LEGISLATION

Te Ao Hou, Summer 1954, Page 51

LEGISLATION NGA WHAKAMAHI MO NGA MONI KAHORE I TE KEREMETIA Kei te tino maha inaianei nga nini a te iwi Maori kei te peheatia nga moni e takoto noa iho ana i nga ringa o nga Poari Whenua Maori i te wa e tu ana aua Poari, me nga moni i te ringa o te Kai-Tiaki Maori, a kahore ano i keremetia e te hunga e tika ana ki aua moni, i kereemetia e te hunga e tika ana ki aua moni. pera i raro i te here kai-tiaki, a kahore tonu he mana inaianei hei whakamahi i aua moni i tetahi atu ahua. Kua oti te hunga i te Paremata he ture e taea ai te whakamahi i aua moni, a i te mea hoki keahore e taea te utu ki te hunga na ratou aua moni, a tera e ahei kia whakapaua inaianei aua moni ki roto i te takiwa i hua ake nei aua moni hei painga mo te katoa o nga Maori o taua takiwa. I raro i taua ture kua whakaritea te huarahi e utua ai aua moni ki nga Ropu Awhina Take Maori me era atu ropu o roto i taua takiwa e kimi ana i te ora, engari tera ano kei te mau tonu te mana me te huarahi e ahei ai te hunga e whai take ana ki aua moni ki te whakatakoto i a ratou kereeme. Ko te Ture Kai-Tiaki Maori, 1953, e whakatopu ana i te katoa o nga ture e pa ana ki te kai-tiaki Maori, a pera hoki i te Ture mo nga Take Maori whanui a te I o Aperira, 1954, timata ai nga tikanga o taua Ture. Ko taua Ture e pa ana ki te kaupapatanga, ki nga kaute, ki nga mana tuku moni me era atu mana o te kai-tiaki Maori, engari tera atu te tekiona hou e tino pa nui ki nga whakahaere a te Kai-Tiaki Maori, ara Tekiona 30. Kei te Kai-Tiaki Maori e pupuri ana etahi moni nui whakaharahara ma te iwi Maori kahore nei ano i whakatakoto kereeme ki aua moni. He whenua te putake tuturu o aua moni USES FOR UNCLAIMED MONEYS? There have been many inquiries from the Maori people as to what happens to moneys, held by the former Maori Land Boards and the Maori Trustee, which remain unclaimed by the persons for whom they are held. Up till the present time moneys of this kind have been retained in trust, and no power has existed to deal with them in any other way. Parliament has now made it possible for these unclaimed moneys, since they cannot be paid to the persons entitled, to be used within the district from which they arose, for the good of Maoris generally. The legislation provides for payment of unclaimed moneys to Maori organisations and other bodies in the district for purposes of benefit, without at the same time taking away the rights of anyone who later establishes a personal claim to any part of them. The Maori Trustee Act, 1953, consolidates the general law relating to the Maori Trustee, and, like the Maori Affairs Act, comes into force on April 1, 1954. It deals mainly with the constitution, accounts, lending powers and so on of the Maori Trustee, but there is one new section of great importance — Section 30. The Maori Trustee holds substantial amounts of money to the credit of Maoris who have never made any claim to it. This money is mainly from land—rents, purchase money, royalties and compensation. Some has been held for twenty years or longer without claim. A good part of it came to the Maori Trustee from the former Maori Land Boards. No doubt many of the persons for whom these moneys are held are dead, and their relatives do not know of the moneys. Others are known by different names, or have moved right away from

—ara, he moni riihi, he moni hoko, he roereti, me te moni kapeneheihana. Kua tae ki te rua tekau tau neke atu, e pupuritia ana aua moni kahore ano i keremetia. A ko te waahi nui o aua moni he mea waiho mai ki te Kai-Tiaki Maori e nga Poari Whenua Maori i te wa i whakakorea nei aua Poari. Tera pea kua mate noa atu etahi o nga tangata e tika ana ki aua moni, a kahore nga whanaunga i te mohio ki aua moni. Etahi ano kei te mohiotia pea i raro i tetahi ingoa ke a kua neke ranei ki tetahi atu takiwa noho ai. Kua nui tonu te mahi ki te kimi haere i nga tangata na ratou aua moni, a no enei wa tonu nei ka panuitia nga ingoa o nga tangata na ratou aua moni i roto i nga kahiti o te Kooti, engari, he waahi iti noa iho o aua moni i taea te utu. I raro i taua Tekiona 30 kua whai tikanga te Kai-Tiaki Maori ki te hanga rarangi ingoa na ratou nei aua moni, mo ia takiwa Kooti Whenua Maori, e whakaatu ana i te huarahi i puta mai ai aua moni kahore ano i kereemetia ma nga tau tekau. Ka tukuna atu he kape o ia rarangi ingoa ki te Tari Kooti Whenua Maori o ia takiwa hei matakitaki, hei hurahura ma te katoa. Ko era o aua moni kahore ano i keremetia i roto i te kotahi tau i muri mai i te panuitanga, ka ahei kia utua te tekau pauna ia rau pauna ki roto ki te Putea Maori Mo Nga Take Maori (koia nei te putea kai awhina i te iwi Maori i roto i te maturanga, i nga pukapuka e pa ana ki te reo Maori, me te hitori aha noa) a ko te toenga ka whakamahia i raro i tetahi tikanga whakahaere e whakaaetia e te Minita, a e whakataungia e te Kooti. Kei te Minita Mo Nga Take Maori te ahua ki te whakatu komiti mo ia takiwa hei rapu i tetahi tikanga e tika ai te tohatoha i aua moni o tena ake, o tena ake takiwa (haunga atu era moni kua utua ki te Putea Moni Mo Nga Take Maori) hei utunga ki nga Komiti Takiwa me nga Komiti-a-Iwi, ki te Ropu Wahine Maori Toka-i-te-Ora, me era atu ropu o taua takiwa e kimi ana i te oranga mo te iwi Maori me o ratou uri. Ko te kaupapa tenei i raro i te whakaae a te Minita me te whakatau a te Kooti e taea ai e te Kai-Tiaki Maori te whakamahi o aua moni kahore ano nei i kereemetia. Ahakoa aua moni kahore ano nei i kereemetia ka utua i te ahua kua huaina ake nei, mehemea ka taea e tetahi tangata te whakatakoto kereeme e whai take ana ia ki aua moni, ka utua atu e te Kai-Tiaki Maori nga moni e tika ana ki a ia. Kahore taua tekiona i te tango i nga mana o tetahi tangata e whai take ana ki aua moni. Heoi ano te kaupapa kei te tirohia tera te waahi nui o aua moni kahore rawa e kereemeti, no reira e tika ana kia whakamahia hei painga mo nga Maori ake o te takiwa, he their own district. A good deal of work has been done in trying to track down these moneys, particularly of late, by publishing the names of the beneficiaries in Court panuis, but only a small amount has been disposed of in this way. Section 30 provides for the Maori Trustee to make up lists for each Maori Land Court District, giving particulars of moneys for which no claim has been made for ten years. A copy of each list is to be lodged in each Maori Land Court office for public inspection. Those amounts listed for which no claim is made within a year after notification, can be dealt with by paying ten per cent to the Maori Purposes Fund (which assists in Maori education, and publishes works dealing with Maori language, history, etc.), and the remainder in accordance with a scheme approved by the Minister and confirmed by the Court. The Minister of Maori Affairs can appoint a committee for each district to draw up a scheme for the distribution of the unclaimed moneys in that district (other than the amount paid to the Maori Purposes Fund), providing for payment to Tribal Executives and Committees, Maori Women's Welfare Leagues and other bodies in the district for purposes of benefit to Maoris or descendants of Maoris. This scheme, subject to approval by the Minister and confirmation by the Court, forms the basis for payment by the Maori Trustee of these unclaimed moneys. Although these unclaimed moneys may be paid out as set out above, if any person later establishes that some of those moneys were due to him, he will be paid by the Maori Trustee. The section does not take away the rights of any person to moneys due to him. It merely recognises the practical position that a great part of these moneys will never be claimed, and should, therefore, be used among the Maoris of the district rather than continue to lie in the hands of the Maori Trustee. There is one further minor provision of the section, that the Court may authorise dealing with certain other moneys, as if they were unclaimed moneys, without publishing a list. This concerns first, moneys held by the Maori Trustee where the records do not disclose to whom they should be paid. There are a few cases like this, mostly dating from many years ago. The other class of moneys concerned is small amounts due from a block of land with a number of owners, where distribution would not be worth while. This, also, is a rather uncommon occurrence. pai ke tenei ahua i te waiho kia takoto noa iho i roto i nga ringa o te Kai-Tiaki Maori. Tera ano tetahi whakarite iti kei roto i taua tekiona e whakamana ana i te Kooti mo te ahuatanga ki etahi atu moni mehemea nei he moni kahore ano i kereemetia a kahore hoki i uru ki roto i te rarangi i panuitia. E pa ana tenei, tuatoki, ki nga moni kei pupuritia e te Kai-Tiaki Maori, kahore he whakamarama me utu aua moni, na wai aua moni. He ahua nui tonu nga mea penei no nga tau maha kua mahue noa atu. Ko etahi ahua o aua moni e pa ana ki nga moni iti rawa no nga poraka whenua pehea noa atu te nui o nga tangata e whai take, a i te iti o te moni ma tena, ma tena, he mahi nui rawa te tohatoha. Tera hoki he ahua maha tonu nga mea penei.