Flavell Te Ururoa: Local Government (Rating Cap) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Local Government (Rating Cap) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:633;Page:4812] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Kia ora tatou. I am pleased to stand this evening to contribute to the debate on the premise that the Maori Party supports initiatives where accountability and transparency are important. As others have mentioned the bill amends the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 by capping the level of rates increases that local authorities may impose on residents. It stops local authorities setting excessive increases. 
For tangata whenua the history of rating in Aotearoa has been variable and inconsistent. Our research tells us that in 1883 the Property-Tax Department was found to be valuing Maori land at well above the market rate. This was at a time when the Government reimbursed local authorities directly for rates owing on Maori land. In another incident in 1915 we learnt that lands in the King Country were being valued low in order to make it easier for Europeans to buy them. The argument was that the land was worthless. Indeed it was worthless because it was in multiple ownership. So the manipulation of valuation legislation is unfortunately a shameful part of our history and Maori have been rated off our lands. Large tracts of Maori freehold land are unoccupied and unimproved. This land creates a significant rating burden on the Maori owners who often do not have the means or in some cases the desire to make economic use of the land. Often that is due to the nature of the ownership or perhaps because the land has some special significance that will make it undesirable to develop or reside on or perhaps because it is isolated and marginal in quality. 
I understand that schedule 11 of the Local Government Act 2002 supported the use of Maori land by the owners for traditional purposes. It was also introduced to make it easy for owners to develop the land for economic use while taking into account the presence of wahi tapu that may affect the use of the land for other purposes. I understand also that section 91 of the Local Government (Rating) Act requires that Maori freehold land be liable for rates in the same manner as if it were general land. But what has happened in the last few years is that tangata whenua have experienced excessive rates increases of three to four times the inflation rate which are imposed by some councils. As I say in essence Maori are being rated off our lands. That is why the Maori Party voted against lump-sum payments for capital projects in the Local Government Law Reform Bill which were just another form of rating increase. 
Pita Rykers in his paper “Valuation and Rating of Maori Lands” stated that it was critical for Maori to get the power relationship right via a clear Treaty statement and the provision of effective mechanisms and structures. Mechanisms must provide real accountability and the structures must allow for effective rangatiratanga. The Maori Party believes that mana whenua should have an equal say with local and regional authorities on all matters concerned with the rating or non-rating of Maori land. We also believe that Maori and the wider public should have a say as to whether a rating cap is the best way to regulate and monitor rates increases and whether the current method of assessing rates is the best one. There are real issues there for Maori people’s relationship to the land and the practical circumstances of Maori land held in joint ownership. 
We look forward to this bill providing clarity transparency and accountability in establishing the critical foundation that our whenua provides in our world view. We cannot underestimate the crucial importance of whenua in our world view. In 1987 in the court case  
New Zealand Maori Council and Latimer 
 v  
Attorney-General and Others 
 the New Zealand Maori Council stated: “[Maori land] provides us with a sense of identity belonging and continuity. It is proof of our continued existence not only as a people but as the tangata whenua of this country. It is proof of our tribal and kin group ties. Maori land represents turangawaewae. It is proof of our link with the ancestors of our past and with the generations yet to come. It is an assurance that we shall forever exist as a people for as long as the land shall last.” These are the values that we bring to the discussion of this bill as we do with every other bill coming before the House. 
We will vote to support this bill based on our belief that controls and consistency need to be in place so that we can stay on our land care for our land and be tangata whenua in the truest form. Kia ora tatou.