Politicians welcomed to Rātana on Friday. Photo: RNZ / Pokere Paewai
The government has announced $10 million for Ringatū marae in Bay of Plenty.
Making the announcement at Rātana, regional development minister Shane Jones said the funding would boost resilience in the Wainui Marae infrastructure near Ōhope.
It followed similar previous investments at Waitangi, Rātana and Parihaka.
Jones said the build would create 71 jobs, and afterwards the marae complex would include a wharenui, wharekai, wharetāonga, wharepaku, and a modern safe space for worship, cultural events and learning.
"I acknowledge our Finance Minister [Nicola Willis] because we are short of putea, but she supported this," he said.
"And no, this is not an attempt to get votes. If I was going to get votes, Waikato would have voted for me when I gave them $30 million for the Ruakura infrastructure."
Earlier, Winston Peters also pushed back on the idea such funding could constitute a political bribe.
"No... you should understand that when we've come here, we've always left a gift. It's the Māori way and we've done it for decades in successive governments," he said.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
