A whānau trust is struggling to access dividend payments to help whānau recovering from storm damage. Background / Corey Fleming, Inset / Gisborne Herald
A trustee of Māori whenua in Te Araroa says the Māori Land Court-appointed responsible trustee should expedite access to thousands of dollars in dividends needed for recovery work after severe weather.
The office representing the responsible trustee says it must follow the proper process, so it does not breach trustee fiduciary duty.
Te Araroa resident and business owner Maree Brownlie is part of a whānau trust that has shareholdings in several multi-hectare sections around Te Araroa.
She has described the process to access funds from those trusts as “bureaucratic bullying”.
The area was severely affected by heavy rain last month, which caused flooding and landslides that damaged property and closed roads.
“Air drops of food, clothing, provisions and medication just kept coming. Our Gisborne Mayor, our Prime Minister, councillors, local party representatives all flew in,” Brownlie said.
“As soon as one road opened, in came the equipment along with our Defence Force, trades people, animal welfare, insurance advisers, health and welfare, MSD (Ministry of Social Development), out-of-town fundraising concerts, movies, markets and more.
“Their ‘we can help, we can do this, we can make it happen’ attitudes are legendary. For those of us who have been evacuated, homes, farms and livelihoods lost, and in the knowledge of years for recovery, we will be eternally grateful to these people.”
With intense weather continuing to hit the region, Brownlie said shareholders in the whenua needed urgent access to the dividends generated by the trusts to support recovery work.
Her whānau trust is administered by the Māori Trustee, in most cases appointed by the Māori Land Court to act as trustee to administer Māori freehold land and other assets on behalf of the beneficial owners.
Dr Charlotte Severne is the Māori Trustee, while Te Tumu Paeroa is the office of the Māori Trustee. The Māori Trustee administers about one-third of all Māori Land Trusts.
Brownlie said the majority of owners of one of the trusts her family has a shareholding in supported a resolution at a hui last year to distribute $137,000 held in the trust’s bank account.
“A plea for help was sent to their Gisborne office on behalf of the owners and lessees. Please release our promised dividends. We are all desperate; we need that money now.
“The trustees of this whānau trust sent their signed authority with verified bank account details to receive their payment.”
She said they were asked for further information, including a photographic profile for each trustee verified by their banks.
“Meanwhile, in the real world, three of these four trustees are still trying to dig their homes and properties out of the rubble.”
According to the Te Tumu Paeroa website, it holds just over $14,000 for her whānau trust.
Martin Eadie, pou arahi rangatōpu / corporate services director for Te Tumu Paeroa, confirmed Te Tumu Paeroa had been contacted by a trustee requesting urgent payment of funds it held.
“We acknowledge the impact of the recent weather events on many whānau, especially in Te Tairāwhiti.
“We have been actively working with trustees, owners and lessees of Māori land we administer in the region to support their recovery where we can.
“Unfortunately, we are unable to pay the funds we hold until the trustees open a trust bank account. As we explained to the trustee concerned, Te Tumu Paeroa is unable to pay funds we hold for the trust into a personal bank account. Co-mingling trust funds and personal funds is a breach of trustee fiduciary duty.”
Brownlie had advised Te Tumu Paeroa that it was impractical for whānau to physically go to the bank. The nearest full bank branch is nearly 170km away in Gisborne.
“Te Tumu Paeroa offered to put the trustee in touch with another bank that may be able to open a trust bank account remotely. However, the trustee concerned did not want us to take that action,” Eadie said.
“Another option, since identified by our in-house legal team, is for the trustees of this trust to apply to the Māori Land Court for directions on an urgent basis to allow the trustees to make a payment into a personal bank account. However, there is no guarantee the Court would agree to this. We have written to the trustee today to identify this option.”
Brownlie said the options presented were unhelpful given the circumstances the trustees were in.
“We’ve got one with a house covered in silt and rubble in Hicks Bay, and two of us here in Te Araroa.
“They did offer that they would do all of this online, but we don’t have the means to do that online here. Our phones drop in and out, and our internet drops in and out. We’re all just exhausted. This is hours of work and looking up information, all these background checks and what have you.”
She said the requirements to receive the dividend had not been specified in the trust deed for the block.
“Perhaps if the trust deed for this block specified a dividend disbursement structure and your particular trust requirements to enable disbursement, we would not be in this position.”
Brownlie said the Māori Trustee should offer to submit the application to the Māori Land Court for directions on an urgent basis, given the need of the trustees was so great.