ADVOCATE COLUMN 2nd WEEK JUNE 2012

According to studies undertaken in recent times, it is understood that in general Maori land in New Zealand is underperforming and underutilised. MAF states that about 1.2 million hectares of the 1.5 million hectares of Maori land is not realising its true potential. Maori land makes up 11% of Northland’s land area and of this almost 41,000 hectares are in developed pasture. Past surveys have shown have shown Maori-owned farms in Northland operated at a significantly lower profitability than of non-Maori owned farms. A number of reasons have been identified for this such as, conservative stock policies reducing gross farm revenue, lack of education and training in new technologies, governance issues, trustees being slow to respond to market signals and restricted access to development capital. So why is this important? Maori are an integral part of New Zealand Inc. The Maori economy contributed $37 billion to New Zealand’s economy in 2010 and although in recent times this economy has been diversifying it is still strongly linked to land related primary industry. About 60% of Maori assets are in the primary and tourism sectors. These are also two key economic drivers for our region. So when people speak of low hanging fruit within the Northland economy it should not be underestimated the difference a shift in the performance of this land would make to all our communities. It would be of great benefit if Northland’s public and private sector can work with Maori business to enable them to be as big an influence on our economy as they already are on our culture and unique character. There are many challenges that need to be resolved for these businesses. They are often assets rich and cash poor as a result of the legislative framework of their land holdings, they also have the difficulty of separating commercial and non-commercial activities held by trusts and problems in raising sufficient capital for infrastructure investment. As it is likely that these land holdings will increase over time, it is important to realise that the implications of this underperformance impacts on all Northlanders. It is also necessary to recognise the complex relation of the people and this land and that this relationship goes well beyond economic matters. This land is a key component of who Maori are and their past. Hopefully through partnership it will also be a key component to realising Northland’s future economic and cultural potential.