May 25, 2015
Durie fights for reform of trust
Tension between the Maori appointers to the Crown Forestry Rental Trust has reignited with the New Zealand Maori Council heading back to court over the appointment of trustees.
The council is asking the High Court to reappoint its co-chair, Sir Taihakurei Durie, to the trust for a further three years after its co-appointer, the Federation of Maori Authorities, recommended another candidate.
Some FOMA board members may not have been aware the vacant seat was the one held by the retired judge, and normal practice has been that trustees serve two consecutive terms.
The Maori appointers fell out over the council’s desire to reform the policies and practices of the trust, which uses the interest on income from crown forest leases to fund research on treaty claims involving forestry land.
Sir Taihakurei has told the court that under new chair Rakahia Tau there have been constructive discussions about new policies, but if he is dumped there will be no advocates for reform at the table.
The protracted legal actions over the past two years have cost FOMA more than $200,000, which Justice Stephen Kos described as somewhat breathtaking.
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