would be subject to Waitangi Tribunal in transfers to state-owned enterprises.

Te Ture Whenua Act 1993

The council led the 1993 reform of Maori land which resulted in th
Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993
The council has also been identified as a key stakeholder in th

Māori Forestry

When the Crown intended to sell off the Country's prime forestry assets, there was a total disregard for Maori claims to ownership of the underlying lands. Without the council's timely intervention, the lands in dispute would have been sold off and the income from the forests on the land would have gone entirely into the Government's consolidated accounts. The council established the Crown Forestry Rental Trust to assist claimants with research. This protective mechanism has prevented the sale of the forests and has resulted in claimants receiving $160m with a $385 held in securities.

Fisheries

The council was party to negotiations that led to th
1989 Maori Fisheries Act
and the 199

settlement together valued at $700m. To date $526m has been transferred to iwi.

Māori Electoral Option

The council took the Crown to the Waitangi Tribunal for not upholding the tino rangatiratanga of Māori. As a result, funds were made available for Māori organisations to enrol Māori, thereby increasing Māori seats from four to seven.

Māori Television

The council held the Crown accountable to its 1993 promise to establish a Māori Television channel. Almost half a billion dollars has been invested in Māori television programming and broadcasting over the past eleven years. The Māori Television Service now broadcasts over two channels.

Māori Radio Stations

In 1992, the NZ Māori Council took the Crown to the Court of Appeal and then to the Privy Council to appeal the transfer of broadcasting assets. As a result, Te Māngai Pāho was set up to fund Māori language programming and 21 Maori radio stations provide services to their communities. Te Māngai Pāho now spends $55m a year to support Maori language programming.

Court action against partial privatization of energy SOEs

In 2012 the council filed an application in the High Court for a judicial review of various Government decisions in an attempt to postpone the Government's mixed ownership model policy of partial privatisation. In December 2012, the High Court ruled against the Māori Council, saying there was nothing in selling the assets to private investors that would prevent future Treaty of Waitangi claims. Council lawyer Donna Hall said the decision wasn't unexpected, but spokesperson Rahui Katene said it was disappointing. Prime Minister John Key described the government's court victory as "crushing".

Māori Community Development Act 1962 review claim

In September 2013, the council filed a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal over the Government's review of the Māori Community Development Act 1962. The review of the Act was announced in August 2013 by then Minister of Māori Affairs, Pita Sharples, and the council's claim to the Tribunal is that the consultation on the review of the Act is inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. The council's argument is that the review of the Act had been Crown-led, which was inappropriate for a Māori body, and that there should have been direct Crown–Maori negotiations from the beginning. The Waitangi Tribunal released the ''Whaia te Mana Motuhake / In Pursuit of Mana Motuhake: Report on the Māori Community Development Act Claim'' on 8 December 2014 and included a series of recommendations about the management of the wardens which the council and Te Puni Kōkiri are working to implement.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Maori Council
Māori politics
1962 establishments in New Zealand
Māori organisations