July 29, 2016
Unitary Plan response highlights need to vote
Tamaki Makaurau MP Peeni Henare says responses to Auckland’ Unitary Plan should remind Maori of the need to vote in this year’s local government elections.
Right wing councilors yesterday unsuccessfully to stop members of the independent Maori Statutory Board voting on the plan.
There was also the triumphant declaration by the lobby group Taxpayers Union that the plan got rid of what it called the Taniwha tax – the need for customary impact assessments when developing sites of significance to Maori.
Mr Henare says it shows how Maori concerns can be deliberately misrepresented.
"When it’s time for the elections we have to get out there and vote. There are plenty of Maori candidates in the west and south and we need to get behind them. Kia Mataara. It is a big document and we need as many of our whanau and particularly our community leaders well versed in what is going on in the unitary plan," he says.
He would be concerned if Auckland’s need to manage growth is at the expense of Maori, and he don’t believe the plan does enough to protect Maori voices.
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