NZ Maori Council Notes

Tu Tangata, Issue 19, 1 August 1984, Page 23

NZ Maori Council Notes

by Tata Parata

Maori Affairs legislation is being re-written. The new bill is based on the kaupapa prepared by the New Zealand Maori Council and debated on many occasions throughout the country. A revision of the existing act is long overdue and there is urgency in passing the bill this year, or at least getting it well on the way. This means that there is not much time for further public discussion. The Parliamentary Select Committee went around the country so that people had opportunities to make submissions without having to go to Wellington. However, because it is a short parliamentary session this year and because the twelve members of the committee cannot easily get leave from Parliament, there was a strict limit to the number of meetings.

5 & 6 July 12 & 13 July 24 July 25 & 26 July 2 & 3 August

Tumatauenga, Otiria Paku o te Rangi, Putiki, Wanganui Rangimarie, Christchurch Tama te Kapua, Rotorua Poho o Rawiri, Gisborne.

The Minister of Maori Affairs, Mr Ben Couch, said recently that legislation dealing with vital questions of ownership and use of Maori land has been referred to Parliament’s Maori Affairs Select Committee.

It is the second stage of the Maori Affairs Bill. The first stage of the Bill was introduced to Parliament in December last year and is already before the select committee.

The first stage of the bill dealt mainly with the Maori Land Courts and the general principles which apply to interpreting and applying the legislation.

The second stage of the bill is considered to be the heart of the new legislation because it deals with the questions of ownership and use of maori land. It continues the revision of the Maori Affairs Act 1953, the Maori Housing Act 1935 and their various amendments. In 1978 the government intended to consolidate these acts, but at the request of the maori people it decided not to proceed.

Instead, the New Zealand Maori Council was asked to consider the existing legislation and make recommendations to the government.

Council kaupapa

In February last year the Council submitted a kaupapa and most of its proposals were accepted in principle by the government.

‘The proposals in the Bill are bound by two common threads. The first is the principle that Maori land interests should be recognised as being held in trust for future generations. The second in the principle that the law should provide for the retention of Maori land in the undisturbed possession of its owners,’ Mr Couch said.

The second stage also deals with the alienation of and succession to maori

land, administration and distribution of estates, special provisions for leasing maori land, trusts and maori incorporations.

Who may land go to

The Bill sets out to govern the disposition of land by relating alienations and succession to a class of people who are able to acquire interests in Maori land. In broad terms, that class is the kin group associated with the land, including the descendants of former owners.

Again, where disposal of the land is through a will, a testator may dispose of the land only to a member of one or more of the specified classes. Those primarily entitled are lineal descendants of the testator. Special mention is made of the whangai of the testator who will be able to succeed to interests in maori land under the will.

A spouse is not entitled to the capital of the land, but a testator can leave a spouse an interest for life, or for a shorter term if specified in the will.

Trusts

Because of the important part that trusts have played in the administration of maori land, the bill recognises five different types of trust.

‘Of all the English concepts of law, the trust is the one that most approximates to the maori concept of rangatiratanga, that is, wise administration of all the assets possessed by a group for the group’s benefit,’ Mr Couch said.

Putea and whanau trusts will allow a family to retain its identity links to the land and also provide the means to distribute any income from the interests for the benefit of the family.

Ahu whenua, whenua-a-iwi, and kai tiaki trusts are also provided for in the bill. Ahu whenua trusts broadly equate

to the present section 438 trusts while whenua-a-iwi trusts are broadly referred to as tribal trusts. Kai tiaki trusts formalise provisions relating to people who are under a disability.

Incorporations

The Maori Affairs Amendment Act 1967 equated maori incorporations more with companies, so that the owners became shareholders rather than landowners.

Under the bill the concept of a share is retained, but it is made clear that the share is a beneficial interest in maori freehold land. Maori incorporations, therefore, will be closer to incorporated bodies of trusts than to companies.

‘This Bill therefore gives effect to the proposals in the Kaupapa relating to these areas. There are many more examples in the Bill which demonstrates that both the spirit and the intent of the New Zealand Maori Council’s recommendations have been captured,’ Mr Couch said.

The second stage of the bill will be widely circulated by the Maori Affairs Department and the select committee travelled to marae throughout the country in July to hear submissions on it.

MAORI EDUCATION ONE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

One of the topics for consideration by the Maori Council at its last meeting was a report to the Education Development Conference held at Turangawaewae in March. Major discussion centered on the effects of scaling School Certificate marks so that pupils taking maori and practical subjects were less likely to pass than those taking Latin and other foreign languages.

It was good news to hear a few days after the meeting, that the Department of Education has seen the error of its ways and is going to allow anyone who does well in any subject to get the benefit of those good marks. Other recommendations There were three other resolutions passed by the conference that are being referred back to district councils for their views. 1. That maori people have the right to 25% of the education vote ($500,000,000) to develop their own programmes. The original motion made a claim for 10% of the education vote but was changed to 25% on the grounds that of

the 49,000 children born each year 7,100 have two maori parents, and 4,000 have one maori parent. Thus 11,000 children are born each year who can be classed as maori.

Considering the part that maoris play in general education the conference felt justified in claiming that 25% of education money should be directed towards maori needs as maori people see them. What does your district council think?

2. That in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights all maori communities have the right to have their children taught in their mother tongue.

3. The conference declares that the existing system of education is failing maori people and modifications have not helped the situation, nor will they. Therefore we urge maori withdrawal and the establishment of alternative schooling modelled on the principles underlying kohanga reo. Me tuku tenei kaupapa ma te iwi whanui e tautoko e whakamana. Ma te tiamana o te hui e mau tenei kaupapa ki nga hui o te iwi whanui.

MONEY FAIR SHARES FOR

ALL?

The N.Z. Maori Council has been giving a lot of thought to money and how much of it is, or should be, available to help maori needs.

Of the total population some 10% is maori; therefore some 10% of what the government spends on public services should be going to meet those needs. Of the children born today, 24% are maori; therefore we should be seeing 24% of the budget set aside for services to young children being spent in ways that will be of the greatest help to our tamariki.

If 10% of the total population is maori, out of every SIOO the government spends, $lO should be for the maori. However, the Department of Maori affairs gets only 50c out of each SIOO of government expenditure. That means that the other $9.50 is being spent by other Departments. The Council is looking at the performance of these other Departments in terms of how successfully they are meeting maori needs.

Self-determination is the demand of our people and it is the demand that is being voiced by the Maori Council of Aotearoa.

PROPOSAL FOR A BANK TO FUND MAORI DEVELOPMENT

Whatarangi Winiata, who is Professor of Finance at Victoria University and a Raukawa representative on the New Zealand Maori Council, has written a paper pointing out the need for finance to be made available for Maori

developments. This would be in addi-

tion to what Maori International might be able to do.

Four reasons are given for setting up a maori development bank:

1. It would increase substantially the amount of financing available for diverse development including hapu, iwi or runanga-led progress;

2. It would increase the number of bicultural people who can specialise in working with maori organisations and could assist with the preparation and evaluation of feasibility studies;

3. It would create a place for maoridom in the financial markets a domain in which they have no influence at present;

4. It would earn profits which could be used for re-investment and/or for cultural or social enrichment.

Proposals

The following three proposals, in descending order of preference, are presented for consideration:

1. That the government place S2O million with the Maori Trustee. The Maori Trustee Act should be amended but without jeopardising his special position. He should be given the power to use his resources to expand his activities in a manner comparable to the major financial institutions.

2. That the government promote a maori development bank using new legislation similar to the Development Finance Corporation Act and that it appropriate S2O million for the issued capital of the proposed bank.

3. The same as 1. but without the S2O million appropriation. A substantial injection of funding

and energy into maori development is necessary to have an impact on the gap between maori development and commercial advancement in the community at large. The Development Finance Corporation, although not intentionally so, is a pakeha-initiated, pakeha-led and pakeha-managed institution for pakeha people and it has been successful. A maori version is proposed.

Professor Winiata’s paper scans al-

ternative sources of financing maori development and it offers proposals for the establishment of a financial institution which would attract funds from the community at large.

For two of the three alternatives the government would be asked to provide S2O million. If it is not prepared to do so, the third proposal is viable and is worthy of serious consideration. With capital of $7 million from the Maori Trustee it could attract substantial amounts of good money into maori development.

DISTRICT COUNCILS: Would you support the proposal?

MAORI AFFAIRS CHANGES AT THE TOP

For some time now there has been talk of changes in the top organisation of the Department of Maori Affairs. The Maori Council itself has been aware of what has been happening and has been pushing for further maori representation in the senior positions.

From our point of view it is essential to have someone in the decision-making spot who is not only conscious of maori ambitions but who shares them and who is responsive to maori feelings. We acknowledge that there are and have been non-maori staff with a keen sense of dedication to what the department has been trying to do but no one can understand the situation better than a person with first-hand knowledge.

Neville Baker the people’s choice

In selecting a second deputy to Dr Tamati Reedy, the Secretary, many different groups, district councils and the New Zealand Council itself, had put forward the name of Neville Baker. At this time his appointment is not definite but there seems to be no other likely candidate.

The broad area of responsibility for this new appointee will be community development. This will cover social policies and programmes such as matua whangai and kohanga reo. It will probably also include housing where new policies are being introduced.

The first deputy secretary will deal with matters such as land development that are associated with the economic wellbeing of the maori people. His responsibility is also likely to include administration and management of the Department’s many activities.

NEW HOUSING POLICY

On 10 April 1984 the Minister of Maori Affairs issued a statement confirming that the Department of Maori Affairs would continue to administer a housing programme rather than handing it over to the Housing Corporation.

A review of the housing has brought about some changes:

In future the Housing Corporation will be regarded as the primary source of government finance for all intending home owners, and the department will concentrate on those maori families which the Housing Corporation is unable to assist.

The department will provide an advisory and brokerage service for all maori people regardless of which organisation shall actually provide the house or finance that is necessary.

The main thrust of the activities of the Department of Maori Affairs will be to concentrate on areas of special need.

The government will consider introducing any specific measures that may be necessary to meet the needs of the maori people in a review of the situation early in 1985.

Any changes will be expected to result in an improved housing service for the maori people so that they have similar home ownership opportunities as do other New Zealanders.

Better information

More steps are to be taken to acquaint maori families with the department’s policies. Publicity material is being prepared and district offices are to form a network with community organisations which will identify needy cases.

Contacts are to be developed with local Maori Women’s Welfare League committees, maori committees, community health nurses, health inspectors, local authority building inspectors and other appropriate organisations. It is important that there is close co-op-eration with these people not only to identify applicants but also to observe the needs of people in substandard conditions.

Different housing needs

The team reviewing maori housing realised that urban and rural needs are quite different and that these must be considered separately in developing policies. It was also recognised that each applicant has a different set of physical and personal needs and that it is difficult to fix a policy which suits every application.

General needs identified by the review were: A drive to improve the ratio of maori homeowners to other New Zealanders. Policies must be directed at the problems of the client and should not be tied to Housing Corporation policies. Development of low-cost housing which can be provided within the limited resources available to clients. Second mortgage finance to be more readily available. Assistance to trust boards, trusts, incorporations and local authorities

that are interested in providing rental accommodation for maori people. Servicing of applications for renovation and upgrading of existing homes. Flexibility in policy to enable assistance to worthy cases unable to match Housing Corporation criteria. Providing flats on existing family house sites associated with positive measures for younger generations to assume occupation or ownership of family homes (whare awhina). Continuation of the programme for kaumatua flats. Rural housing Recognising cultural implications, changes are needed to: Make it easier to utilise multiple owned maori land for housing purposes. Find acceptable solutions on title issues concerning papakainga land.

Establish closer rapport with town and country planning officials. Urban needs The most obvious urban needs are to: Relieve overcrowding. Commission specific research into urban housing for maori people and develop initiatives to provide solutions. Pursue a more active policy on the purchase of sections and purchase or lease land for subdivision. Identify emergency housing facilities and liaise with groups administering emergency housing. House the young (flats and hostels matua whangai). Research into current use of areas set aside in some cities for the specific purpose of accommodating maori people (e.g. land set aside in urban areas last century for maori use).