21 September 2016

Govt can ensure Māori land is protected for future generations

The Green Party is calling on the Government to support Green MP Catherine Delahunty’s Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill, to protect the small amount of land still in Māori ownership for future generations.

“The Government has a responsibility under Te Tiriti o Waitangi to protect Māori land from alienation for the benefit of future generations, and they can do that by voting for my Bill in the House today,” said Ms Delahunty.

“My Bill was inspired by Patricia Grace and her whānau’s fight to protect their land from the construction of the Government’s destructive Kāpiti Expressway project.

“Patricia Grace’s case is one of the most recent examples of how the Public Works Act has been used time and time again to alienate Māori from their land, including the historic struggles for Bastion Point and the Raglan golf course.

“Less than 5% of land in Aotearoa is still held in Māori customary and freehold ownership, so it is completely unacceptable that the Public Works Act can still be used in the 21st century to confiscate Māori land.

“We have received huge support from Māori across the country for this Bill; almost 5000 petition signatures and at almost every consultation hui for the Government’s Te Ture Whenua Māori reforms the impact of the Public Works Act on Māori land was raised.

“Supporting this Bill gives Parliament the opportunity to ensure that not one more acre of Māori land can ever again be taken without consent, and that the injustices of the Crown towards Māori aren’t repeated,” said Ms Delahunty.

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