The Māori Trust Boards Amendment Act 2011

The Māori Trust Boards Amendment Act 2011 has amended the Māori Trust Boards Act 1955 to provide for direct accountability between Trust Boards and their beneficiaries.

Background

• Historically, Māori Trust Boards were created to receive compensation from the early settlement of grievances against the Crown. The Māori Trust Boards Act 1955 was enacted to standardise the administration of Māori Trust Boards and the use of Trust Board assets in the promotion of the welfare of their beneficiaries.
• Māori Trust Boards have a wide discretion in administering their assets, so to protect the interest of their beneficiaries, the Māori Trust Boards Act 1955 required Māori Trust Boards to be accountable to the Minister of Māori Affairs for their financial arrangements. In particular, Māori Trust Boards were required to:
  • Have their financial statements (including balance sheets) audited by the Auditor-General;
  • Receive their audited accounts from the Auditor-General via the Minister of Māori Affairs, who is empowered to make comments on them; and
  • Send their annual budget and other financial information to the Minister of Māori Affairs for approval.
• In the modern environment it is more appropriate for Māori Trust Boards to be directly accountable to their beneficiaries rather than to the Minister of Māori Affairs.

New Amendments

• The Māori Trust Boards Amendment Act 2011 amends the Māori Trust Boards Act 1955 to provide for direct accountability between Trust Boards and their beneficiaries, the changes:
  • require each Māori Trust Board to hold an Annual General Meeting to report to its beneficiaries on its activities and plans for the future, including the presentation of audited annual accounts and budgets;
  • replace the requirement for each Māori Trust Board to be audited by the Auditor-General, with a requirement that each Māori Trust Board have its financial accounts audited no less than five months after the end of the financial year to which they relate through private audit.
  • remove the Minister of Māori Affairs’ direct role in holding Māori Trust Boards to account, including the requirement that the Minister approve Trust Boards’ annual budgets. Instead, each Māori Trust Board is now required to supply the Minister of Māori Affairs with its audited accounts for information only.
• The Minister of Māori Affairs retains the power to direct an investigation into the affairs of any Māori Trust Board. This provides an avenue for beneficiaries to raise any concerns they may have with their Māori Trust Board with an external party.

• Back to The Māori Purposes Bill 2011: Four New Māori Affairs Acts
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