Affirmative action job plan call

Maori attending today's jobs summit want to see public and private sector employers make a deliberate effort to employ Maori.

Business Roundtable chair Rob McLeod from Ngati Porou says the public has to get over its sensitivity to affirmative action.

He says continuing a situation where the Maori unemployment rate is more than twice that of the general rate is bad for the country's long term prospects.

“In the private sector the reality is affirmative action is alive and well particularly around things like gender, so most companies these days have deliberative policies that are designed to fix up the imbalance between women and men in the workforce. The view here essentially is they should take on that same challenge with respect to ethnicity. If you get it down to the level of policy like that and it manifests itself in particular rules of employment or engagement, then it will make a difference over time,” Mr McLeod says.

He says locking Maori out of the workforce is a recipe for more crime and welfare spending.

SMARTER IDEAS, LESS RED TAPE NEEDED FOR JOB SCHEMES

The Minister of Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples, says a smarter approach needs to be taken to the unemployed in the current economic crisis.

The former Maori Affairs community officer says the country must not repeat past mistakes in dealing with any large increase in jobless numbers, such as make-work work schemes.

“A lot of the programmes that develop are strung up with rules that make them impractical to work. For example the TOPS programme is based on bums on seats and often given to organisations, PTEs who don’t have a big amount of money to cover themselves, retrospective payments, you’ve got to have a cleft palate or something before you are allowed on the programme so they’re really really difficult criteria, and those who have run them have done a good job to stay in the game,” Dr Sharples says.

He was impressed at today's Prime Minister's jobs summit how people were prepared to set aside their own sector barrows and work with others on finding solutions.


MORGAN RETURNED AT TAINUI CHAIR

Tukoroirangi Morgan is back at the helm of Tainui.

At their first board meeting today, the 11 members of the new Te Ara Taura executive re-elected the Former New Zealand First MP and television journalist for a second term in the chair.

Patience Te Ao was elected deputy chair.

Mr Morgan says the mandate reflects the iwi's desire for stability.

“Today is a signal to myself and the other two senior executives of the board to provide the leadership so we can address some pressing issues of future proofing our organisation, of building a much more robust strategic plan in terms of the social, cultural and economic responsibilities that we have towards our people. All of those things hugely important as we sit in tough economic times,” Mr Morgan says.

The Tainui board will be looking at its businesses to see if there are opportunities to create employment for its people.

$600M FUND FOR MAORI DEVELOPMENT MOOTED

A $600 million fund for Maori development is one of the ideas to emerge from today's jobs summit in South Auckland.

Maori Party president Whatarangi Winitata says a lot of money is spent by government on Maori, but little of that is under Maori control or direction.

He says directing 1 percent of the government's total budget to a special fund would improve the quality of spending.

“The departments, the ministries from whence the money comes are to continue with their programmes, not cut back on the Maori ones because they are losing 1 percent, but they must continue with their programmes, and then a special group with the 1 percent which would be $600 million, use that for Maori development which is looking at crisis areas,” Professor Winiata says

He says the current crisis should be seen as a real opportunity for Maori.

EDUCATION LACK HIGHLIGHTED BY JOB SEARCH

Associate Maori Affairs minister Georgina te Heuheu says today's jobs summit has highlighted the need for Maori to up their educational performance.

There was a strong Maori contingent among the 200 business, union and community sector leaders gathered at the Manukau events centre.

Mrs te Heuheu says Maori will play an important role in getting the country through the economic crisis.

“The workforce of tomorrow is brown, it’s Maori and Pacific, and therefore starting from early childhood education right through to the tertiary sector is to recognize that. Basic things like literacy, numeracy, making sure our children do better at school, because a lot of them are lagging, making sure they stay at school longer, making sure they all get the opportunity to do some form of tertiary training,” Mrs te Heuheu says.

CULLEN ENVOY IDEA CATCHES IWI BY SURPRISE

A suggestion former treaty negotiations minister Michael Cullen could switch sides and advocate for Ngati Tuwharetoa have been dismissed by the iwi.

Spokesperson Dickson Chapman says the tribe has had no discussions on the matter with Dr Cullen, who is being tipped to leave Parliament as early as May.

Mr Chapman says apart from finalising the details of the Central North Island forestry settlement, Tuwharetoa is not currently in negotiations.

“We haven't got our organisation for our claims up and running yet so an announcement we’ve selected someone to head our claims, let alone Dr Cullen, would seem very premature I would say,” he says.

Mr Chapman says the tribe has a huge respect for Dr Cullen because of the way he drove through the $400 million Treelord settlement.

Dr Cullen refused to comment.