February 12, 2016
Regions suffer as ministry gets top heavy
Labour MP Peeni Henare says the Maori Development Ministry is failing to attract the people it needs to do its work.
This week Te Puni Kokiri chief executive Michelle Hippolite told the Maori affairs select committee a restructuring had left it without the staff capable of responding to ministerial priorities like reforming the laws around Maori land and te reo Maori.
That’s led to a $7.8 million bill for consultants, including $1.7 million to international firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers for advisory services and policy development.
Mr Henare says many regional positions were lost in the restructure.
"As far as I understand Te Puni Kokiri is getting pretty top heavy at the moment and a lot of people are goijng to Wellington to be an analyst for this or an analyst for that, and what we really need is kaimahi on the ground," he says.
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