Ardern government policies have created a ‘Maori elite’ who rely on ‘victimhood’

The policies of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s government have led to the creation of a “Maori elite” which relies on “Maori victimhood,” according to Hobson’s Pledge founding trustee Casey Costello.
Hobson’s Pledge is a New Zealand lobby group which advocates for equality before the law regardless of race in the face of Maori bureaucratic bodies taking control over large areas of life in the country.
“We’ve had the introduction of the Three Waters Reform legislation which is effectively removing control and ownership of water from the local bodies and councils that own those assets into these massive entities which will be 50 per cent controlled by Iwi,” she told Sky News Australia.
“Bearing in mind New Zealand’s Maori population is only 17 per cent.”
Ms Costello said she was particularly concerned by an “undermining” of the democratic process which has been taking place.
“It’s predicated on the concept that all Maori, we all think alike. This idea of self-determination must rely on the fact that all Maori identify with the same views, the same political outlooks, the same needs,” she said.
“What we've actually created is a Maori elite, that their careers, their livelihoods, their relevance, relies on a Maori victimhood and we’ve lost sight of outcomes.”