Marae land lease in rental arrears

Press, 2 August 1983, Page 20

Marae land lease in rental arrears

The lease on land rented by the Marae of the Seven Canoes Incorporated, at Jurys, will be terminated by the North Canterbury Catchment and Regional Water Board, if rent arrears are not paid by October 1. The recent meeting of the board’s reserves committee was told that the Marae of the Seven Canoes, which leased 7.8 hectares of land near Woodford Glen Speedway, at Jurys, owed the board a half-yearly rental of $125. The fee was due for payment on April 1. A proposal by the board’s secretary, Mr B. J. Mairs, recommending the board terminate the lease of the marae land on August 5, was supported by the reserves manager, Mr A. C. Norton.

Committee members, however, were reluctant to terminate the lease at the recommended date. The committee supported a motion by Mr T. N. P. Anderson to extend the expiry date to October.

Mr Anderson said an extension would give the marae group more time to consider the matter. The move would convey to the group that the board was serious about recovering the debt, he said. The marae group should also be asked to submit a firm plan of proposals to the board by June, 1984, Mr 1 Anderson said. Mr Norton told the committee that the lease began in 1976, for the purpose of establishing a Maori marae. There had been no ground development to date, he said. Several buildings had been erected on the site,

which contravened the local body by-laws. Mr Anderson said he would be extremely reluctant to act precipitously in dealing with debt. “I think the board would be showed in a poor light if it dealt with this matter harshly,” he said. “It would be unwise of us to proceed with the recommendation at this time. It is not up to us to terminate what is seen by some as a valuable cultural programme.” Mr J. O. Dixon said he was surprised the rent was in arrears, knowing the enthusiasm of those behind the project. The chief executive officer, Mr E. R. Wood, said the time had come when the board had to act on the matter.

Mr Wood said if it had a similar problem with another lease, action would have been taken some time ago. “The end result may not be as harsh as it may sound,” he said. “They may decide to sell their rights to the leased land.” Mr Wood said the board had been in touch with the group’s founder and marae solicitor on a number of occasions to try and solve the matter. “Some action was needed ... to bring it home that the situation could not continue,” he said. The committee recommended a board member arrange a meeting with a representative of the marae group to discuss payment of the debt.