Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa, The Māori Law Society has launched a new website.
The organisation is also to introduce a membership fee. This follows two rounds of consultation during 2018 about the proposed fee.
Practising lawyers and judges will be charged an annual $100 plus GST membership fee. Non-practising lawyers and community law centre practitioners will be charged $75 plus GST. Membership is free for Māori law students.
An article in the March issue of the New Zealand Law Society's magazine LawTalk quotes Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa's young lawyers' representative Liam Stoneley as saying the changes will be introduced for the upcoming financial year.
Mr Stoneley says the membership fee will provide a steady stream of income for the Society, which will ensure longevity and fuel for the growth of the kaupapa and services they provide to members.
People will be able to pay their fees via the new website and get a unique membership number to log-in to the members-only section.
Some of the new and enhanced benefits members can expect for their annual fee include:
- Reduced registration costs for the annual conference;
- Subsidised regional and national networking functions;
- Access to the members-only portal on the new website, which includes exclusive content and materials;
- Increased advocacy for members and the Society’s values, including on law reform;
- Access to the existing suite of services, such as the Ngā Wāhine Rōia Māori mentoring programme; and
- Voting and speaking rights at Māori Law Society hui and the AGM.