Asset sales must halt for deal with Maori on water, Waitangi Tribunal says

Asset sales must halt for deal with Maori on water, Waitangi Tribunal says
By Pattrick Smellie Aug. 24 (BusinessDesk) - The government should halt its privatisation policy while it changes the constitutions of its electricity companies to allow Maori input into how they are run, says the Waitangi Tribunal in its interim report on Maori claims to proprietary rights and interests in fresh water. The tribunal says Maori do not "own water" but can claim "residual property rights", which must be properly acknowledged for the government to meet its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. The finding was released in a 2...