Māori Law Review

Supreme Court

Criminal law, the use of force in defence of property - standing up for a fragile lake - Taueki v R [2013] NZSC 146

High Court

Status of land - Jensen v Registrar General of Land [2013] NZHC 3525

Māori Land Court

Injunction – preliminary determination of ownership of dwelling – Akura Lands Trust v Te Whata - Akura 1C 3B 2 (2014) 29 Tākitimu MB 199

Chief Judge's powers – erroneous exclusion from succession – MacFarlane v Trustees of the K & T MacFarlane Whānau Trust [2014] Chief Judge's MB 127

Appeals – leave granted to appeal provisional determination appointing a trustee - Williams – Harataunga West 2B2B2B2 (2014) 74 Waikato Maniapoto MB 6 (74 WMN 6)

Costs – costs order inappropriate in the circumstances - Subritzky – Mandoline Murray Whānau Trust (2014) 71 Taitokerau MB 101 (71 TTK 101)

Status of land - land General land on transfer to non-Māori purchasers - Dobson - Ahipara 2B47 (2014) 74 Taitokerau MB 179

Succession 

No independent objective evidence as to the intentions of the deceased - Nicholas – Estate of Robert Rawhiti Rangitakaiwaho Nicholas (2014) 316 Aotea MB 187 (316 AOT 187)

Applicant entitled to succeed where hapū connection to land exists - Tito – Te Anga Whanga (2014) 71 Taitokerau MB 94 (71 TTK 94)

Trusts:

Appointment of interim trustees to the Waikaremoana Reserves – Moses - Hopuruahine East & 12 other blocks (2014) 37 Tairāwhiti MB 238

Appointment of trustees and trustees' fees – Trust's robust processes could serve as best practice template – Stebbing - Tauhara Middle 4A 2B 2C (Opepe Farm Trust) (2014) 92 Waiariki MB 218

Management - partial termination not in anyone's interests - Green - Trustees of Te Kou Tiaki and Tangi Ataahua Green Whānau Trust (2014) 92 Waiariki MB 183

Creation of ahu whenua trust declined – Karaitiana v Carroll - Matahiwi No 4B, Waipuka 2R Section 3 and Waipuka 3A3A (2014) 29 Tākitimu MB 214

Māori Incorporations:

Withdrawal of resignation by committee member requires consent of committee – Ngamoki-Cameron v Koopu - The Proprietors of Mangaroa & Other Blocks Incorporated (2014) 91 Waiariki MB 279

Election invalidated – Tahata v Tahata - Ngāwhakatutu A1A Incorporation (2014) 37 Tairāwhiti MB 217

Māori reservations:

Insufficient support for partition if exclusion from reservation granted – Taniora - Te Koutu Mourea Māori Reservation (2014) 91 Waiariki MB 173

Resource Management

Māori interests in natural resource management - 2013 in review

Legislation

New Zealand’s first bilingual statute – does New Zealand have an appropriate legal framework?

Book review

He Papakupu Reo Ture: A Dictionary of Māori Legal Terms - reviewed by Pānia Papa

Indigenous Law Speaker Series 2014

The political ecology and political economy of the Indigenous land titling ‘revolution’ in Australia - Jon Altman

Print version

Download the Māori Law Review March 2014 (663 KB PDF).

Taueki v R

Supreme Court of New Zealand [2013] NZSC 146

17 December 2013

Mr Taueki's appeal against conviction was dismissed. Mr Taueki had been convicted of assaulting a member of a sailing club who was about to launch a motorboat on Lake Horowhenua.  Mr Taueki argued that he had a defence under s 56 of the Crimes Act 1961 (use of force in defence of property) on the basis that he was a beneficial owner and kaitiaki of the lake, that the sailing club member was in breach of bylaws aimed at protecting the lake from further degradation and was trespassing, and that the force he used in defence of the lake was reasonable in the circumstances.  The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal because Mr Taueki was not in possession of the area of land on which the incident took place.

Download Taueki v R (217 KB PDF) here. read more

Jensen v Registrar General of Land

High Court [2013] NZHC 3525

20 December 2013

In striking out a proceeding brought seeking declarations about the status of land the High Court has clarified that the Court will not exercise its Declaratory Judgments Act jurisdiction to overturn status orders of the Māori Land Court and Māori Appellate Court – the proper course is to appeal any such orders.

Download Jensen v Registrar General of Land [2013] NZHC 3525 here (390 KB PDF).  read more

David Randal and Julia White from Buddle Findlay’s environment and Māori law team review natural resource management law affecting Māori in 2013. read more

Tai Ahu examines the first Act of Parliament enacted entirely in Māori alongside English and asks whether New Zealand has an appropriate legal framework for bilingual statutes. read more

Akura Lands Trust v Te Whata - Akura 1C 3B 2

Māori Land Court (2014) 29 Tākitimu MB 199 (29 TKT 199)

5 March 2014

Preliminary determination of ownership of a dwelling on Trust property. Succession and other matters were left to be determined at a later date.

Download Akura Lands Trust v Te Whata - Akura 1C 3B 2 here (132 KB PDF). read more

MacFarlane v Trustees of the K & T MacFarlane Whānau Trust

Māori Land Court [2014] Chief Judge's MB 127 (2014 CJ 127)

25 March 2014

Successful application for exercise of Chief Judge's powers to amend succession orders that erroneously excluded the applicant's father from succession to his mother's interests.

Download MacFarlane v Trustees of the K & T MacFarlane Whānau Trust here (162 KB PDF). read more

Moses - Hopuruahine East & 12 other blocks

Māori Land Court (2014) 37 Tairāwhiti MB 238 (37 TRW 238)

6 March 2014

The Deputy Chief Judge accepted the resignation of the Tūhoe Waikaremoana Trust Board from the position of responsible trustee for 13 Māori reservations surrounding Lake Waikaremoana. 10 nominees were appointed as interim trustees. The owners were directed to have a final meeting and apply to the Court after one year to seek reconfirmation of the trustees' positions or to seek appointment of new trustees.

Download Moses - Hopuruahine East & 12 other blocks here (131 KB PDF). read more

Williams – Harataunga West 2B2B2B2

Māori Land Court (2014) 74 Waikato Maniapoto MB 6 (74 WMN 6)

17 March 2014

The applicants sought leave to appeal a provisional determination of the Court appointing a trustee of the Harataunga West 2B2B2B2 Trust. The Court considered it was in the interests of justice to grant leave for the appeal to be brought.

Download Williams – Harataunga West 2B2B2B2 (141 KB PDF) here. read more

Dobson - Ahipara 2B47

Māori Land Court (2014) 74 Taitokerau MB 139 (74 TTK 139)

19 March 2014

The Māori Land Court determined that a change of status from Māori freehold land to General land was unnecessary because that change had already occurred when the land in question was transferred to non-Māori purchasers in 1983, pursuant to the Māori Affairs Act 1953.

Download Dobson - Ahipara 2B47 (110 KB PDF) here.

read more

Stebbing - Tauhara Middle 4A 2B 2C (Opepe Farm Trust)

Māori Land Court (2014) 92 Waiariki MB 218 (92 WAR 218)

17 March 2014

Successful application for the reappointment of three trustees, the appointment of an additional trustee, and an increase in the trustees' fees.

Download Stebbing - Tauhara Middle 4A 2B 2C (Opepe Farm Trust) here  (150 KB PDF). read more

Green - Trustees of Te Kou Tiaki and Tangi Ataahua Green Whānau Trust

Māori Land Court (2014) 92 Waiariki MB 183 (92 WAR 183)

17 March 2014

Applications for a review and partial termination of trust. Application for partial termination not granted where it would not be in the interests of the applicant or the other owners to allow it.

Download Green - Trustees of Te Kou Tiaki and Tangi Ataahua Green Whānau Trust (222 KB PDF) here. read more

Karaitiana v Carroll - Matahiwi No 4B, Waipuka 2R Section 3 and Waipuka 3A3A

Māori Land Court (2014) 29 Tākitimu MB 214 (29 TKT 214)

7 March 2014

Application to create ahu whenua trust dismissed due to opposition by a significant majority of owners.

Download Karaitiana v Carroll - Matahiwi No 4B, Waipuka 2R Section 3 and Waipuka 3A3A here (220 KB PDF). read more

Ngamoki-Cameron v Koopu - The Proprietors of Mangaroa & Other Blocks Incorporated

Māori Land Court (2014) 91 Waiariki MB 279 (91 WAR 279)

12 March 2014

The steps taken to resign from the Committee of Management were adequate to effect a resignation which was unilateral and did not require acceptance by the Committee. Withdrawal of resignation determined to require the consent of the Committee.

Download Ngamoki-Cameron v Koopu - The Proprietors of Mangaroa & Other Blocks Incorporated  here (227 KB PDF). read more

Taniora - Te Koutu Mourea Māori Reservation

Māori Land Court (2014) 91 Waiariki MB 173 (91 WAR 173)

6 March 2014

The applicants sought to have one acre excluded from Te Koutu Mourea Māori Reservation and to have it partitioned and vested in Erana Waiomio. While there was support for the exclusion, there was insufficient support for the partition. There was also a lack of evidence to demonstrate that the partition would facilitate better utilisation and development of the land.

Download Taniora - Te Koutu Mourea Māori Reservation here (154 KB PDF). read more

Tahata v Tahata - Ngāwhakatutu A1A Incorporation

Māori Land Court (2014) 37 Tairāwhiti MB 217 (37 TRW 217)

5 March 2014

On an application to remove three persons on the Committee of Management, the Deputy Chief Judge declined to remove Mr Ben Tahata. However, an election held in 2012 was declared to be invalid and the positions on the Committee of Management of the two successful candidates were revoked.

Download Tahata v Tahata - Ngāwhakatutu A1A Incorporation here (259 KB PDF). read more

Overview

He Papakupu Reo Ture: A Dictionary of Māori Legal Terms

Māmari Stephens and Mary Boyce

LexisNexis New Zealand 2013 (ISBN: 9781927183748)

Reviewed by Pānia Papa - Ngāti Korokī-Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta. read more

Nicholas – Estate of Robert Rawhiti Rangitakaiwaho Nicholas

Māori Land Court (2014) 316 Aotea MB 187 (316 AOT 187)

7 March 2014

Dispute as to the appropriate recipient of the deceased’s shares in the Wellington Tenths Trust. As there was no independent objective evidence of what the deceased intended or wanted, the Court proposed the establishment of the Robert Nicholas whānau trust. The parties were invited to file submissions on the proposal.

Download Nicholas – Estate of Robert Rawhiti Rangitakaiwaho Nicholas (111 KB PDF) here. read more

Tito – Te Anga Whanga

(2014) 71 Taitokerau MB 94 (71 TTK 94)

3 February 2014

Application for succession. The applicant was entitled to succeed to those interests that he could demonstrate a hapū connection to under s 108(2)(c) and (d) of the Act.

Download Tito – Te Anga Whanga (162 KB PDF) here. read more

Subritzky – Mandoline Murray Whānau Trust

Māori Land Court (2014) 71 Taitokerau MB 101 (71 TTK 101)

3 February 2014

Application for costs following the withdrawal of an application to terminate a whānau trust. Although the trustees incurred costs in responding to the application, in the circumstances of the case an order for costs would be inappropriate.

Download Subritzky – Mandoline Murray Whānau Trust (79 KB PDF) here. read more

In February 2014 Jon Altman from the Australian National University, Canberra[ref]Jon Altman is a research professor in economics/anthropology at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University, where he was inaugural director 1990–2010. He would like to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions of Francis Markham over the last year, dependent on his GIS mapping skills, and Craig Linkhorn for comments on this paper, based on a seminar delivered in the Māori Law Review’s Indigenous Law Speaker Series, at the Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington on 13 February 2014.  An earlier version of the paper was delivered as a keynote address to The Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics annual conference ‘Opportunities for the Critical Decade’ at the ANU in Canberra in November 2013.[/ref] delivered a seminar for the Māori Law Review’s Indigenous Law Speaker Series. Using a series of maps, Professor Altman's paper from that seminar examines a land rights revolution in Australia over the past 40 years. He explains that after two centuries of assertion that indigenous peoples did not own the continent in any proprietorial sense, the Mabo High Court judgment in 1992 revolutionised Australia’s land tenure. A combination of native title and earlier statutory land rights regimes have seen a rapidly growing proportion of the continent re-vested in indigenous land owners. Most of this estate is in remote and very remote Australia and it has two critical features, high conservation value because of remoteness; and high mineral prospectivity.

Download The political ecology and political economy of the Indigenous land titling ‘revolution’ in Australia (1.9 MB PDF).

read more