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Ikaroa Rawhiti MP Meka Whaitiri says the Minister for Maori Development needs to listen to what the Waitangi Tribunal has to say about his proposed reform of Maori land law and not try to rush the process.
The tribunal is about to release its report on Te Ture Whenua Maori Bill, which Minister Te Ururoa Flavell wants to introduce into parliament this month.
Ms Whaitiri says a draft chapter released before the latest round of information hui on the bill concluded there had not been sufficient consultation on what was planned, which makes a nonsense of Mr Flavell’s claim there has been 17 years of consultation.
She says the crown doesn’t have to agree to any recommendations the tribunal may make but the minister needs to be absolutely certain his legislation will achieve his objective of protecting Maori land.
"It’ll give a clear independent steer to all the landowners out there if the legislation will protect our rights under the Treaty so it's removing all the politics, it's removing all the people pushing for it and it's givng a considered view and that's what's been lacking in this bill is the independence and looking at it from the angle of the Maori landowners themselves, Maori people's rights as guaranteed under the treaty," Ms Whaitiri says.
Landowners will also be keen to see the submission on the latest draft of the bill by Maori Land Court judges because they are the people with a working knowledge of how it works in practical term.
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