News Release
For immediate release
May 5, 2009

Ngati Whatua Says Aucklanders Ready For Maori To Take Greater Role

Results of a recent Reid Research survey where 46 percent of Aucklanders said they supported Maori seats on a Super City council show Auckland is ready for Maori to take a more formal leadership role according to Ngati Whatua o Orakei.

Ngati Whatua o Orakei Maori Trust Board Chairman Grant Hawke says he is heartened by the fairness and openness of spirit of his fellow citizens and their recognition that Maori have a place as partners as well as participants in democratic processes.

“I detect a great deal of change in attitude where people are listening and saying why not.”

Hawke says attitudes and opinion are moving quickly and John Key’s Government needs to catch up with the vision Aucklanders have for their city. The picture with Maori included in governance has a symmetry about it that has been missing, he says.

“We now extend our hand to the half of Aucklanders who presently disagree with Maori having designated seats on a Super City council and say come and talk with us. We would like you to hear our story and listen to our vision for how Auckland could be a model for relationships between peoples. We have something useful and valuable to contribute."

It has taken a long time but New Zealanders are now open to learning our history and about the injustices of the past and say what happened was not something we are proud of, but equally not something we need to hide from or fear either.

“We just need to move on together,” he says.

ENDS

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