Maori left out of water debate for far too long – Te Ururoa Flavell

Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell told TV One’s Q+A programme “the notion that Maori will come over the hill and take away somebody else's rights is silly.”

“Allocations have been made without Maori involvement in them.”

Mr Flavell hopes the Government and iwi will have a proper dialogue about water management and sustainability as a taonga and the doors remain open.

When questioned about criticisms from Judith Collins and Winston Peters, Mr Flavell responded by saying that’s a down side to the debate.

“The framework within which Maori look at issues to do with taonga and in this case water, is totally different. We're looking long into the future. We’re not just talking about the resource for the here and the now,” he says.

“We’re talking about setting up a regime that allows generations into the future to be able to drink it, to swim in it and actually get some kai from it.”

Q+A, 9-10am Sundays on TV ONE and one hour later on TV ONE plus 1. Repeated Sunday evening at 11:35pm. Streamed live atwww.tvnz.co.nz

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