MAORI AFFAIRS BILL

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27201, 19 November 1953, Page 12

MAORI AFFAIRS BILL

MR CORBETT MOVES SECOND READING

“WILL IMPROVE TENURE AND HUSBANDRY” (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, November 18. The provisions of the Maori Affairs Bill No. 2 would improve the tenure of Maori land and the husbandry of it, and it would remove at least one aspect of social intolerance that had crept into New Zealand, said the Minister of Maori Affairs (Mr E. B. Corbett) in the House of Representatives tonight. Moving the second reading, he said that the 472-clause bill was an attempt to deal with a complex and prickly problem. It was in general a rewriting of legislation relating to Maori land —the first since 1909.

It had been evident to all that it was impossible for the Maori land holding with fragmentary interests to be effectively farmed. Today, as never before, it was necessary to use to the maximum the productive capacity of this country. The main obstacle lay chiefly in the form by which ownership had developed over the last 40 years. With the Maori population increasing, the position was deteriorating. If remedial action were not taken now the position would call for drastic action.

Another aspect was the problem of social relations, Mr Corbett continued. He thought the bill, by improving one position of land titles, would lead to an improvement in these social relations. “The misuse of Maori land has brought a great deal of criticism of the Maori—much of it misinformed,” he said. “There has also been criticism of the Government for allowing such a state of affairs to exist.” In the past, however, the basic cause had never been tackled, and the law relating to Maori land had threatened to become inoperable when he first assumed office, he said.

Mr Corbett, quoting examples of uneconomic interests, said that in one case a block of 57 acres had 89 owners, 75 of whom received less than 5s a year. The annual rental was £22 15s 4d. In another case 231 owners leased a block of 50 acres, and 190 owners received less than Is a year and a number of the remainder would have to wait 14 vears for Id. One block of 42 acres had 238 owners, and the annual rent of £4 9s 6d was distributed biennially. Only two of the owners received more than 2s in the biennial distribution. Others had to wait six and 10 years. In another block of 45,000 acres there were 2500 owners. Forty of them had an interest virtually worth nothing, and more than 500 received less than Is a year.

Disposal of Minor Interests The bill provided for the disposal of minor interests. Allegations that the measure was designed to confiscate Maori land had no foundation in fact. Any person who looked at the bill dispassionately would see that there was validity for the contention that its purpose was to preserve for the Maori people the remaining portion of the ancestral lands. There was now the machinery available and the opportunity for the Maori people to erect a barrier against those who coveted their land, and the best barrier was that created by good husbandry, continued Mr Corbett. He did not seek to sever the sentimental ties of the Maori for the land, but at the same time he felt that the people should beware lest blind sentiment provided a barrier to progress. To those few Maori people who insisted on the right to continue old customs relating to marriage, adoption, gift, and succession—customs that had resulted in confusion of titles and the breaking up of interest —he would say it was inevitable for sentiment to destroy the right of ownership, but it was now a case of dealing harshly with old traditions, much as he disliked taking such action.