JACKSON selected as Chairman

Former Alliance MP and current Mana Motuhake leader Willie Jackson has been selected as the first Chairman of the newly created National Urban Maori Authority which held its first meeting at Nga Whare Waatea Marae Mangere on Saturday.

Mr Jackson says that it was an honour to be selected as NUMA's first Chairman and that NUMA has the potential to become one of the strongest Maori organisations in New Zealand today.

Mr Jackson says that NUMA is a Maori initiated entity unlike a number of other Maori organisations that are Crown appointed. NUMA brings together the eight the urban Maori authorities in New Zealand and will be led by a five member Executive with representatives from the five leading urban Maori authorities.

Those representatives are: Manukau Urban Maori Authority, Willie Jackson, Waipareira Trust, Enon Delamere, Te Runanga o Kirikiriroa, Mere Balzer - Hamilton, Sharyn Watene, Whanganui a Tara - Wellington and Nga Mata Waka -Christchurch, Norm Dewes.

Mr Jackson says the first major issue for NUMA will be trying to get some change in the Fisheries allocation model that is being presented to Parliament. We have been sadly let down by the Fisheries Commission, Urban Maori Authorities are barely recognised in the current model and we have been given no priority in membership of the proposed urban putea Trust, effectively this proposed urban trust could be run by three iwi people - Labour has the power to change that.

We will be asking Tamaki Makarau MP Hon John Tamihere to advocate our case and we see no reason why government should ignore him.

The best way for this to be settled is for some common sense to prevail. Maori Authorities have been down the litigation path before and we are sick of it. However, if we get no commitment to any of our proposed changes to the Fisheries proposal we will then have no choice but to litigate.

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