Minister needs to taihoa on Māori land reform

Minister Te Ururoa Flavell needs to taihoa on his ture whenua Māori reforms until there is certainty on all of its component parts, particularly the design of the Māori Land Service, the Green Party said today.

“Minister Flavell’s announcement of a series of wānanga on the Māori Land Service is an admission that the Government hasn’t done any of the work on one of the most critical parts of its Māori land reform,” Green Party Māori Development spokesperson Marama Davidson said.

“While it’s good the Minister is now finally starting to develop the Land Service, it reinforces that he never had the mandate to introduce the Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill to the House when he did.

“We have been hearing from people across the country that even organisations and individuals supporting the overall reforms have massive concerns with the lack of information about the Māori Land Service.

“The Māori Land Service will replace core functions of the Māori Land Court process, but Māori have not had an opportunity to see what implications this will have. There is not enough detail in the Bill for Māori, or Parliament, to be able to give a properly informed consent to this Bill.

“The ture whenua Māori reforms have gone off the rails and the Minister’s proposed wānanga signify the Government’s desperate attempts to patch up the many holes in the reforms. Minister Flavell needs to delay the passage of the Bill until he can give certainty on the entire reforms package”, Ms Davidson said.

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