Land Tenure in the Cook Islands by R. G. Crocombe Oxford University Press, 38s

Te Ao Hou, November 1964, Page 58

Land Tenure in the Cook Islands by R. G. Crocombe Oxford University Press, 38s reviewed by John Booth When people used to one type of land-holding try to codify the rules for another and completely different system, they almost invariably alter and distort it to such an extent that it ceases to function effectively. This is what has happened in the Cook Islands; it is admirably described in a new book by Ron Crocombe called ‘Land Tenure in the Cook Islands’. This book is of particular interest to New Zealand Maoris because their traditional system of land tenure was so similar to that of the Cook Islands. Much of what the author says could be matched with New Zealand cases. For instance, on pages 141–2 he lists ways in which flexibility was built into the old system but has been excluded by statute and Land Court decision from the new. The New Zealand position would be very similar. As in New Zealand, it is apparently true that in the Cooks some good Maori land is not productive, and this is due in large part to the suppression of the traditional rules of land-use. The land has become tangled up in a complicated web of red tape. Mr Crocombe quotes two cases as an illustration of his argument. On the island of Mauke the Land Court had dealt with all the planting land before 1906 whereas in Mangaia

this had never been done. There has been a more marked decline in productivity in Mauke than in Mangaia, for in Mangaia indigenous leadership remains and the land is held under customary tenure. The book finishes with a statement of principle that would be widely accepted but not so often applied. ‘Unless tenure reform is associated with improvements in technical skills, the provision of credit, transport and markets, it is unlikely to result in increases in output or in the satisfaction of the people concerned. Furthermore, in a democratic society, proposals for reform must be evolved with the full participation of the people and must be accepted by them if they are to result in effective improvements to their social and economic welfare.’