... from the desk of Rangimarie Naida Glavish, ONZM, JP, president

MEDIA RELEASE
30 December 2014 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Retired Minister Tariana Turia Needs To Let Go

The former Minister for Whanau Ora, Hon Tariana Turia needs to remember that her decision to retire from Parliament at the last General Election carries a responsibility to leave political decisions to her successors, and not to try to interfere. This was the response today by Rangimarie Naida Glavish, ONZM, president of the Maori Party, to criticism by Mrs Turia yesterday of her successor as Minister and co-leader of the party, Hon Te Ururoa Flavell, for a decision to change administration of funding for Maori social housing to Te Puni Kokiri (TPK) rather than unofficial Maori institutions.

“Tariana’s criticism was especially unfair on Te Ururoa, as the change was made by Hon Nick Smith as Minister of Housing, based on a Cabinet decision, in line with a recommendation by the Auditor General which called for a single point of contact for Māori who want to build housing on their land,” said Ms Glavish

“We would all hate to see Whaea Tariana detract from her own mana and spoil her distinguished record of service to our people and our party by failing to realize that it was her own decision to leave Parliament, which necessarily meant passing over the reins to her successors,” said Ms Glavish. “Tariana was fully supportive of Te Ururoa becoming co-leader alongside her, when her fellow co-leader Hon Pita Sharples stood down in 2013. Now that she herself has chosen to stand down, she should follow the example of Matua Pita in refraining from public comment on the decisions the new generation of leadership is required to take in meeting its obligations under the renewed Relationship Accord with the new Government.

“Our party has full confidence in our new Parliamentary co-leadership of Minister Flavell and MP Marama Fox. Times change in politics; new challenges arise, as demonstrated by the change in the title of Te Ururoa’s portfolio from Maori Affairs to Maori Development. As Minister in charge of both TPK and Whanau Ora, he is the one who has been saddled with accountability for the multi-millions of dollars allocated for Maori social housing. Whaea Tariana needs to remember that TPK is not just another ‘state department’, it is the agency specifically charged with responsibility for the welfare of our people, especially in the fields of Whanau Ora and social housing,” Ms Glavish concluded.

ENDS

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