Court of Appeal
Trustees – unsatisfactory conduct; removal upheld – Rameka v Hall [2013] NZCA 203
High Court
Judicial Review – Registration of wāhi tapu – extension of boundary - Waikanae Christian Holiday Park Inc v New Zealand Historic Places Trust Maori Heritage Council [2013] NZHC 2319
Māori Appellate Court
Stay against injunction pending appeal – refusal upheld - Nicholls v Trustees of the W T Nicholls Trust – W T Nicholls Trust [2013] Māori Appellate Court MB 515
Māori Land Court
Chief Judge’s powers – legal adoption does not sever blood connection to land – Anderson - Estate of Paul Anderson [2013] Chief Judge's MB 783
General land status determined – no role for Court in ordering succession - Walker v Sinclair – Lot 9 DP 44307 (2013) 62 Taitokerau MB 203 (62 TTK 203)
Trusts:
Review – interim judgment issued to deal with the future of the proceedings - Tupe - Manunui No 1 Fourth Residue (2013) 309 Aotea MB 25 (309 AOT 25)
Removal of trustees – offer to resign accepted in light of evidence - Moeahu v Winitana - Waiwhetu Pa No 4 (2013) 310 Aotea MB 172 (310 AOT 172)
Removal of trustees due to conflicts of interest and inappropriate conduct – Scott v Sullivan - Karamu AY Section 2 (2013) 27 Tākitimu MB 5
Removal of trustee for non-attendance – Edwards - Te Komiti Z2B (2013) 67 Taitokerau MB 85
Removal of trustee refused on insufficient evidence – Wikiriwhi v Houpapa - Hurakia Trust (2013) 85 Waiariki MB 107
Waitangi Tribunal
Waitangi Tribunal declines urgent inquiry into radio spectrum auction - Wai 2224, 2.5.8 Decision of the Tribunal on the application for an urgent remedies hearing
Māori Law Review news
Sir Edward Taihakurei Durie student essay competition 2013 - Laura Hardcastle from Victoria University of Wellington is the competition winner.
Legal Research Foundation Conference on Maori Legal Issues - Friday 29 November 2013 Auckland
Print version
Download the Māori Law Review October 2013 (514 KB PDF).
Rameka v Hall
[2013] NZCA 203
Dismissal of further appeal from removal as trustees. Removal upheld for unsatisfactory conduct.
Download Rameka v Hall [2013] NZCA 203 here (280 KB PDF). read more
Waikanae Christian Holiday Park Inc v New Zealand Historic Places Trust Maori Heritage Council
High Court [2013] NZHC 2319
6 September 2013
Waikanae Christian Holiday Park Incorporated applied for judicial review of a decision made by the New Zealand Māori Heritage Council of the Historic Places Trust (“the Council”) and the Historic Places Trust to extend the boundaries of an area registered as a wāhi tapu. The Court dismissed the application on the grounds that there was nothing to suggest that the Council had acted outside of their statutory powers or failed to follow proper processes when reaching their decision.
Download Waikanae Christian Holiday Park Inc v New Zealand Historic Places Trust Maori Heritage Council [2013] NZHC 2319 here (575 KB PDF). read more
Nicholls v Trustees of the W T Nicholls Trust – W T Nicholls Trust
[2013] Māori Appellate Court MB 515 (2013 APPEAL 515)
3 October 2013
Appeal against a decision of the lower Court declining to grant a stay of enforcement in relation to an injunction order. The Appellate Court considered the lower Court had taken the correct approach and its orders were accordingly affirmed.
Download Nicholls v Trustees of the W T Nicholls Trust – W T Nicholls Trust (169 KB PDF) here. read more
Anderson - Estate of Paul Anderson
Māori Land Court [2013] Chief Judge's MB 783 (2013 CJ 783)
8 October 2013
Successful application to amend succession orders that erroneously excluded daughter from succession to the interests of her father. Neither the Adoption Act 1955 nor Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 sever a person's connection to the land. Children adopted out are still able to succeed to interests in Māori land.
Download Anderson - Estate of Paul Anderson here (168 KB PDF). read more
Tupe - Manunui No 1 Fourth Residue
Māori Land Court (2013) 309 Aotea MB 25 (309 AOT 25)
30 September 2013
Here the Court issued an interim reserved judgment in ongoing proceedings concerning the activities of the trustees over a period of several years. The judgment was issued to deal with the future conduct of the proceedings given that several issues had arisen since the last hearing.
Download Tupe - Manunui No 1 Fourth Residue (111 KB PDF) here. read more
Moeahu v Winitana - Waiwhetu Pa No 4
Māori Land Court (2013) 310 Aotea MB 172 (310 AOT 172)
18 October 2013
Mr Moeahu applied for an inquiry into the administration of Waiwhetu Pā No 4 Māori Reservation, alleging one of the trustees had placed themselves in a conflict of interest. The Court considered the trustee had placed themselves in a clear conflict, sufficient to warrant removal as a trustee. Were it not for the trustee's offer to resign, there would have been sufficient evidence to order his removal. The Court accepted his resignation.
Download Moeahu v Winitana - Waiwhetu Pa No 4 (214 KB PDF) here. read more
Walker v Sinclair – Lot 9 DP 44307
Māori Land Court (2013) 62 Taitokerau MB 203 (62 TTK 203)
17 July 2013
Succession application dismissed. Land General land and not General land owned by Māori. No role for Court beyond determining land status.
Download Walker v Sinclair – Lot 9 DP 44307 (2013) 62 Taitokerau MB 203 here (362 KB PDF). read more
Scott v Sullivan - Karamu AY Section 2
Māori Land Court (2013) 27 Tākitimu MB 5 (27 TKT 5)
3 October 2013
Application to remove two trustees of the Karamu AY Section 2 Trust. The applicant trustees alleged that the respondents had significant conflicts of interests and had breached their duties as trustees. The first respondent was invited to resign but would be removed after 30 days unless a letter of resignation was received. The second trustee had used Trust property to engage in criminal activity and was therefore removed.
Download Scott v Sullivan - Karamu AY Section 2 here (128 KB PDF). read more
Edwards - Te Komiti Z2B
Māori Land Court (2013) 67 Taitokerau MB 85 (67 TTK 85)
2 October 2013
Successful application for the removal of a trustee of the Nga Tai Whakarongorua Marae, located on Māori Reservation Te Komiti Z2B. The trustee had failed to satisfactorily carry out the duties of a trustee.
Download Edwards - Te Komiti Z2B here (86 KB PDF). read more
Wikiriwhi v Houpapa - Hurakia Trust
Māori Land Court (2013) 85 Waiariki MB 107 (85 WAR 107)
24 October 2013
Insufficient evidence was provided to warrant the removal of a trustee. While the trustee's behaviour was a nuisance to the Trust, the trustee had not breached the trust order or failed to carry out duties.
Download Wikiriwhi v Houpapa - Hurakia Trust here (140 KB PDF). read more
Radio Spectrum and Telecommunications Claim - Decision of the Tribunal on the application for an urgent remedies hearing
Waitangi Tribunal (2013) (Wai 2224, 2.5.8).
17 September 2013
The Waitangi Tribunal declined to inquire urgently into the claim seeking remedies recommendations about the Crown's proposal to auction management rights to radio spectrum in the 700 MHz band. This is the spectrum freed up by the switchover to digital television.
Download Wai 2224, 2.5.8 Decision of the Tribunal on the application for an urgent remedies hearing here (504KB PDF). read more
The Legal Research Foundation is holding a conference, with the support of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa The New Zealand Māori Law Society, on Māori Legal Issues.
The conference will be held on Friday 29 November at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland.
Justice Joe Williams will chair the conference. Speakers and commentators will cover four areas – corporate governance, local government, land and the Treaty of Waitangi.
The conference brochure contains full programme details and the conference speakers. There are special rates for academics and students. Members of the Māori Law Society are offered the Legal Research Foundation member registration rate.
