Ngāti Ruanui has lodged a complaint with the Speaker following an exchange in Parliament between Minister Shane Jones and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer on Wednesday.
During the debate, Jones suggested “the growth and intelligence will take a lot longer for Ngāti Ruanui”, comments that prompted Speaker Gerry Brownlee to tell the minister to “haere rā” before asking him to leave the debating chamber.
Jones had been answering questions about mining and critical minerals.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui Trust Tumu Whakahaere Haimona Maruera Jnr said the Speaker’s response was an extraordinary step that reflected the seriousness of Jones’ repeated comments about the iwi.
“This is not the first time the Minister has made disparaging comments referencing Ngāti Ruanui in the New Zealand Parliament,” he said.
In a statement, Ngāti Ruanui said it had lodged a formal complaint with the Speaker and was also seeking intervention from the Governor-General over what it described as an attack on the mana of the iwi.
Maruera Jnr said the comments were an affront to the 2003 Settlement Act, which was built on a foundation of mutual respect and a formal Crown apology.
“To have a Minister of the Crown suggest in the highest court of the land that our iwi lacks intelligence because we hold a different view on the extraction of minerals is authoritarian and shameful,” he said.
Minister Jones has been approached for comment.
