New land sales process provides extra protection for Maori

A new process covering the sale of Crown land will provide another layer of protection for MÃ„Âori interests, says MÃ„Âori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia.

The government today announced the new process for the sale of all Crown-owned land to ensure national interests including heritage, cultural, local and recreational values are better protected.

The process modifies an interim one put in place in April after concerns were raised about the proposed Landcorp sale of Whenuakite on the Coromandel Peninsula and Rangiputa in Northland.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Trevor Mallard also announced that Landcorp had agreed to retain ownership of nine properties, including Whenuakite and Rangiputa, in return for market value compensation from the Crown.

"Labour's MÃ„Âori caucus took a close interest in the review to ensure MÃ„Âori interests were accounted for and I'm pleased the new measures will achieve this."

"Under the new process government departments, Crown entities and state-owned enterprises will notify Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) if the land meets the criteria for "potential interest". LINZ will assess whether the land should be protected and ministers will make the final decision."

The Office of Treaty Settlements would be asked to assess potential claim issues and Te Puni KÃ…Âkiri would be required to determine whether MÃ„Âori cultural values needed protection, Mr Horomia said.

Cultural values may include the presence of one or more of the following features on a piece of land: burial places, traditional religious ceremony sites, wÃ„Ânanga sites, sources of water for healing or death rites, sites for gathering of traditional food or resources, battle sites, traditional housing sites, boundary markers or acknowledged sacred landmark features, Mr Horomia said.

"Existing Crown land disposal processes including the landbanking Protection Mechanism and Sites of Significance will remain in place, but the new process adds a new layer of protection for MÃ„Âori interests in several ways."

Under existing processes individual MÃ„Âori are required to apply to have surplus land landbanked or wÃ„Âhi tapu sites protected.

Under the new process a wide variety of land, including surplus Crown-owned non-urban land over five hectares, will be assessed for ''sensitive values". This will allow officials to assess if the land has cultural value to MÃ„Âori beyond the narrower definition of wÃ„Âhi tapu used in the Sites of Significance process and potential claimant interest in the land for Treaty settlements.

For the first time, key landholding state owned enterprises and all Crown entities are expected to use processes which take national interests, such as those of MÃ„Âori, into account before selling land, Mr Horomia said.

"The Protection Mechanism and the Sites of Significance processes were not applicable to land held by those agencies. This plugs a gap in terms of the recognition of MÃ„Âori interests in Crown land sales outside of government departments."

"In addition the process strengthens the obligation on government departments to ensure MÃ„Âori and other national interests are considered for protection when land is being sold."
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I runga i tÃ„â€œtahi whakaritenga hou e pÃ„Â ana ki te hokohoko whenua Karauna, ka whakawhiwhia tÃ„â€œtahi ake takotoranga whakamaru mÃ…Â ngÃ„Â pÃ„Ânga MÃ„Âori, e kÃ„Â« ana te Minita Take MÃ„Âori, a Parekura Horomia.

I te rangi nei ka pÃ„Ânuitia e te kÃ„Âwanatanga te whakaritenga hou mÃ…Â te hokohoko i ngÃ„Â whenua pupuri Karauna katoa, kia pÃ…Â«mau te whakamaru pai ake o ngÃ„Â pÃ„Ânga Ã„Â-motu, tÃ„Âpiri atu ki ngÃ„Â wÃ„Âriu taonga tuku iho, tikanga, rohe kÃ„Âinga, me hÃ„Âkinakina.

Ka whakarerekÃ„â€œ e tÃ„â€œnei whakaritenga tÃ„â€œtahi ritenga wÃ„Â poto o te marama o Paenga-whÃ„ÂwhÃ„Â a-muri i ngÃ„Â whakahÃ„â€œ i puta mÃ…Â ngÃ„Â whakaaro kia hokona atu e Landcorp a Whenuakite kei Hauraki, me Rangiputa kei Te Taitokerau.

I pÃ„Ânuitia anÃ…Â e te Minita mÃ…Â ngÃ„Â Hinonga KÃ„Âwanatanga, a Trevor Mallard, kua whakaÃ„Âe a Landcorp ki te pupuri mau ngÃ„Â whenua e iwa, kei roto i Ã„â€œnei ko Whenuakite me Rangiputa, i runga i te utunga kÃ„Âpeneheihana wÃ„Âriu mÃ„Âkete, mai i te Karauna.

"I Ã„Âta titiro tata tonu te uepu MÃ„Âori o Reipa ki te aromatawai ki te whakapÃ…Â«mau ka tiakina te whaipÃ„Ânga o te MÃ„Âori, me taku harikoa ka tutuki Ã„â€œnei whaipÃ„Ânga e ngÃ„Â tikanga hou nei."

"I raro i ngÃ„Â whakaritenga hou ka whakamÃ…Âhio atu ngÃ„Â tari kÃ„Âwanatanga, ngÃ„Â mauri Karauna, me ngÃ„Â hinonga KÃ„Âwanatanga, ki ToitÃ…Â« te Whenua (TtW) mehemea ka taka iho te whenua ki ngÃ„Â paearu mÃ…Â te " whaipÃ„Ânga pÃ…Â«manawa nohopuku". MÃ„Â TtW e aromatawai mehemea me whakamarutia te whenua, Ã„Â, mÃ„Â ngÃ„Â minita te whakataunga whakamutunga."

I kÃ„Â« a Horomia, ka inoitia te Tari Whakatau i raro I te Tiriti ki te aromatawai i ngÃ„Â take kerÃ„â€œme ka puta, Ã„Â, mÃ„Â Te Puni KÃ…Âkiri e whakatau mehemea me whakamarutia ngÃ„Â pÃ„Ânga wÃ„Âriu tikanga MÃ„Âori.

TÃ„â€œrÃ„Â kÃ…Â ngÃ„Â wÃ„Âriu tikanga ka tÃ„Âpiri atu ki te aroaro o tÃ„â€œtahi, o Ã„â€œtahi rÃ„Ânei o ngÃ„Â Ã„Âhuatanga kei runga i tÃ„â€œtahi wÃ„Âhi whenua: urupä, wÃ„Âhi tapu, wÃ„Âhi wÃ„Ânanga, puna wai rongoÃ„Â whakamahu, tikanga tÃ…Â«pÃ„Âpaku, wÃ„Âhi kohikohi kai, kohikohi rawa, wÃ„Âhi pakanga, wÃ„Âhi whare MÃ„Âori, pou tohu rohenga, wahi whenua tapu rÃ„Ânei, i kÃ„Â« a Horomia.

" Ka mau tonu ngÃ„Â whakaritenga whakawhiti whenua Karauna, tÃ„Âpiri atu ki ngÃ„Â whakahaere Tikanga Whakamaru, me ngÃ„Â WÃ„Âhi Rongonui, pupuri whenua, ëngari ka tÃ„Âpiri atu ki ngÃ„Â whakaritenga hou, tÃ„â€œtahi papanga hou, hei tiaki whakamaru i ngÃ„Â whaipÃ„Ânga MÃ„Âori I raro I Ã„â€œtahi momo ahua."

I raro ngÃ„Â whakaritenga inÃ„Âianei, me tono kÃ„â€œ te MÃ„Âori ngÃ„Âtahi kia pupuritia te whenua toenga, kia whakamarutia rÃ„Ânei te whenua wÃ„Âhi tapu.

I raro i ngÃ„Â whakaritenga hou, he whÃ„Ânui ake ngÃ„Â momo whenua, tÃ„Âpiri atu ki ngÃ„Â toenga whenua Karauna kei waho o ngÃ„Â tÃ„Âone, rahi ake te rima heketea, ka aromatawaitia mÃ…Â ngÃ„Â "wÃ„Âriu aro atu". TÃ„â€œnei ka tuku i ngÃ„Â kaimahi kÃ„Âwnatanga ki te aromatawai mehemea he wÃ„Âriu tikanga tÃ…Â te whenua ki te MÃ„Âori, i tua atu i te whakamÃ„Âramatanga whÃ„Âiti o te wÃ„Âhi tapu i whakamahia nei i roto i ngÃ„Â whakaritenga WÃ„Âhi Rongonui, me te pÃ„Ânga pÃ…Â«manawa nohopuku a ngÃ„Â kaikerÃ„â€œme ki te whenua mÃ…Â ngÃ„Â whakataunga Tiriti.

He mea tuatahi tÃ„â€œnei, te whakahau i ngÃ„Â hinonga pupuri whenua take nui a te kÃ„Âwanatanga, me ngÃ„Â mauri Karauna katoa, ki te whakamahi i ngÃ„Â whakaritenga ki te aro atu ki ngÃ„Â whaipÃ„Ânga Ã„Â-motu, pÃ„â€œrÃ„Â i tÃ„Â te MÃ„Âori, i mua o te hokonga i ngÃ„Â whenua, i kÃ„Â« a Horomia.

Kahore ngÃ„Â whakaritenga Tikanga Whakamaru me ngÃ„Â WÃ„Âhi Rongonui, e pÃ„Â ana ki ngÃ„Â whenua e pupuri ana e Ã„â€œra pokapÃ…Â«. MÃ„Â tÃ„â€œnei e whakakÃ„Â« i te Ã„Âputa mÃ…Â te whakamÃ…Âhio i ngÃ„Â whaipÃ„Ânga o te MÃ„Âori ki ngÃ„Â kaupapa hokohoko whenua Karauna i waho ake o ngÃ„Â tari kÃ„Âwanatanga."

"I tua atu,ka whakapakaritia e ngÃ„Â whakaritenga nei te here i ngÃ„Â tari kÃ„Âwanatanga ki te whakapÃ…Â«mau e whakaarotia ana ngÃ„Â whaipÃ„Ânga MÃ„Âori, Ã„Â-motu rÃ„Ânei, kia whakamarutia i ngÃ„Â wÃ„Â kei te hokona atu te whenua."