MAORIS' RATES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22685, 24 March 1937, Page 19

MAORIS' RATES

ACCUMULATED AEP.EAES BURDEN ON LOCAL BODIES FURTHER APPEAL FOR RELIEF QUESTION A NATIONAL ONE [nr TELEGRAPH—OWN CORRESPONDENT] GISBORXE, Tuesday The serious position of local bodies consequent upon the failure of natives to meet their rating and other obligations was explained to the actingMinister of Native Affairs, the Hon. F. Langstone, during his tour of the East Coast district. Addressing the Minister at Te Puia, the chairman of the Waiapu County Council, Mr. D. \Y. D. \\ illiams, said that in 1930 the council wiped off all native rates, but since then about £30,000 had accumulated. That was too big a handicap and the council sought assistance in forcing collection where land was producing and was practically fully developed. The council realised that rates must be paid from production and would not object if all unproductive areas were taken oil" the rate roll. If payment could bo enforced on productive blocks the council would be satisfied, but to date the council had not been able to collect from all producing lands. About 50 per cent of the natives, [ Mr. Williams added, did not see the J reason for paying when others did not j pay. if native lands were to be treated in a different way from European lands j the council asked that the respon- ) sibilitv should be a national one and i the council would seek an additional | subsidy to offset non-payment. Grants May Be Raised The Minister said that the Govern- ! ment could not accept the respon- j sibilitv for native rates or any other 1 rates. The Government made grants to local bodies, and in certain cases those ; grants might have to be bigger. Where I a native could pay ho would have to pay, and he had warned them that they would be. forced to pay. lie believed the Maori was being shown that he could not continue to side-step the issue. The Minister said that the department agreed that Maoris should be protected from injustice. He did not think that the mental attitude of the Maori was against paying rates any more than the pakeha. If they would not pay their rates they were scrounging on others who did, for they were using the roads, lie had told the Maoris that most of the money for roads was coining from the pakeha and that it was their duty to pay their share. In Matakaoa County the administrator hail been able to collect 52 per cent of native rates this year, against 1 per cent in the year before. He understood that the administrator had obtained a receivership on one or two properties and that had influenced many others in making rate payments. The Minister said lie was satisiied that the Government would have to come into the breach and give greater annual grants to counties affected by the native rating problem. He had had a conference with the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, on the point, so that when local bodies applied for grants the Public Works Department would be seized of the importance of the conditions in certain counties. Hospital Board's Problem Another aspect of the problem was I referred to when it was stated that j the failure of a large proportion of ! the Maoris to pay county rates had ; caused a serious problem for the Waiapu Hospital Bqard. Mr. J. Todd, | secretary of the board, said that the i Waiapu hospital" district was probably 1 unique as to population in that Maoris | outnumbered Europeans by about two I to one. '"ln the past 10 years," ho | added, "the work of this board has increased out of all recognition. In 1925-26 our expenditure on hospital maintenance alone was £2795; in 193536 it was £4786. The point is that the increase is almost entirely due to the greater number of Maoris receiving treatment. "The Maoris have now learned the value and necessity of hospital treatment," said Mr. Todd, "but the difficulty is that it all costs money, and the native is not meeting his share of the bill. Whether this is due to unwillingness or inability on the part of the Maori I am not prepared to say, but the fact remains that on the average payments received from natives are always a long way below receipts from European patients. Collections from pakehas are about 40 per cent and from Maoris 11 per cent." Mr. Langstone said he would place the matter before the Minister of Health. RECEIVERSHIP ORDERS APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT APPELLATE JUDGES' ACTION fBY TELEGRAPH —OWN CO-RESPONDENT] • GISBORNE, Tuesday The guidance of the Supreme Court is to be sought in connection with an appeal made by the Cook County Council to the Native Appellate Court respecting the refusal of the Native Land Court Judge to make orders in respect of Maori lands on which rates are long overdue. Chief Judge R. N. Jones and Judge C. E. MacConnick, sitting as the Native-Appellate Court, intimated that they would take this course in order that an authoritative decision might be secured for the guidance of the lower Court in future dealings with applications for orders of receivership or orders vesting lands in the Native Trustee for realisation. " This is a question which must affect many rating authorities and Maori ratepayers," said the Appellate Court Judges, " and in view of the importance attached to it we are prepared to state a case for the opinion of the Supreme Court, so that there may be an authoritative decision which would serve as a guide to the Native Land Court."