Maori land law reform threatened
Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell has hit back at MPS opposing the Maori land reform bill saying they should ‘‘stop playing politics’’ with Maori land.
The Te Ture Whenua Maori Bill is due back in Parliament next week for its third and final reading but Labour, NZ First and Mana Party leader, Hone Harawira, have all identified flaws in the bill and Labour has promised to repeal it if they become the government.
Harawira, who recently did a deal with the Maori Party to stand aside in the Maori seats in exchange for a clear run in Te Tai Tokerau, has called the bill a ‘‘poisonous and destructive cancer’’. Flavell said that just highlighted the fact the two parties could work together at the election but still have their own views on individual issues.
‘‘He has a view, I have a view, I look forward to him seeing what we’ve been able to bring together ... I think there’s actually been some straight-out lies put out about the bill ... there’s been a number of changes.
‘‘People have got to stop playing politics with our land. Our people expect better of those representatives of political parties, Maori in particular, than to play games with our whenua.’’
After six years, Flavell said, the bill was finally at the ‘‘end of the journey, or close to it’’ and it fixed the ‘‘inequities’’ in the current legislation.
‘‘The bill makes it harder to sell Maori land, that is fact. The bill has not been rushed – six years, 146 hui, three draft bills, a full select committee process – this must be the most consulted on piece of legislation that has ever been seen in Parliament,’’ Flavell said.
One of the ‘‘key planks’’ is that Maori land remain in Maori hands and Maori landowners will be able to set higher thresholds when it comes to selling.
‘‘The general view is that any government department wishing to take it under the Public Works Act ... must give a greater level of assurance to the parties that they have consulted and checked in with those whom they’re taking the land from. There are offerbacks available as well.’’
There will be more consideration required – that is a higher threshold – by government agencies when taking Maori land
"The taking of land for public works has had a significant impact on Maori land. In the past, legislation allowed easier acquisition of Maori land with less access to compensation.'' Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell
under the Public Works Act
Among other changes in the bill is that if Maori land is acquired under the Public Works Act, it will no longer be valued lower than other land, and where land was taken as Maori land it will be returned as Maori freehold land.
‘‘The taking of land for public works has had a significant impact on Maori land. In the past, legislation allowed easier acquisition of Maori land with less access to compensation, reducing Maori land to just over 5 per cent of all land,’’ Flavell said.
Meka Whaitiri, Labour’s local government spokesperson, said the consultation process was ‘‘botched’’ because Maori landowners were not given enough time to consider all the technical and legal ramifications.
NZ First leader Winston Peters has accused the Maori Party of being ‘‘elitist’’ in its changes to the bill. He said future costs of the bill would disadvantage Maori landowners and telling them they could always go to the High Court for disputes showed how little they understood of the economic position of Maori.