June 02, 2015
Low key start to land reform consultation
There has been a low key start to consultation on reform of Te Ture Whenua Maori land law, with 50 people turning out to yesterday’s first hui in south Auckland and half that number at an evening hui in the west.
But officials expect numbers to increase as they move around the country, particularly in centres where there are a large number of Maori land blocks.
The proposed bill is an extensive rewrite of the 1993 Te Ture Whenua Maori Act.
Officials told the hui the aim was to give owners more say in what happened to their land, while reducing the role of Maori Land Court judges.
Many of the administrative functions now done by court officials will be done by a new Maori land service attached to Te Puni Kokiri.
Fears were expressed that this could lead to the loss of valuable institutional memory.
There are hui in Tauranga and Whakatane today, Whangarei tomorrow and Kaikohe on Saturday.
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