the Māori land
Maori Council executive director Matthew Tukaki wants local bodies to hand back some of the Maōri land they have seized for unpaid rates over the past century.
He told Te Ao Tapatahi that the passing of the Local Government Rating of Whenua Māori Amendment Act through Parliament this week was a “great first step.”
“Rates on Māori land have been a massive issue for a very long time. We’ve seen councils go to the district courts and seize or use that land for years.
“It’s been a nefarious form of raupatu (confiscation) that’s been occurring for a long time.
Tukaki said he would like to see a scheme “where some of that debt is not only forgiven but a pathway for remediation where some of that land might be returned to whanau or iwi Māori and I don’t just mean put in a landbank for some future settlement for iwi but actually return to the original landowner.”
Link to article: Hand back the Māori land | Te Ao Māori News (teaomaori.news)
