Better Voice

Mana (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 7, 29 September 1977, Page 7

Better Voice

There is a need for greater communication between Maori groups and planning authorities so that the needs of Maoris in rural areas can be better determined, without prejudice to other planning objectives, says MP for Southern Maori, Mrs Tirikatene-Sullivan.

While many opportunities exist for Maori groups to express their views to local authorities, these avenues are not well known to Maoris and not always suited to Maori participation. They are not used as widely and effectively as they should be, and unfortunately there are still few Maoris on local bodies to express the yearning of Maori people to undertake self-help building programmes on their own land, she says. “Similarly, some local authorities have not done as much as they could have to ascertain and understand theparticular needs and problems faced by their Maori constituents, especially after the 1967 Maori Affairs Amendment Act subjected them to new subdivision requirements. “Many Maori families have been refused permission to build houses on traditional land (sometimes close to their

employment and near an existing marae) because the land is zoned rural. “In such cases, the need may have been overlooked by the council when the scheme was prepared, whilst those affected may not have appreciated the significance of the scheme or their rights of objection and appeal. “Multiple land ownership has meant that in some areas houses have been built on family land without a house site being partitioned out of the main block. In these circumstances families do not always own their homes, but have shares in them with all the other owners of the land. “But many such householders are now prevented from having their house sites subdivided out because it is contrary to the district scheme. “Even where house sites have been, subdivided by the Maori Land Court Maoris have still been refused building permits under the district scheme. - “So, when a Maori, householder cannot obtain a proper title, he finds it extremely difficult to raise a mortgage to do any home maintenance or renovations to his home,” Mrs Tirikatene-Sullivan says.