Changes made in Maori land courts

Press, 2 October 1979, Page 13

Changes made in Maori land courts

PA Wellington Some reforms said to strenghten and improve the service given by the Maori land courts have been made as a result of submissions to the Roval Commission on the Maori Courts. The Secretary of Maori Affairs (Mr I. R. puketapu) told the commission tnat the department was responsible for administering the seven Maori courts and that it was taking a much more aggressive approach to their administration. The department had begun to increase the legt.l-advisory service to the courts to help staff streamline the courts’ work and to help Maori people to sort out what they wanted before approaching the courts. He was adamant that the department should continue to administer the courts because he could see no immediate tax savings with a change and there would need to be widespread concurrence from the Maori people about any change of ahe courts’ parent body. Severance of the courts from the department “will certainly raise an emotive accusation that the pakeha is again attempting to separate further the Maori from his land. “Such a reaction would be untimely when the present departmental policies are concentrating on the devlopment of the I Maori people as an important resource to the ’ common good of New i Zealand." i Mr Puketapu said the i department was aio able to provide the courts with i specialist services and I knowledge because of its Own work. ; He accepted that several < of the courts’ registries j had to improve their effi- < cienev and this was ai- t

ready being done with reorganisation of staff, staff training, and improving systems. The courts were an integral part of the department's new effort for more positive programmes for economic, social, educational, and cultural development. The courts should not be just an administrative body for land-ownership changes and subdivisions but should take a more active role in guiding the Maori people to better use of their land. In an effort to appear impartial and not affect owners’ decisions court staff had often confined their advice purely to procedural matters but this would change. “T propose to set up the advice service to owners even at the risk of occasionally adversely -ffecting the position of a minority of the owners or of intending lessees provided I am satisfied the benefit of the majority is being obtained,’’ said Mr Puketapu. Maori land-advisory committees had been given permission to employ research officers to consider matters affecting Maoi land and departmental officers would be able to prepare and use reports to better inform landowners. The chairman of the Royal Commission (Sir Thaddeus McCarthy) said that when the commission had been set up it had been led to believe there were serious matters of principle to be investigated: matters requiring a Royal Commission. But much of the material presented had related t- administrative failure. These things did not need a Royal Commission and could have been dealt with years ago in the way the department was now handling them.