There are 925 properties in the Treaty Settlement Landbank, managed by Toit Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand.
Homes, apartments, schools, train stations, jails, police buildings, kiwi fruit farms, quarries, tennis courts, and former hospital grounds were among the properties available.
Matthew Roskruge, associate professor of economics at Massey University, said settlements were unlikely to compensate for the harm caused to the Mori economy during the previous century and a half when much of the nation’s most precious resources were taken.
John Tamihere, head of the Mori Party, has also criticized the landbank for selecting unsuitable properties that iwi may find challenging to utilize and for a perceived lack of engagement over which properties were included in the landbank.
Roskruge is a specialist in Mori economics and a member of the tribe’s Te Āti Awa and Ngati Tama.
He has not been actively involved in any settlements, but he believes settlements are a fair starting point for offering Mori restitution.
“One perspective would be to examine the Mori economy before and during colonization,” he stated.
“Mori responded positively to European contact and immediately began investing in commerce, industrialization, and large-scale agriculture, resulting in an exceptionally robust Mori economy after European contact.
“Then you had raupatu and other activities that alienated and destabilized the Mori economy. You took away that asset basis and that productive foundation and caused widespread poverty and disenfranchisement. Moreover, the Treaty process has been one vehicle in the beginning to rebuild that asset base.”
Roskruge stated that analogous to compound interest, the Mori would be richer now if their assets had not been confiscated.
We have a long way to go to get to where we would have been having we not lost 150 years of economic progress.
Roskruge stated that he had heard of problems with iwi getting properties through settlements that were in disrepair, earthquake-prone, or contained asbestos and that iwi might not have the funds to restore them.
John Tamihere, president of the Mori Party, stated that the landbank was determined by royal authorities, which might contain low-quality estates and unproductive land.
“Everyone is aware that you don’t land bank your best property,” he added.
Kate Whittle, land and property manager for Land Information New Zealand (Linz), denied this claim, stating that government entities did not control the selection process for landbanks.
“When a government agency intends to sell a Crown asset it no longer requires, it must first demonstrate that it has fulfilled all legal and policy duties the Crown has as the land’s owner.
“As part of this process, iwi/Mori can request that the asset be put in the Treaty Settlements Landbank and reserved for future Treaty settlements.
Tamihere stated that there was a “take-it-or-leave-it” attitude towards iwi, who desired to settle.
Tamihere was also critical of the rate at which settlements were taking place since iwi had to wait their time to be heard and frequently spent a great deal of money navigating the process.
“You go as quickly as the Crown desires,” he remarked.
