Hon Te Ururoa Flavell
Minita Whanaketanga Māori
Minister for Māori Development

14 April 2016 Media Statement

Speech: Next steps for Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill

At hui earlier this year, I gave an undertaking to carefully consider the Waitangi Tribunal report into the reform of Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 before introducing the Bill into Parliament.

The report, He Kura Whenua Ka Rokohanga, was released last month. I thank the Tribunal for the thorough consideration of the issues and their recommendations.

Since its release, I have read the whole report. I have taken advice from officials and listened to the wide range of views from Māori on the report including the Ministerial Advisory Group, Iwi Chairs, Federation of Māori Authorities, large and small land owners.
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The Ministerial Advisory Group have met with leadership groups including Te Hunga Rōia Māori, Te Tumu Paeroa, New Zealand Māori Council and Māori Women’s Welfare League.

• I have worked through the 14 recommendations and considered the areas that we have already addressed and whether the commitment to future work streams fully addresses the concerns raised by the Tribunal.

• The purpose of today’s press conference is to announce how I intend to proceed having fully considered the recommendations and findings in the Waitangi Tribunal report.

• As the Tribunal report acknowledges this reform began at least 18 years ago, not long after the 1993 Act was passed. The call from Māori land owners for further reform has been consistent and much of the Tribunal report is dedicated to this background.

• Māori land owners have consistently said they want three things:

1) A law change to give them greater autonomy to make decisions about their land – mana motuhake;

2) Protections in place to ensure that the remaining Māori land stays in Māori hands – taonga tuku iho;

3) Better support to enable them to develop their land whakawhanake.

One of the key recommendations on the reform process is that the Crown needed to further engage with Māori land owners.

Since the Tribunal hearing - there have been a further 22 information hui nationwide, 14 wānanga with Māori land owners, additional workshops and ongoing hui with Māori representative groups.
• We also issued two draft versions of the Bill for consultation.
• Engagement on this Bill since 2013 has been more extensive than any other Bill in recent times. We have held hundreds of hui and released an Exposure draft which resulted in 109 changes to a later draft. The general public seldom see legislation before it arrives in Parliament. It did happen in this case and the feedback received via submissions and hui has shaped the Bill you see today.

• We continue to have ongoing engagement on Ture Whenua Māori with a range of Māori land owners and representative groups.

• One of the main recommendations in the Tribunal report was that empirical research was required to better inform Māori land owners of the need for change to the current Act.
• There has been a range of research and reviews undertaken over many years, since 1998 which has consistently identified the same issues that I mentioned before – greater owner autonomy, retention of land and better support to use it. The Tribunal itself recognised this. It dedicated much of its report to the efforts to change Māori land law. All the research and reviews, all the feedback and discussions I have had with Māori land owners make it clear, these reforms are addressing the very issues we need to address.

• The Tribunal raises the issue about whether there is broad-based support for these reforms. Based on the substantial engagement to date, I am confident that there is broad-based support among Māori for this Bill to proceed.
• The reform is widely supported by Māori land owners and whānau, trusts and incorporations as well as large representative groups such as Federation of Māori Authorities and Iwi Chairs. I have personally spoken with Māori land owners across the country and their message to me is consistent – they want greater recognition of mana motuhake, retention of Māori land as taonga tuku iho and more support to use their land effectively.
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• This call is nothing new – in 1999 at a hui of kaumātua discussing whenua Māori, the following comment was made: Waiho mā ngā ariki o ngā whenua hei kōrero mō taua whenua. This expressed the idea that it should be left it for Māori land owners to make decisions about their own land.
• The Tribunal also recommended that work continue urgently on such matters as rating, valuation, landlocked land, paper roads and issues like the Public Works Act. I absolutely agree with the Tribunal.

• In February I announced that Cabinet has agreed that Councils will have the ability to non-rate unused or unoccupied Māori land. I can confirm that work on rates and Public Works Act is being done and is due to Cabinet by 30 June 2016. Work on landlocked land and paper roads is also being done and is due to Cabinet by 30 November 2016.
• In addition to its recommendations on the process of the reform and the Māori Land Service the Tribunal made nine recommendations about the Bill as it was at the time of their hearings last year. Those recommendations relate to protecting the interests of all Māori land owners’ and the discretion of the Māori Land Court.
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• I believe that a large majority of the issues raised about the Bill itself have already been addressed in the Bill or have been clarified in subsequent drafts.
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• There are some differences of opinion about the role of the Māori Land Court. The Bill makes it clear that the Māori Land Court will deal with matters of law, not matters of management. This is what Māori land owners have asked for.

• So after thorough consideration of the issues presented by the Tribunal and the ongoing work that has continued on the Ture Whenua Reform, I am pleased to announce that I have introduced the Bill into the House today.
• I have carefully considered the Tribunal’s report and have decided to move to the legislative stage of the process. It is appropriate that any remaining concerns and issues people have addressed through that process. In particular, all Maori, including the claimants in the Waitangi Tribunal, will have an opportunity to participate in the select committee process.

• I appreciate the key role that Māori land owners and whānau have had in informing the development of the reforms to date.I acknowledge the key role that Māori land trusts, incorporations, the Māori Land Court judges and Māori leadership groups have had in these reforms.
• It is important to note that there is still a long way to go before the reforms are fully established.
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• We will continue to work closely with Māori land owners on the detailed design of the Māori Land Service and we will have ongoing engagement with Māori on this significant reform.

Some of the barriers like paper roads and landlocked land have been unresolved for generations. I have made, with the support of the Government, a commitment to find workable solutions.

This Bill gives Māori land owners greater autonomy over their land while also ensuring whenua Māori is protected for future generations.

The Bill recognises the principle expressed by the late Dr Apirana Mahuika at a Ture Whenua hui in August 2014: Nōku te whenua, kei a au te kōrero – Nōku te whenua ko au te rangatira. The land is mine, I have all the say. The land is mine, I make all the decisions.

Most Māori land is in regions that are crying out for new opportunities, jobs and a reason for Māori to return to their land. This reform has the potential to make a real difference to the use of land in those regions and to the future prosperity of its people and communities.

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