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Regional | Auckland Council

Council money allocated to Māori projects questioned

Independent Māori Statutory Board Chair David Taipari says they've been promoting that Māori Outcomes by Auckland Council should be met at a cost of around $30 million per year.

The council over the past few financial years has allocated less than that, and has spent less than that on Māori according to an independent.

Last financial year, of the nearly $4 million of Auckland council money allocated for Māori projects, only around $1 million of it was spent on Māori Kaupapa.

According to David Taipari, “Unfortunately we've got to situations where it's been like $5 million for 2012 and 2013 and 7.3 million for this current financial year and both those years from the current report evidence has been provided that in 2012 and 2013 they only spent 25%”.

Auckland Council says KPMG have made assessments with respect to budgets, and as to whether or not certain expenditure contributes to Māori outcomes. These will be discussed in a report back to the Finance and Performance committee next month.

David states, “Do you truly accept that there are issues here, so receiving the document is one thing acknowledging its content is another.”

Next month we'll get a clearer indication as to what the IMSB and Auckland Council's next moves are on the matter.