NATIVE LANDS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 104, 29 October 1931, Page 11

NATIVE LANDS

DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES

REVIEW OF PROGRESS.

A. brief review of tie progress made fender the Native land development vehemes instituted in the past few years was made in the House of Bepresentatives last night by the Native Minister (the Hon. Sir Apirana Ngata). The Minister said that at 31st August /last there were in operation 41 schemes ■from North Cape literally to the Bluff. Included in the number were three or -four schemes which were being administered by the Maori Land Boards and financed from their own funds, while another was being administered by the Native Trustee. Two of the ■chemes were not in active operation yet, being still under investigation. The .total area brought in under the various schemes at 31st August was 591,524 acres, but he did not wish to convey the impression that it was proposed to develop the whole of that area or that ib was- all developable. In order to ;<M>mply with the Native Land Act the ["gazettals" embraced a good deal of land which could not be made use of. The Department advised him that it .estimated that 248,200 acres of the total were developable, but even that figure might be very wide of the mark. The area "gazetted" in the North Auckland district comprised 437,000 acres, but he did not expect that more than 150,000 acres would be . developable. '"It is all very well to say it is develop,able," said Sir Apirana; "it rests with the Treasury to say whether we can develop the whole lot. In my opinion it is not necessary to develop anything like that amount. After all, the purpose of a Native land developmental " scheme ia to inspire the" Maori tribes to concentrate on the job of breaking 'In their own lands, largely with their own labour, with such assistance as the '.Government may give." ' • - '" The cost of all Native land development schemes as at 31st August, the 'Minister said, was £135,325, and with , that money a tremendous lot of work ;Ji»d been done. It was difficult to esti- , teatct the actual amount of land that ', i'»d been developed, but ho comput-.-'•4 that in the North Auckland district ilt amounted to between 12,000 and • fiflM acres. .