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Highway Boards Act 1871 [1871] NZMaoriLLegMan 2 (16 November 1871)

Last Updated: 24 September 2020

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Highway Boards Act 1871

Citation: 35 V. No 8

Date of Assent: 16 November, 1871 Commencement: Date of Assent

Repeal: Repealed 1882, No 43

Amendments: ‑

Type of Legislation: Public

Subject: Rating

Public Works

Relevant Sections: Preamble: Reference to s19 Constitution Act 1852 which prohibits Provinces from making laws affecting... land over which Native title is not extinguished, though under Provincial laws Highways Boards are able to levy rates on land hence the need to confer authority on these Boards.

s5: Owners and occupiers of Native lands liable to rates, if a NLCt CT has been issued or if the Native title remains unextinguished, when the occupier is someone other than an Aboriginal Native.

Commentary: Gives Highway Boards powers which could not be granted to them by Provincial Councils which include the ability to charge rates on land where Maori title is not extinguished. The Maori members of the House of Representatives protested this provision on the grounds that Maori could not afford the rates and might therefore lose their lands. The Pakeha representatives maintained that as Maori use the roads they should be liable for rating. Wiremu Parata of Ngapuhi preferred that Maori should be able to work off their rates instead.

This Act represents the beginning of a period of great expansion in public works, such as roads and railways, in the interests of promoting immigration and extending colonisation, with less attention paid to Maori affairs now that the major conflicts of the 1860s were over.