Cook Islands Government’s recent attempts to raid Manihiki land compensation funds held by the Justice Ministry to pay selected people have been categorically blocked by Justice Patrick Savage in a recent Land Court sitting.
Two memoranda seeking to cancel an order made in the Land Court in June this year for compensation payment to landowners were lodged by Crown Law acting on behalf of Energy minister Henry Puna.
Had Justice Savage approved the order to cancel, government would have been able to access close to $300,000 (US$194, 615) and pay 10 people who Crown Law submitted were the rightful landowners of land in Tauhunu and Tukao atolls.
It was not disclosed by the Crown Law memorandum how much of the compensation funds government wanted to take. Nor was it disclosed by Crown Law how government intended to disburse money amongst the chosen landowners.
In June a government cheque for $167,920.48 (US$108,930.36) was presented to the Ministry of Justice, being compensation for land taken by warrant in December 2014 for the solar power plant on Tauhunu atoll. Also in June, a government cheque for $130,929.76 (US$84,937) was again presented to Justice as compensation for land taken by warrant on Tukao for another solar power plant.
The government had estimated compensation at approximately $20,000 (US$12,974) per quarter acre. Because the identities of all the rightful landowners of the sections used and compensated remained unconfirmed in the Land Court, the cheques were not banked and were instead held by the Registrar.
Crown Law requested the Registrar for the memorandum dated August 12 be placed “urgently before the judge.”
Sources who did not wish to be named said energy minister and Prime Minister Henry Puna came under huge pressure from a number of landowning voters in his Manihiki constituency to be given some of the compensation funds so they could go shopping while on Rarotonga for the Te Maeva Nui Festival.
“The matter is urgent because the orders sought are required before the landowners in each matter return to Manihiki this week”, said the Crown Law memo.
Crown Law further submitted that ‘there is no dispute before the court as to who has the right to be determined by the court as landowners’ in Tukao. Crown Law also said: “the landowners of the land at Tukao have now sought the advance payment to each of them of some of the funds set aside before they return to Manihiki this week.”
The Tukao landowners named in the Crown Law memo wanting money advanced to them are Umurua Tuhe, Tangi Toka, Matangaro Makita, Papa Tahiri Mehau and Mataio Johnson.
In Tauhunu, land taken by warrant for the solar power plant has been divided into six sections:
Mataroa 1, Mataroa 2, Mataroa 3, Mataputa, Nunoa and Meripa.
Five Tauhunu landowners claimed rights to Mataroa 1, 2, 3, Mataputa and Nunoa. Crown Law noted that landowners in Meripa disputed the entitlement claimed by the five landowners in the land named Mataroa 1, 2 and 3.
Despite this dispute Crown Law submitted for the advance of compensation funds sought by the five Tauhunu landowners to Mataroa 1, 2,3, Mataputa and Nunoa. The five landowners are; Takai Toka, Vakai Ezekiela, Munokoa Tepania, Ngari Tangiia and Tangimama Vakai. .
In handing down his nine-point decision on August 14 in the Land Court, Justice Savage made it clear that he did not agree with the submissions made in the Crown Law memoranda.