Maori land rights

[Dawn]

Hey I didn't really know what to call this thread but I'll explain what I mean. My brother is a vicar in an Oxford parish and he was telling me about a couple who came back to his church on their first visit to the UK since moving to NZ several years ago. He said they related a story to him about the Maori thinking they have the right to anybody's homes and possessions if they are on what they consider to be their land. He has been told that there is a problem with Maori just wandering into peoples houses and taking what they want because they say that house is on their illegally taken tribal ground and so it and everything in it belongs to them. This means they can come and go as they please and the homeowner has no say?

I have never heard of this before but thought I would just post this just in case anyone had heard of any similar stories. He didn't know whereabouts this couple were living.

[Taffy]

I don't know where they heard that, but it's a load of rubbish. No one has the right to just walk in your home and take stuff as they please. Any Maori land with homes on generally belongs to the local iwi, as do the homes themselves which are rented to generate revenue.

So, no need to worry. Maori issues are more political than anything else. The Maori people themselves are generally very nice, decent people.

[MotherBear]

Just can't see it myself. If that sort of thing was happening there'd be uproar. The kiwis aren't ones to lie down and take it and that would include Maoris entering their homes and nicking stuff.

I'm sure we'd have heard about it before now if it were true.