February 08, 2016
Another round of Ture Whenua hui start today
The Waitangi Tribunal has told the Government it needs to win a lot more support for its reform of Maori land law.
Te Puni Kokiri heads out for another round of consultation on the proposed Te Ture Whenua Maori Bill, starting with a hui in Auckland this morning.
Reacting to the sudden announcement of the hui, the tribunal released a draft chapter from its report on claims against the bill.
The chapter looks at whether there has been sufficient consultation to satisfy treaty principles.
It says because of its importance to Maori, the Crown cannot proceed to reform Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 without an indication of broad, fully informed support from Maori.
The crown says it already has that support.
But the tribunal says while there is support for the creation of an alternate disputes process and clarification of the law around Maori reservations, every other aspect of the bill had sparked concern or outright opposition.
It’s recommending further time for hui and written submissions, and further engagement with Maori stakeholders and leadership groups to make any final refinements and revisions.
The tribunal also says the bill fails to address the issues Maori have consistently identified as holding back the development of Maori land, including rating and valuation, access to landlocked land and access to finance.
Copyright © 2016, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com