New amendments

The Māori Trust Boards Amendment Act 2011 amends the Māori Trust Boards Act 1955 to provide for direct accountability between Trust Boards and their beneficiaries, the changes:

• require each Māori Trust Board to hold an Annual General Meeting to report to its beneficiaries on its activities and plans for the future, including the presentation of audited annual accounts and budgets;
• replace the requirement for each Māori Trust Board to be audited by the Auditor-General, with a requirement that each Māori Trust Board have its financial accounts audited no less than five months after the end of the financial year to which they relate through private audit.
• remove the Minister of Māori Affairs’ direct role in holding Māori Trust Boards to account, including the requirement that the Minister approve Trust Boards’ annual budgets. Instead, each Māori Trust Board is now required to supply the Minister of Māori Affairs with its audited accounts for information only.

The Minister of Māori Affairs retains the power to direct an investigation into the affairs of any Māori Trust Board. This provides an avenue for beneficiaries to raise any concerns they may have with their Māori Trust Board with an external party.