100-year review of rating law ready for scrutiny

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Parliament’s Māori Affairs Select Committee is calling for submissions on a Bill that aims to address long-standing concerns about the rating of Māori land.

The Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill aims to support the development of Māori land, including making it easier to develop housing for owners.

It seeks to address the accumulation of rates on unused Māori land, and land which has been inherited from a deceased owner by making it easier for councils to write off what can be an uncollectable debt.

Rates arrears mean Māori landowners often feel unable to engage with local government about the development of their land.

The committee says much of the current rating legislation for Māori land had been around for almost a century and is no longer consistent with present-day expectations about the Māori Crown relationship.

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