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November 04, 2025
Government Plans Boost for Māori Land Through Carbon Forestry and Geothermal Investment
Atereano Mateariki
Posted On November 4, 2025
Download AudioA new government focus is bringing hope for economic development on Māori land, with upcoming policies set to boost carbon forestry and geothermal investment.
Resources Minister Shane Jones says the new strategies will empower rural Māori communities and recognise the importance of partnership.
“We’re about to release in the next six to eight weeks, the geothermal strategy, and that will have a very strong accent on Māori. We are spending $60 million on supercritical geothermal energy, and that is on Māori land associated with the Tauhara Trust,” says Jones.
In parallel, Māori land will be uniquely exempt from new carbon forestry restrictions, a move Jones says will unlock prosperity for owners of ancestral whenua.
“We’ve got to find ways where rural communities, who are stuck with ancestral land, can derive some profit from it, and one way is to plant trees, a mix of native trees and pine trees. Now that is going to be a boon over time for areas such as Tai Tokerau, perhaps around parts of the Waiariki… this is something that was campaigned on as a part of New Zealand First, trying to do practical things with our whenua,” says Jones.
Jones says ongoing government investment, including through the Regional Infrastructure Fund, is designed to create sustainable social and economic outcomes for Māori and their communities.
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