9 Aug 2014

Hopes for jobs after Treaty deal

1:26 pm on 9 August 2014

Te Runanga o Ngapuhi's chairman says he hopes once a treaty settlement is reached it will help improve its high unemployment figures.

Statistics New Zealand released figures showing the number of Maori in work rose three percent to 267,000 in the June quarter compared with a year ago.

Unemployment in the June quarter for tangata whenua fell 12.8 percent to 11 percent - or 33,000 people.

Northland region's unemployment rate is at 8.3 percent - the highest in the country.

The chair of Te Runanga o Ngapuhi, Sonny Tau, said he hoped once it reached a settlement, it would see more employment.

He said there were positive impacts being felt among iwi which had already settled, which was good news.

But Mr Tau said he had been advocating for a long time to get on with the settlement so it can make those positive impacts that other areas have.

Sonny Tau is also the interim chair of Tuhoronuku which holds the mandate to represent all Ngapuhi hapu in its treaty settlement. It is soon to elect a chair and deputy, before negotiating the settlement.

However a major sub-tribe, Ngati Hine, wants to settle its own grievance. It said it had begun the legal process of removing its representatives selected for Tuhoronuku because that did not represent the views of Ngati Hine.