August 22, 2014
Land act reform defended
A member of the Iwi Leaders Forum’s technical working group is rejecting criticism by a Maori Land Court Judge of the overhaul of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act.
Judge David Ambler said the Independent Review Panel had failed to explain what was wrong with the 1993 act and why it needed to be reforme … especially as the past two decades have seen major successes with utilisation and development of Maori land.
Willie Te Aho says there has been a lot of work done since the review panel reported, so Judge Ambler’s comments are redundant.
He says the new bill will increase the decision-making of the land owners and reduce the amount of discretion and involvement in the court.
Concerns iwi still want addressed include rating, valuation, local government, and resourcing.
"It must be about resourcing our Maori landowners to achieve what they see as the optimum outcome for their lands so it's not the governmnet's agriculture-driven agenda, it's actually saying we need to be resourcng to support our landowners but the use of our lands could range from active uses of sheep and beef and dairy but also be the passive uses like manuka honey, bee keeping and keeping out lands as they are in tourism, in conservation," Mr Te Aho says.
The issue will be discussed at next week’s Iwi Leaders hui at Tuahiwi Marae.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH WILLIE TE AHO CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjEzNjg=
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd