April 11, 2016
Claimants left behind as land reform rumbles on
The lawyer for Northland claimants opposing the Ture Whenua Maori Bill say the Government isn’t listening to their concerns.
Bryce Lyall says Lorraine Norris and her fellow claimants are have asked for urgency because they fear once the bill is introduced, the Government will bulldoze through its Maori land law reform.
They want a response to the Waitangi Tribunal recommendations on their previous claim that the crown needs to ensure it has the broad and informed consent of Maori before it proceeds, and that it does empirical research into what is working and not working with the current law.
"Maori should have been taken along on this journey from the beginning rather than this process where there may have been support for it at some stage, there may not, but the crown hasn't really paused to ensure that has happened and a lot of people are feeling left behind and for something as important as this act and Maori land, that’s not good enough," Mr Lyall says.
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