Govt Faces Bill Up To $2bn To Compensate Maori For ETS
August 13th, 2008
The Govt could be forced to pay Maori up to $2bn to compensate for the impact of the Emissions Trading Scheme on forestry land given to iwi under Treaty settlements. A confidential report commissioned by MAF, carried out by Christchurch valuer Donn Armstrong, shows Maori could be owed millions in compensation, because land currently in forests will not be able to be converted to other potentially more profitable uses. The report was obtained by Christchurch newspaper The Press under the Official Information Act.
MAF will not disclose the estimated loss in value to Maori forestry land contained in the report. But The Press reports it is understood to contain a figure of $350m for the value of carbon credits attached to Maori-owned forests. Federation of Maori Authorities CEO Paul Morgan believes the compensation bill is likely to be around $2bn. Morgan notes about 700,000ha of NZ’s total pre-1990 forestry estate of 1.2m ha is Maori-owned. Morgan adds there is no legal action by Maori related to the ETS at present but he believes the MAF commissioned the report to assess the risk of “Maori basically suing them.”
The Federation, in a submission on the ETS earlier this year, called for Maori land to be exempt from the scheme. Maori believe the ETS will be a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi, as the Crown will effectively be legislating how Maori can use their land. Both Maori and non-Maori forest owners have expressed concern at a proposed levy under the ETS on pre-1990 forests if they are felled and converted to other uses, such as dairying. The penalty is likely to make conversion to other land uses uneconomic.
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