September 28, 2014
FOMA members don’t buy law reform reasoning
The people who manage Maori land on behalf of owners aren’t buying the justifications for a major overhaul of Maori land law.
The Federation of Maori Authorities annual conference yesterday heard a progress report on a survey of members about the reform of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act.
Ernst & Young consultant Tamarapa Lloyd, who is FOMA’s representative on the technical working group looking at a new bill, says survey respondents represent about $1.4 billion in assets.
He says key reasons for the reforms are supposedly that the law imposes unnecessary red tape on owners, and decisions can’t be made because a majority of owners don’t take part.
Tamarapa Lloyd says FOMA members would like to see some changes to the law, such as addressing further fragmentation of shares in land, and encouraging a shift in focus from just using the land to finding the best use for it.
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