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Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell has announced two new appointments to the Board of the Māori Broadcasting Funding Agency, Te Māngai Pāho.

“I am pleased to appoint Vanessa Clark and Brian Morris, who bring a wealth of experience to the Board,” he says.

Ms Clark has 15 years global experience in the Information and Communication Technology industry, while Mr Morris has been in the publishing industry for 13 years.

Brian Morris is also a fluent Māori speaker and licensed translator.

A Ministerial Investigation into the affairs of Te Aupōuri Māori Trust Board has been completed and its findings have been reported to Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell.

On 17 September 2015, Mr Flavell appointed Grant Taylor, a Partner at Ernst and Young, to conduct an investigation.

Its purpose was to piece together how the Board reached its financial situation.

“The investigation found no evidence of fraud or criminal activity.  I am pleased to hear that this is the case,” he says.

Changes to the Māori and Pasifika Trades Training (MPTT) programme from next year will open the door to trade careers for more Māori and Pasifika learners, Tertiary Education Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell announced today.

Māori and Pasifika Trades Training is one of the key programmes in the skills section of the Business Growth Agenda, to lift the participation of young Māori and Pasifika in meaningful employment, especially in regional New Zealand.

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell has released a summary of the submissions made on the exposure draft of Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill.

More than 1200 people attended the 23 consultation hui held around the country in June 2015, and almost 400 written submissions were received.

“I’m grateful to the people who took the time and made the effort to either attend one of the consultation hui or to make a submission. I value all of the contributions people have made to this reform,” says Mr Flavell.

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell has announced New Zealand Trade and Enterprise is committing an extra $1.6 million to support Māori businesses wanting to grow internationally.

Mr Flavell says there’s huge interest in the unique value that Māori businesses offer overseas.

“I’ve just returned from leading a Māori trade mission to China that included businesses spanning tourism, dairy, seafood, wine, kiwifruit, horticulture, professional services and manufacturing,” he says.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams and Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell marked 150 years of Te Kooti Whenua Māori –or the Māori Land Court – in Parliament this evening.

“The Māori Land Court is New Zealand’s oldest and longest established specialist court. It holds a special place in New Zealand and is one of a few courts of its kind in the world so it’s important we recognise this significant milestone,” says Ms Adams.

Ms Adams said the Māori Land Court played an important role in New Zealand’s justice system.

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says changes made to the draft Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill are a result of extensive consultation with Māori land owners and affected stakeholders.

Cabinet signed off on a number of changes to the draft Bill today which will make it easier for Māori land owners to better utilise their land while protecting the retention of Māori land in Māori ownership.

“The changes show that we are listening to the people and have responded to their concerns,” says Mr Flavell.

A pounamu carrying the spirit of Aotearoa will be unveiled at the New Zealand Consulate-General in Shanghai to support its new premises.

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell, who is on his first official trade mission to China, will lead the ceremony blessing the greenstone.

“The pounamu will act as a mauri (life force) for the office and staff and it will also represent the connection to home for all New Zealanders doing business or visiting Shanghai”, he says.

Successful Māori companies representing New Zealand’s $1.3 billion seafood export industry will be on display at the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo in Qingdao today.

The companies are a part of a trade delegation led by Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell.

He says some of New Zealand’s largest Māori fisheries companies are participating in the seafood expo.

Successful businesses representing New Zealand’s $42 billion-plus Māori Taniwha economy’ will be represented in a trade delegation that leaves for China and Hong Kong today.

The delegation will be led by Māori Development Minister Hon Te Ururoa Flavell.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Associate Economic Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell have today announced up to $3 million to finalise geotechnical investigations and design options for a new harbour entrance in Ōpōtiki.

The Ōpōtiki Harbour Development Project is one of the key initiatives of the Bay of Plenty Regional Economic Action Plan designed to lift employment, incomes and investment across the region.

Māori have stamped their mark on the newly launched Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Economic Action Plan which aims to lift employment, incomes and investments across the region.

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell is welcoming the Action Plan saying it will help tāngata whenua realise their aspiration of being self-sufficient. 

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says “Cabinet has approved amendments be made to the Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill.”

“I am pleased that Cabinet has agreed to the landmark decision to enact the Bill in dual languages and that will mean the reo Māori text will prevail in law”, he says.

The key proposals approved by Cabinet include:

Communications Minister Amy Adams and Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell have announced eight appointees to the Māori ICT Development Fund Expert Advisory Group.

In Budget 2014, the Government allocated $30 million for a Māori ICT Development Fund to support Māori economic development and support access to Māori language and culture through digital literacy initiatives.

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell has responded to the decision of the Waitangi Tribunal to grant the request for an urgency hearing regarding Te Ture Whenua Māori reform.

“I acknowledge the decision of the Waitangi Tribunal.  Te Ture Whenua Māori remains the most significant reform of Māori land in this generation.  I am serious about helping tāngata whenua to better utilise their land and it’s imperative the right measures are in place to make that happen”, he says.

Minister for Māori Development Te Ururoa Flavell formally launched the Māori Housing Network at the opening of the Ranga-Bidois whānau papakāinga in Ngāruawahia today.

The Māori Housing Network has been set up under Te Puni Kōkiri to support Māori-led housing initiatives and develop greater Māori capability in the sector.

“Te Puni Kōkiri essentially becomes a one-stop shop to work alongisde whānau and lets them know what funding is available, while also offering expert advice, information and support to help improve their housing situation”, says Mr Flavell.

A housing project by a Ngāruawahia whānau is an outstanding example of a Māori-led housing initiative Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell said today.

The Minister was speaking at the official opening of a development on the Ranga-Bidois whānau papakāinga which has seen three new homes built to provide much needed homes for the wider whānau.

The Ranga-Bidois whānau developed a plan with Whānau Ora support, and successfully applied for funding from Te Puni Kōkiri to help develop the project.

Māori Development Minister, Te Ururoa Flavell, is challenging Māori speakers to use te reo everywhere.

Mr Flavell laid down the wero (challenge) today at the pōwhiri of the National speech competition, Ngā Manu Kōrero, which is being held in Porirua this week.

Ngā Manu Kōrero is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year.

“I want to wish all of the 60 or so competing students the best of luck in the secondary school competition”, says Mr Flavell.

Māori Development Minister, Te Ururoa Flavell, says officials and the Ture Whenua Advisory Group are progressing well with fine-tuning the draft of the Ture Whenua Māori Bill.

“This reform is the most significant review since Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 so it’s critical that we get it right.

“Consultation on this complex law started in 2013 and we received almost 400 written submissions from stakeholders and Māori land owners following the release of an exposure draft of the Bill earlier this year”, he says.

Māori Development Minister, Te Ururoa Flavell, says changes to the Māori Purposes Bill, “will empower a multi-million dollar trust to manage its own affairs without Crown involvement and will enable the successful Māori enterprise to operate more effectively in a commercial environment.”

The Māori Purposes Bill had its first reading in Parliament today, amending the Māori Purposes Act 1991 to improve the governance arrangements of the Wi Pere Trust base on the East Coast.

Māori Development Minister, Te Ururoa Flavell, has announced the appointments of three new members to the Waitangi Tribunal.

Dr Hauata Palmer, Derek Lardelli and Bill Wilson QC will join the Tribunal along with 13 other members who have also been reappointed.

“I am confident the new members will work well with the reappointed members as they continue their work across the motu and will give continuity to the high calibre work of the Tribunal.”

An analysis of research and monitoring results from the first four years of Whanau Ora (2010-2014) indicates positive gains for whānau when their needs are placed at the centre of service delivery.

The results are captured in a report, ‘Understanding whānau-centred approaches’, to be released next week.

The report shows that placing the needs of families at the centre of service delivery is successful in achieving both immediate and long-term change for whānau. This includes whānau previously considered to be hard to reach.

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell will open six new flats at Tahuwhakatiki Marae, in Mount Maunganui today.

Mr Flavell is full of praise for the Ngā Pōtiki a Tamapahore iwi and the Pirihima Whānau Trust.

“This papapkāinga project is visionary. The tribe is building a living community around the marae and it has made an economic, social and cultural investment in its future,” he says.

Māori Development Māori Te Ururoa Flavell announced today that he will direct a ministerial investigation into the affairs of Aupōuri Māori Trust Board, under section 33 of the Māori Trust Boards Act 1955.