4 Oct 2011

Matauri rescue package welcomed

6:29 am on 4 October 2011

A lawyer advising the Maori Land Court in the Matauri-X inquiry, says a deal struck to avoid a mortgagee sale of Maori land is a good one.

Maori landowners at Matauri Bay in Tai Tokerau have a debt of $26 million, most of it penalty interest, after a former manager mortgaged their land.

They have begun subdividing part of the block to pay the debt, but sales have stalled with the slump in the property market.

Barrister Brian Henry says the receivers were going to foreclose but have now agreed to cap the debt at $15 million and give Matauri-X four years to find the money.

He says the receivers will apply to the Maori land Court to have the 80 leasehold-sections made Maori freehold.

Mr Henry says that would make them easier to sell, while giving Matauri- X first right of refusal at market price when they next come up for sale.

He also says Treaty settlements are coming in the north that could help the group clear the debt and buy back the whenua.