About The Trust

Crown Forestry Rental Trust (‘the Trust’):

• Operates within a Trust Deed.
• Assists Māori to prepare, present and negotiate claims against the Crown, which involve, or could involve, Crown forest licensed lands.
• Reports annually to: our Trustees’ Crown appointor, the Minister of Finance; and, our Trustees’ Māori appointors, the New Zealand Māori Council (NZMC) and Federation of Māori Authorities Incorporated (FOMA).

The Trust fund comes from Annual Rental Fees for licences to use certain Crown forest licensed lands.  Until the beneficial owners of the lands have been determined, the Trust:

• Invests the rental proceeds and holds them in trust.
• Applies the interest earned on the rental proceeds to help Māori claimants prepare, present and negotiate claims that involve or could involve Crown forest licensed lands.

The accumulated Annual Rental Fees for all Crown forest licensed lands will eventually be returned to successful claimants, or to the Crown.

How the Trust can assist Māori

The Trust provides assistance to claimants to prepare, present and negotiate claims, which involve, or could involve, Crown forest licensed lands before the Waitangi Tribunal (WT) or through the direct negotiations process managed by the Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS).

The Trust provides assistance primarily by:

• Providing advice on all matters concerned with these processes.
• Funding specific settlement-related activities necessary for these processes.
• Planning and funding any research that is required to support the claimant's claim.

Trustees define criteria for the activities and costs the Trust will fund, and the manner in which claimant groups will be funded.  All assistance must be within the terms of the guiding Trust Deed.