Productive land policy gives Māori owners options

Peter Verschaffelt Hon Meka Whaitiri | Productive land policy gives Māori owners options

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Associate Agriculture Minister Meka Whaitiri says a policy to protect growing land from development will provide another layer of protection for Māori.

The National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land will require councils to identify, map, and manage highly productive land.

Ms Whaitiri says land needed to grow kai for domestic and export consumption is being gobbled up by urban sprawl and life style blocks.

While it may mean some Maori land is no longer available for housing, it should make the options clearer for trusts which want to make best use of their whenua.

“Even without governance structures over Maori land that is highly productive, you’ve still got the ability to have Te Tumu Paeroa (the Maori Trustee) to be governing that land and Te Puni Kokiri is also available if they want to get into the utilisation or leasing of their whenua but one thing for sure is this policy will not alienate any further Maori whenua,” Ms Whaitiri says.

Meka Whaitiri says it’s clear from the response the policy is long overdue.

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