I would like to clarify a statement made by an officer purporting to represent the New Zealand Maori Council. Firstly there is an ongoing Inquiry into the 2021 Triennial Elections of the New Zealand Maori Council this is because a number of Districts and Maori Committees disputed results as tallied by a faction of the Council. This ongoing Inquiry has been supported by the Ministry of Maori Development and until that Inquiry has been concluded it is premature for anyone to accept the mandate or otherwise of one faction versus another.

Secondly the statement released by this faction of the Council on the 18th of May states I was not reappointed to the Auckland District Maori Council. This is incorrect and the record shows that I was in fact re-elected to the Auckland Central Maori Committee and then elected as Chair on the day stipulated under the Maori Community Development Act (1962), Those records and minutes of the meeting have been provided and the boundary maps of that locality have also been provided to the Ministry of Maori Developed prior to the election in 2021 and post. In addition, as was the case with the previous Triennial Elections prior to 2018, these matters are not new and predate my role at the Council. That is a matter of fact and as High Court action in 2018 shows.

I am concerned that the once great institution that is the New Zealand Maori Council has been involved in this sort of issue for nearly the last decade. It is premature for anyone to make any further statements on the Kaupapa until those matters have been resolved.

Statement from Matthew Tukaki, Chair of the Auckland Central Maori Committee, the New Zealand Maori Council 
 

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