Photo: Andrew Little, Nanaia Mahuta, Jacinda Ardern, Kelvin Davis and David Parker at the 2018 National Iwi Chairs Forum.

Alarm bells are ringing after Māori leaders expressed monumental ambitions during initial discussions with the Government about how to recognise the highly controversial United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The Minister for Māori Development, Willie Jackson, says those discussions will shape the Government’s Declaration plan. 

The Ministry of Maori Development, is developing a plan to progress the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Given the serious implications of this declaration, and the adoption of an engagement process with iwi, hapū and whānau, but not the wider community, the government needs to hear from us.

Margaret Mutu, current leader of the Iwi Chairs Forum, is pushing for the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, (UNDRIP), claiming the Minister for Maori Development, Nanaia Mahuta, is supportive. See media release ‘Iwi Pleased with Government Decision to Develop a Plan of Action for Indigenous Rights’ and listen to a Waatea News interview with MUTU by clicking HERE