Gerry Eckhoff: Rate Relief

The decision of the Dunedin City council to develop a rates remission policy to take into account the special relationship Maori have with the land is - well – interesting. All DCC ratepayers will I’m sure be sympathetic to the idea that all non-revenue bearing land should be exempt from rates yet intrigued to understand the principle the DCC employ that will allow for rates remission for only Maori freehold land not producing revenue.

It is a policy that will be embraced by most if not all rate payers as it sets a wonderful precedent. Cr Hillary Calvert sensibly noted that DCC staff should develop policy which included non-Maori land as well for consideration.

Frank Newman: Rating Maori land

The collection of rates on Maori land is a problem that local councils have been wrestling with for many years. The problem is a large amount of the rates due on Maori freehold land is never paid - estimated at $65 million nationwide. That's a $65 million hole other ratepayers must fill - otherwise worthy community projects that should happen, don't.

Maori freehold land is land classed as such by the Maori Land Court. It is subject to special rules around how the land can be sold, transferred or passed on to family members. Those rules are intended to retain the ownership of land by Maori.

Reuben Chapple: Maori Land

Property rights come about in one of two ways:

1. What in a pre-legal society might be referred to as “Customary Title.” This is not ownership at all, merely a temporary right of use or occupation, lasting only until extinguished by superior force.

2. Legal ownership. This means the ability to exclude others by the force of law. The underlying requirement is a universally recognised, settled form of civil government that protects property owners against violent dispossession, and provides for ongoing security of tenure, i.e. “time without end in the land.”