Lie claims in Maori employment row

Press, 2 December 1987, Page 8

Lie claims in Maori employment row

By

OLIVER RIDDELL,

in Wellington

Maori Affairs Department officers were accused yesterday of lying to Parliament. The accusation was made by the Opposition spokesman on Maori affairs, Mr Winston Peters (Nat, Tauranga), when the Maori Affairs Select Committee was considering the department’s estimates.

His charge was rejected by the Secretary for Maori Affairs, Dr Tamati Reedy, who said that he had no reason to believe the information before

Parliament was not the truth.

The row blew up when the committee was considering the work done by Maori Access scheme trainees at a project funded through Mana enterprises at a Mangaroa strawberry farm in Hawke’s Bay. Mr Peters produced an affadavit from a pakeha housewife, whose name was kept confidential, alleging mismanagement of the Mangaroa scheme by its manager, Mr Wi Huata.

Maori Access trainees at Mangaroa were acting as a source of cheap labour for Mr Huata with the clear knowledge of

the department, he said. ./ He had written statements that Mr Huata- had physically threatened the property and safety of people who had crossed him. / " The unidentified nonMaori woman said that she had been paid $l6O, a week under Maori Access to pick strawberries for five weeks at a project funded by Mana. Only two Maori Access modules had been approved by the' department in Hastings, one in welding and one in bricklaying, yet she had been paid under Maori ’Access to pick strawberries. '