Hon Christopher Finlayson

One of the responsibilities delegated to me as Associate Minister of Māori Affairs is the review and reform of Te Turi Whenua Māori Act 1993.

There are 1.4 million hectares of Māori land in New Zealand, which is around 5 per cent of all land in New Zealand. I see its potential as an economic powerhouse for Māori.

However, with 70 per cent of Māori land titles having no formal management structure, and an increasing amount of this land being held by absentee owners, much of this potentially profitable land sits unproductive. A report in March 2011 by the then Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries estimated up to 80 per cent of Māori land was under-performing for its owners.

If these problems can be addressed, the benefits to Māori could be huge.

That is why I have commissioned a panel of experts to review the Act. The panel is made up of Matanuku Mahuika as Chair, Tokorangi Kapea, Patsy Reddy and Dion Tuuta.

I have indicated to them that I do not expect to merely tinker with the existing legislation. That legislation is failing Māori land owners and a superficial fix-up will not suffice. I want fundamental change. The panel will return to first principles and come up with what I hope will be an innovative and bold proposal.

The partnership created between Māori and the Crown in the Treaty has not been without strain. But the progress being made in repairing and revitalising this relationship in recent years is something the Government takes very seriously. Change is needed. But we recognise how hard it is to make progress when the whenua that represents the biggest cultural and economic asset available to Māori is tied up by cumbersome legislation.