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The New Zealand Māori Council appointees to the Crown Forestry Rental Trust have asked the High Court for help in resolving a dispute that’s paralysed the trust, which funds research for Treaty of Waitangi claims.
Council co-chair Sir Edward Durie says they are asking for the court to appoint alternate trustees and give directions on the management of conflicts.
He says council trustees have attempted to raise issues about the way the hearings for Te Paparahi ō Raki claims in Northland are funded.
The Waitangi Tribunal has proposed 21 weeks of hearings, but trust staff only sought funding for seven.
Sir Edward is concerned he and other trustees were not properly informed of what the people of the North were seeking, especially given that the government wants direct negotiations on the claims.
He says there are also arguments about how conflicts of interest are determined, and about whether alternate trustees should be chosen by the New Zealand Māori Council and Federation of Māori Authorities, as the trust deed sets out, or if the Crown appointees can have a say in the choice.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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