The Chairperson of the Māori Affairs Committee has opened for submissions on the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill.

The bill seeks to:

· support the development of Māori land

· support the development of housing on Māori land

· modernise rating legislation affecting Māori land.

The bill would improve a number of issues with the current local government rating system that applies to Māori.

In particular, the bill seeks to address the accumulation of rates on unused Māori land, and land which has been inherited from a deceased owner. A build-up of rates prevents the ability of Māori land owners to engage with local government about the development of their land.

Much of the current rating legislation for Māori land is largely unchanged from the Maori Land Rating Act 1924 and is no longer consistent with present-day expectations about the Māori–Crown relationship.

Tell the Māori Affairs Committee what you think

The committee is yet to set a closing date for submissions.

For more details about the bill:

· Read the full content of the bill

· Get more details about the bill

· What’s been said in Parliament about the bill?

· Follow the committee’s Facebook page for updates

ENDS

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