‘Treasury called halt but loan deal continued’

Press, 19 December 1986, Page 4

‘Treasury called halt but loan deal continued’

PA Wellington The Maori Affairs Department continued to correspond with overseas parties involved in the $6OO million loan deal days after the Treasury ordered a halt to negotiations, the “Evening Post” reported.

The newspaper said this was shown in copies of letters obtained by Television New Zealand made available to the “Evening Post.” One letter from a Maori Affairs community officer, Mr Denis Hansen, to Mr Rayner Kinney, president of the Hawaiian based Travel Development Corporation, said the loan had been increased to SUS3OO million. It added: “Germany have accepted at this stage, confirming money is and will be available.” This letter was dated November 26, five days

after the Treasury handdelivered a letter to the Secretary for Maori Affairs saying “there should be no negotiations of any type with the Hawiian group or any other party until the necessary information has been gathered and the views of Ministers obtained.”

The letter from Mr Hansen to Mr Kinney was written on the same day the Secretary for Maori Affairs, Dr Tamati Reedy, said he had telephoned the financier, Mr Gisondi, to say that negotiations over loan-raising were off, on the instructions of his Minister, Mr Wetere. The “Evening Post” said documents showed the wide scale of the operations planned and that Maori Affairs saw financial and economic gains for New Zealand in major Hawaiian developments, as well as the development of spiritual

links with the Hawaiian people. A paper headed, “An evaluation of employment opportunities identified by the Department of Maori Affairs” listed the following trade opportunities: © The construction of modular units for a 20unit to 30-unit kupuna

housing project in Hawaii with an additioanl 30-bed to 40-bed home for the elderly. © The possibility of a tender to build 1000 housing units for a large development in Northern California. © Various bids from New Zealand corporations to produce kitset plans for 20 in series of time-share vacation rentals. O Tenders for 10 or more low-rise "Holiday Inn” type motels for the Chinese Government. © The possibility of involvement in the construction of a 400-acre resort in Kau’i, Hawaii.

© The opportunity to assist in the planning and development of a proposed $42 billion resort community. The paper said that at a meeting with the assistant secretary, Mr Neville Baker, and the Maori Affairs Department’s director of finance, Mr John

Gill, two additional opportunties were discussed. These were the setting up of a development bank based on $250 million to $3OO million funding arranged through financiers in Hawaii, and the possibility of greater Maori involvement in construction of homes for the Maori Affairs Department. The paper also canvassed three options, including the possibility of purchasing an established construction company, the expansion of the department’s Te Awamutu training centre so that it could become a full scale pro-

duction centre, or the offering of housing contracts to various construction companies on the condition they employed a quota of Maori apprentices. “The primary priority is the urgent need to create immediate employment, particularly for Mao

n school-leavers. All resources need to be concentrated on this problem.” The paper suggested that the Maori Affairs Department could become a clearing house for markets it developed. It could therefore control Maori involvement in all aspects of production and the servicing of export markets. A letter dated September 12 from Mr Hansen to Mr Gill explains proposals for the development of a marae on 10 acres of land at Waimanolo Beach, about 15 miles from Waikiki.