In 2001 total Maori-owned commercial assets were estimated to be worth nearly $9 billion. This figure is likely to be an under-estimate, for reasons explained in the fact sheet below.

Total Maori assets in 2001 ($ million):

Maori trusts                                         1,522

Maori trustee land assets                    177

Maori organisations                             1,354

Iwi Treaty settlements                           86

Maori trust boards                               145

Maori businesses                               5,708

Total Assets                                      8,992

Figures show that Maori trusts grew significantly between 1998 and 2001:

• Total income reported by the trusts increased by 55%, from $193 million to $300 million
• Gross profits improved by 122%, from $23 million to $51 million
• Total assets grew by 45%, from $1.04 billion to $1.52 billion
• Return on equity increased from 2.9% in 1998, to 5.1 percent in 2001.

Maori land at a glance

• Maori land comprises 1,514,168 hectares (6% of New Zealand’s land mass) and is held in 26,480 titles
• The average sized block of Maori is 59 hectares, and the average number of owners per block is 73
• 15,278 titles (57%) are unsurveyed
• Only 7,634 blocks (28.8%) are under a management structure
• About one third of Maori land is ‘landlocked’ with no access onto the property
• Non-arable land makes up 80% of Maori land

Titles

• It is thought that up to one third of Maori landowners recorded on titles are deceased, and their interests have not been succeeded

• Of the 26,480 titles, an estimated 13,746 of these are less than three hectares, including 9,965 blocks that are less than one hectare  

Number of owners per block

• Available figures indicate that 5,097 blocks of less than one hectare have between one and four owners
• In contrast, 2,310 blocks of less than one hectare have more than 20 owners, with half of these blocks having more than 50 owners
• Some 350 blocks of less than 10,000 hectares have 1,000 owners or more
• Given the high proportion of deceased persons still recorded on titles, however, all of these figures can only be viewed as indicative

Maori land by region

• Maori land makes up 15% of the land within the North Island, and almost a quarter of the land within the Waiariki, Tairawhiti and Aotea land districts

Land locations

· The size of land is not the primary indicator of utilisation potential or value.

· Small pieces of land may have high value when located in urban areas or as coastal properties, if they are resource rich – such as minerals - or if they are suited to boutique horticulture for high value crops.

· Land capability assessments are essential when land utilisation is being considered.

The origin of the title

• It’s often assumed that existing Maori land is the residue of a tribal or hapu estate, with originating titles derived through the Maori Land Court process, but there are variations to this around New Zealand
•  A prominent example exists in the South Island, where titles reflect original individual use rights, awarded as Crown grants within the context of a pre-Land Court land alienation system.