Government must replace chair of Crown Forestry Rental Trust

Brendan Horan is calling on the Government to immediately replace Angela Foulkes as a Crown Trustee on the Crown Forestry Rental Trust.

He does so, with sadness, after Ms Foulkes refused to hold a scheduled hui of trustees yesterday and walked out.

“Maori need everyone to be paddling the waka in the same direction. Clearly this is not happening in the case of Ms Foulkes. The Crown Forestry Rental Trust is dysfunctional because of her actions. She must either paddle with rest of the waka, or get out,” said Brendan Horan.

"The leadership of the trust is in disarray and the Minister of Finance must replace her with a person who understands trustee law, who has the capacity to act in good faith, and who can act reasonably.

"On the weekend of 8-9 February, a properly constituted hui of the Maori Appointor at Waiwhetu Marae resolved to replace one of their three trustees, Alan Haronga, and appointed Neville Baker in his stead. There was no question as to the propriety of that action.

“On Tuesday 12 February, a hui of the six trustees - three appointed by Maori, three appointed by the Crown - was scheduled to be held in Wellington. Angela Foulkes unilaterally told other trustees she was refusing to hold the hui with Neville Baker as a trustee and walked out.

“The hui had been called to provide funding for forestry land claims in the Far North. Ms Foulkes unilateral action means for the second time Northland Maori are suffering because of the inability of a Crown Trustee to abide by the CFRT Trust Deed.

"This dysfunctionalism cannot be allowed to continue to deprive funding to Maori claimants to forestry land. It is vital that the CFRT does its duty at a time when Waitangi Tribunal hearings are about to be occur to resolve these claims," said Brendan Horan.

The CRFT controls assets of over $380 million and has an annual income of over $17 million. It provides assistance to claimants to prepare, present and negotiate claims before the Waitangi Tribunal

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