Māori landowner Haumoana White does not have to pay the rates debt New Plymouth District Council claimed he owed in rates arrears. Photo / supplied
Māori landowner Haumoana White does not have to pay the rates debt New Plymouth District Council claimed he owed in rates arrears. Photo / supplied
A Māori landowner is being cleared of a rates debt he believes totals $110,000.
Details of his battle can be heard this week at Waitangi.
Farmer Haumoana White, who owns land at Mokau, stopped paying rates about 10 years ago because the New Plymouth District Council,which sets his rates, refused to accept he was Māori on Ngati Wai Māori land.
Robyn Martin-Kemp, her partner Russell Gibbs and sister-in-law Marie Gibbs had researched legislation as part of their opposition to Taranaki’s ongoing Mt Messenger bypass dispute and had cited it in rates challenges on other Māori land.
In their submissions on White’s behalf, Marie and Russell argued the council’s pursuit of the rates arrears on two land blocks, one of which is called Kamate, was wrong on multiple levels and failed to recognise provisions that might apply in the relevant acts.
Two days before a substantive hearing of the arguments, the council withdrew its proceedings and has since been in discussions with Mr White.
The council said in a statement: “We have now decided that the block he refers to as Kamate, meets the criteria for being unused under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002, therefore he will not need to pay rates on it in the future. He won’t need to pay any rates currently owed for this site.
“We went through the same process for the other site, which is a little bit more complicated as there is a marae on the site, but he also lives there. Under the Act, land used for the purpose of a marae is non-rateable and we have now have recommended that the arrears be written off.
White believes the total debt is about $110,000. However, the council said the final amount of rates relief is still being calculated.
“We take every application for rates relief on a case-by-case basis, and it takes a while to work through.”
Organisers of this week’s Treaty of Waitangi commemorative events learned about White’s win through a video Martin-Kemp posted to Facebook, then invited her to speak on the main stage at Waitangi.
Keen to share his success, White will be with Martin-Kemp as she tells other freehold Māori landowners how they, too, could qualify for rates remissions and exemptions.
New Plymouth-based Martin-Kemp’s whakapapa through her mother is to Kaitangata te Kāhui ki Taranaki.
She also has strong links to Northland through her father (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Rāhiri, Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Kahu).
Kemp said she looked forward to speaking at Waitangi, which was an important chance to share her knowledge of rating legislation with her descendants and other freehold Māori landowners from throughout the country.
Too many of them were unaware of the rating protections and entitlements available to them, she said.
Martin-Kemp said for various reasons, some district councils had not recognised particularly the latest legislative changes even though they’d been in force for three and a half years. Some councils were even still pursuing unpaid rates on land that should be exempt — as in White’s case.
Robyn Martin-Kemp (at right) has been invited to speak at Waitangi this year about the Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment 2021. She, partner Russell Gibbs and sister-in-law Melissa Maulu researched the act to challenge various rating claims levelled at Māori land, which they say should be exempt or subject to reductions. Photo / supplied
Martin-Kemp described herself as “a kaitiaki looking after the interests of her people and the whenua throughout Aotearoa”.
She, Russell, Marie, Haumoana, and Haumoana’s daughter, Melissa Maulu, work as a team to try to resolve various Māori issues in which they’re all independently involved.
“I’m really just the messenger who’s loaded with information and I fire the bullets,” Martin-Kemp said.
Using three social media platforms, she’s been able to reach a sizeable audience, including nearly 3000 followers on Facebook.
However, the chance to speak at Waitangi was significant, she said.
She noticed from comments under her video post some Māori landowners were aware of the rating protections it provided but hadn’t shared that information with the wider community.
“I think that’s where things changed for us — once we found a pathway forward with the rates it was a no-brainer to share that information with the rest of my people.”
Meanwhile, Te Puni Kokiri (TPK) acknowledged efforts by iwi, Māori organisations, and councils to raise awareness of the 2021Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Act.
“Whenua Māori and the provisions surrounding it can be complex, particularly in how they apply to different types of whenua,” a spokesperson said.
It, too, provided information on its website about the legislation “to support whānau Māori and council staff in better understanding and managing whenua Māori in these contexts”.
Martin-Kemp has been allotted an hour to speak at Waitangi on Wednesday and Thursday. She said her kōrero will include answering audience questions.
Correction: This article has been updated to include council comments and information about Haumoana White’s rates relief process. This includes which block of land has had rates written off and the council’s position that the total amount of rates relief is still being determined.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate with nearly 20 years experience in journalism - mainly as a court reporter on the East Coast. She is especially passionate about justice and environmental issues, and about giving a voice to those who often go unheard.
