May 10, 2017
Knowledge lost in law reform
Parliament is continuing to debate the committee stages of the massive Te Ture Whenua Maori Bill, with Opposition MPs saying there are still too many unanswered questions about how the new Maori land law will work.
Hauraki Waikato MP Nanaia Mahuta says whanau who don’t have any sort of governance body or agreement for the whenua will probably have to get legal advice once the bill is passed.
The decision by the Justice Ministry’s courts division to lay off many experienced Maori Land Court staff in recent months means a lot of institutional knowledge has already been lost.
"All the knowledge that has been built up in the Maori Land Court around the peculiarities of succession, relationships to do with the land and some of that stuff, that's been lost, and the Maori Land Service hasn't been formed yet and it is the major part of the solution under these new reforms," Ms Mahuta says.
She says it’s likely the Maori Trustee Te Tumu Paeroa will have to step in and pick up the pieces for a lot of the smaller land blocks.
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