Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 3, 1 March 1991 — Gov's plan lacks action [ARTICLE]

Gov's plan lacks action

The "Action Plan" lacks action While the intent of Governor John Waihee's nearly 200-page action plan to resolve the two native Hawaiian land trust controversies has been praised by some Hawaiian organizations and agencies as a good start, many believe the plan has not gone far enough. They say it lacks specific and immediate steps to resolve the controversies.

In testimony during committee hearings on a bill relating to one controversy in the plan, individual claims, OHA has urged that there be ". . . a renewed effort by all parties to produce a package of specific and explicit legislation responding to the controversies." Also, that legislative committees hold a hearing on the whole "action plan" and carefully review the document and its implieations.

The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation has serious doubts that the governor's plan is truly a proposal to resolve controversies as contemplated by Act 395 or the right-to-sue law. NHLC has stressed that . . . "one purpose of Act 395 was to obtain concrete cost information about the scope of claims involving breaches of trust before allowing unrestricted access to the courts." NHLC argues that the plan appears to provide no real information as to the number and extent of claims, or the potential liability of the state.

The eoneem of NHLC and others seems to be, that unless the purpose of Act 395 is fully recognized in the action plan, the land trusts controversies will continue . . .