7. TE URUROA FLAVELL (Māori Party—Waiariki) Link to this
to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises
Ki tana whakapono, e tika ana mā Kaporeihana Whenua e hoko te whenua ki tētahi rangatira tūmataiti, arā, te whenua i murua mai rā i te hunga Māori hei pā tūwatawata; mēnā āe, he aha ai, mēnā kāo, he aha ai hoki?
[Does he believe it is appropriate for Landcorp to sell land, that was taken from Māori for defence purposes and then transferred to Landcorp, to a private owner; if not, why not?]
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister for State Owned Enterprises) Link to this
I expect all State-owned enterprises to comply with the State-Owned Enterprises Act and the Public Works Act. I am advised that Landcorp’s policy is to alert the Office of Treaty Settlements before commencing any sale. If the Office of Treaty Settlements does not want the land then it is offered for commercial sale, subject of course to the caveats in the State-Owned Enterprises Act.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
What consultation took place with the hapū of Tūwharetoa, Hikairo, and Whanganui about the sale by Landcorp of the Taurewa sheep station, which is part of the seven Tāwhai north and Ōkahukura Māori land blocks taken by the Crown in 1913 as a defence training ground?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
Although I am not briefed on all operational matters to do with Landcorp, it is my understanding that the procedure is as I referred to previously. From memory, there would have been a section 27B memorial placed on the land so that if in the future a claim is successful, then it would be resumed by the Crown and offered through offer-back provisions to the original owners. I am also aware that Tūwharetoa, led by the leader of the member’s party’s new friend, is doing a lot of work in that area.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
Does the Government intend to learn the lesson of Paraparaumu Airport, which was taken from Māori, was eventually sold on to private interests, despite the policy and the legislation requiring other action, and was the subject of a select committee examination, which all happened under the National Party when it was last in power?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
I am one of those who hope we can learn the lessons of history from that case. I think it is fair to say to both members who are asking about this particular issue that the relationship between the Minister responsible and the purchaser of the land is not quite as close as it was in the case of Paraparaumu Airport.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Did the Minister not think it unusual that the land was advertised for sale a week prior to hearings of the Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into the national park taking place at the Chateau Tongariro, which is only 5 kilometres away from the Taurewa Station?
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Why has the protective mechanism for surplus Crown land failed to protect the surplus Landcorp property at Taurewa, particularly in terms of the possibility of land-banking that property?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
It is my understanding that, as with a number of other cases of this type, before the land was disposed of the Office of Treaty Settlements was notified. Even if it had not been, the section 27B memorial—the caveat that sits on the title—makes it clear that the land can be resumed into Crown ownership if there is a finding of a sort that the member obviously wants.
Gerry BrownleeWhy were the Ōkahukura and Tāwhai land blocks not offered back to the original owners when the Government decided it no longer needed them for defence purposes, and can we take it that the lack of due process followed is an indication that the Government is prepared to have one law for all dogs but many different laws for Māori land law?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
I have no idea of when that land was transferred from the Ministry of Defence to Landcorp. Landcorp obviously has hundreds of thousands of hectares and many, many blocks around the country and, unless I am asked questions that detail a particular block, I cannot answer those questions. I do not carry the details in my head of how those thousands of land blocks were obtained.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. It now seems to be a practice of Government Ministers simply to say that not enough detail has been provided in questions so they cannot give the answers. In this case, the question is pretty clear. It is about Landcorp selling land that was taken from Māori for defence purposes, then subsequently transferred to Landcorp prior to the sale. It would seem to me that a Minister looking into this issue in the 4 hours this morning that he had to look at it might have simply asked the question of how many blocks taken from Māori for defence purposes Landcorp has sold. I do not think the number would be a particularly large one. For the Minister to say he is unaware indicates that he is completely uninterested.
Madam SPEAKERI thank the member for his point of order. The answer may not have satisfied the member, but the Minister certainly did address it.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
As a matter of precedent to be followed in this case, how was the much-vaunted one law for all applied in the case of the Paraparaumu Airport sale?
Yes, I have some sympathy with you, Mr Brownlee, actually. I know that the question is being asked in the context of an ongoing series of questions, but maybe the specific supplementary question could tie it back, please.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. With respect, there is a recently passed law in this country that states that if the Government is selling any land that was procured under the Public Works Act, then it must first offer it to the owners or family who first had that land taken from them. It is a pretty fundamental principle I am trying to enunciate here. We have a question about one law for all, and I want to know whether, as a precedent for the future, the Government intends to follow “the” law or the one applied in the Paraparaumu Airport case.
I thank the member. That is a clarification, and it does relate to the principal issue. Would the Hon Trevor Mallard please address the question.
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
Obviously, the Government will follow the law and encourage all State-owned enterprises to do that. The one caveat I should make clear to members is that these laws have been passed at different times, and I am not sure when this land was transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Department of Lands and Survey or to Landcorp. Therefore, if the particular block had been named I would have been able to get the history of it. Of course, as the Minister for State Owned Enterprises, I can say that these are operational matters and that it would be absolutely wrong for me to tell Landcorp who to sell the land to and who not to sell to.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Is the Minister aware that the land taken during World War II for a military airfield at Raglan was turned into a golf course in 1969, which resulted in a massive dispute for the people of Tainui-Āwhiro, led by Eva Rickard, and does he not think it ironic that the Taurewa Station is also being sold for the purposes of developing a golf course and grand apartments?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
I certainly am well cognisant of Eva Rickard’s work around Raglan, and I would not count on a non-Māori owner doing that development yet.