Government confident it can develop Crown land for housing, Key says

Government confident it can develop Crown land for housing, Key says
By Pattrick Smellie June 15 (BusinessDesk) - The government is confident it can develop Crown land for housing without first offering it to Maori under right of refusal clauses in Treaty of Waitangi settlements, says Prime Minister John Key. Legal advice so far and precedents set in Christchurch involving a similar claim by the South Island iwi, Ngai Tahu, make the government confident it is permitted to redevelop Crown land for a new use, he said. Key also questioned the ability of Ngati Whatua, an Auckland-based iwi, to mount a right...