A long-serving member of the New Zealand Maori Council is backing calls for it to be reorganised.
Maanu Paul says a select committee review of the 1962 Maori Community Development Act is throwing up some good ideas about how the 50-year-old organisation can become more relevant for Maori today.
He says that in a new form the council could be the most effective way to get resources from the Government to Maori communities, rather than through the Ministry for Maori Development.
He told Waatea News that "marae-based and hapu-based" needs to become the council's focus.
