A former iwi leader says we need unity, not division as we move towards the election

Winston Peters has claimed Maori are not indigenous.

He say his iwi, Ngati Wai, has only been in New Zealand about 900 years, unlike indigenous tribes in Australia who've lived there about 54-thousand years.

Former Ngati Wai Trust Board Chief Executive and now Greens Te Tai Tokerau candidate, Huhana Lyndon, says Peters' comments are disappointing.

She says how long people have been here is not a competition -- but as tangata whenua, Maori maintain their connections to this land.