Māori Law Review

Māori Land Court (2019) 198 Taitokerau MB 231 (198 TTK 231)

22 August 2019

Three applications seeking a combined partition of the applicants’ interests in land blocks dismissed. The Court was not satisfied that the proposed partitions were necessary to facilitate the effective operation, development and utilisation of the land. Moreover, the Court considered that occupation orders were a reasonable alternative to facilitate the occupation of the land.

Download Angell - Part Nukuroa 2A3C2 and Lot 2 DP37299 (447 KB PDF). read more

Committee of Management of Mangatawa Papamoa Blocks Inc - Asher Block Lot C

Māori Land Court (2019) 187 Waikato Maniapoto MB 67 (187 WMN 67)

19 September 2019

Oral decision granting an easement in favour of the Tauranga City Council against blocks of land owned by Mangatawa Papamoa Blocks Incorporated.

Download Committee of Management of Mangatawa Papamoa Blocks Inc - Asher Block Lot C (539 KB PDF).

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The Ngā Rohe Moana o Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Porou Act 2019 provides a range of mechanisms intended to give legal expression, protection, and recognition of the continued exercise of mana by ngā hapū o Ngāti Porou in relation to the common marine and coastal area within the rohe of Ngāti Porou. Carwyn Jones and Te Kooanga Awatere-Reedy review the Act.

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Decision on applications for an urgent hearing

Waitangi Tribunal (Wai 2578, #2.5.19; Wai 2693, #2.5.11; Wai 2886, #2.5.3)

21 August 2019

A decision on an application for an urgent inquiry in relation to the Ngāti Hinerangi Deed of Settlement. Application declined as the criteria for urgency was not met.

Download  Decision on applications for an urgent hearing (623 KB) read more

Decision on applications for an urgent hearing

Waitangi Tribunal (Wai 2556, #2.5.7; Wai 2576, #2.5.7)

17 July 2019

A decision on an application for an urgent hearing into the Crown's settlement negotiations with the Ngati Rehua-Ngatiwai ki Aotea Trust Board. Application declined due to a failure to meet the Tribunal's criteria for urgent inquiries.

Download  Decision on applications for an urgent hearing (1643 KB) read more

Pūnaha whakawā – Criminal justice

Ināia Tonu Nei - now is the time. We lead, you follow - Te Ohu Whakatika - Anna Dawson

Te Kōti Matua – High Court

Injunction - further stay sought - declined - last warning - Māori Trustee v Smith [2019] NZHC 1701 - Toni Love

Recall - application dismissed - high threshold for recall not met - contentions essentially appeal arguments - Hill v The Crown [2019] NZHC 1464 - Toni Love

Te Kōti Pīra Māori – Māori Appellate Court

Chief Judge's powers - order varying trust annulled - application referred back for rehearing - Inia v Julian [2019] Māori Appellate Court MB 333 (2019 APPEAL 333) - Reto Blattner de-Vries

2019 Māori Appellate Court judgments - index

Te Kōti Whenua Māori – Māori Land Court

Ownership - tenancy in common and joint tenancy - incorrect recording in records - survivorship - Clarke v Overington - Maketu A Section 39 (2019) 215 Waiariki MB 95 (215 WAR 95) - Reto Blattner de-Vries

Ownership - tenancy in common - not held on trust - Welsh - Koutu (2019) 197 Taitokerau MB 172 (197 TTK 172) - Reto Blattner de-Vries

Chief Judge's powers - succession - mistake - children excluded - orders amended - Kui - Estate of Te Paea Hami Oru (2019) Chief Judge's MB 577 (2019 CJ 577) - Reto Blattner de-Vries

Chief Judge's powers - succession order - no mistake of law, fact or any error - Mucalo - Estate of Neri Te Waru [2019] Chief Judge’s MB 595 (2019 CJ 595) - Te Kooanga Awatere-Reedy

Procedure - leave to appeal declined until rehearing of preliminary decision - Williamson - Estate of Te Whe Ariki Hutana (2019) 57 Te Waipounamu MB 90 (57 TWP 90) - Te Kooanga Awatere-Reedy

Procedure - referral back to Court - remaining live issues - breach of self dealing rule - Naera v Fenwick - Whakapoungakau 24 Block (2019) 217 Waiāriki MB 85 (217 WAR 85) - Craig Linkhorn

Trusts - Whānau Trust - partial termination declined - Palmer - Joseph Hohepa and Gess Nukuhia Palmer Whānau Trust (2019) 180 Waikato Maniapoto MB 260 (180 WMN 260) - Te Kooanga Awatere-Reedy

Trusts - application for trustee appointment adjourned - Oneroa - Okahukura 8M2C2A2A and Okahukura 8M 2C2A Section 1 (2019) 401 Aotea MB 35 (401 AOT 35) - Te Kooanga Awatere-Reedy

2019 Māori Land Court judgments - index

Te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Waitangi Tribunal

Hauora: Report on Stage One of the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 2575, 2019) - Carwyn Jones

Print version

Download the Māori Law Review August 2019 (443 KB PDF)

Ināia Tonu Nei - now is the time. We lead, you follow

Te Ohu Whakatika

24 July 2019

Te Ohu Whakatika released a report entitled Ināia Tonu Nei - now is the time. We lead, you follow. The report reflects submissions the group received on the criminal justice system in Aotearoa as a result of hui Māori convened after the Criminal Justice Summit in 2018.

Download Ināia Tonu Nei in English (6.38 MB, PDF) and Ināia Tonu Nei in Te Reo Māori (6.4 MB, PDF).

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Inia v Julian 

Māori Appellate Court [2019] Māori Appellate Court MB 333 (2019 APPEAL 333)

12 July 2019

Appeal against a decision to amend a whānau trust to include the respondent, her siblings and their uri as beneficiaries. The order varying the terms of the trust was annulled and the original s 45 application was referred back to the Deputy Chief Judge for rehearing. The implication of naming the respondent, her siblings and their uri as beneficiaries was that they gained an interest in land to which they had no whakapapa connection, and accordingly the variation was annulled.

Download Inia v Julian here (441 KB PDF).

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Kui - Estate of Te Paea Hami Oru

Māori Land Court (2019) Chief Judge's MB 577 (2019 CJ 577)

19 June 2019

Application seeking to amend a succession orders to include all the children of the deceased. The Court had omitted to inquire into the number of remaining successors when making the order now challenged. The Court considered it necessary in the interests of justice to remedy the mistake by amending the previous succession orders.

Download Kui - Estate of Te Paea Hami Oru (475 KB PDF)

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Māori Trustee v Bruce Smith, Ruby Smith, Cole Smith, Jarna Smith, Kreslea Smith

High Court [2019] NZHC 1701

18 July 2019

Application following the arrest of the Smith whānau seeking a further stay from the arrest order dismissed.

Download Māori Trustee v Bruce Smith, Ruby Smith, Cole Smith, Jarna Smith, Kreslea Smith (272 KB PDF).

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Māori Land Court (2019) 180 Waikato Maniapoto MB 260 (180 WMN 260)

23 May 2019

Application, in effect, for partial termination of a whānau trust declined. Additionally, the Court directed the applicant to file a report addressing his suitability to be a trustee.

Download Palmer - Joseph Hohepa and Gess Nukuhia Palmer Whānau Trust (305 KB PDF). read more

Māori Land Court (2019) 401 Aotea MB 35 (401 AOT 35)

29 May 2019

Application for appointment as trustee adjourned pending further submissions. Allegations of unpaid rent. There would be a further testing of the applicant's candidacy at an annual general meeting where full disclosure of his previous convictions could be made.

Download Oneroa - Okahukura 8M2C2A2A (330 KB PDF) read more

Clarke v Overington - Maketu A Section 39

Māori Land Court (2019) 215 Waiariki MB 95 (215 WAR 95)

20 June 2019

Two applications sought to transfer shares in land and replace a trustee. There appeared to be an error in court records or court orders. The Court had to work on the basis of the record as it stood. The applications were dismissed. The ownership record did not show the applicant as the sole owner of the interests. Other interests had to be engaged with. The Court considered an application for exercise of the Chief Judge's powers was a more appropriate route to address the ownership issue.

Download Clarke v Overington - Maketu A Section 39 (365 KB PDF).

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15 July 2019

Application for leave to appeal declined until the application for rehearing of the preliminary decision is determined. The Court found that the number of extant applications in the proceedings concerning the estate weighed against granting leave. 

Download Williamson - Estate of Te Whe Ariki Hutana (269 KB PDF) read more

Welsh - Koutu

Māori Land Court (2019) 197 Taitokerau MB 172 (197 TTK 172)

20 August 2019

Application seeking to determine the ownership of the Koutu block located at Kawerua in Waipoua. The issue concerned the effect of orders made in 1897. The Court determined that while subsequent correspondence to the 1897 order supported the view that the land is held on trust, this did not displace the effect of the 1897 order that the land was held by tenants in common in equal shares.

Download Welsh - Koutu (332 KB PDF).

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Naera v Fenwick - Whakapoungakau 24 Block

Māori Land Court (2019) 217 Waiāriki MB 85 (217 WAR 85)

6 August 2019

Download Naera v Fenwick - Whakapoungakau 24 Block ( KB PDF). read more

Hill v The Crown

High Court [2019] NZHC 1464

26 June 2019

The applicant sought to call into question a previous decision, which the Court considered must be treated as an application for recall of the decision. The Court dismissed the (effective) application for recall on the basis that the high threshold for recall was not met and the plaintiff's contentions were essentially appeal arguments.

Download Hill v The Crown (572 KB PDF).

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Māori Land Court [2019] Chief Judge’s MB 595 (2019 CJ 595)

25 June 2019

Application to amend succession order relating to declarations changing the status of Māori freehold land to general land dismissed. The Court found that there was no mistake in fact or law and no error in the making of the order. The deceased was alive at the time the order was made.

Download Mucalo - Estate of Neri Te Waru (336 KB PDF). read more

Waitangi Tribunal (Wai 2575, 28 June 2019, pre-publication version)

The Waitangi Tribunal has released its report on the first stage of its kaupapa inquiry into health services and outcomes. The stage one report focused on central aspects of the primary health care framework.

Download Hauora: Report on Stage One of the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry (2 MB PDF). read more

Te Kōti Matua – High Court

Judicial review - costs - 40 per cent public interest discount - Raukawa Settlement Trust v Waitangi Tribunal [2019] NZHC 1438 - Craig Linkhorn

Te Kōti Pīra Māori – Māori Appellate Court

Jurisdiction - General land owned by Māori - supervision of post-settlement land trusts - Moke v Ngāti Tarāwhai Iwi Trust [2019] Māori Appellate Court MB 265 (2019 APPEAL 265) - Craig Linkhorn; comment on Moke v Ngāti Tarāwhai Iwi Trust - Tom Bennion

2019 Māori Appellate Court judgments - index

Te Kōti Whenua Māori – Māori Land Court

Injunction - estate accounts - Hutana - Estate of Te Whe Ariki Hutana (2019) 57 Te Waipounamu MB 27 (57 TWP 27) - Te Kooanga Awatere-Reedy

Chief Judge's powers - partition - no mistake - Peita - Motatau 3H2 [2019] Chief Judge’s MB 337 (2019 CJ 343) - Te Kooanga Awatere-Reedy

Māori Reservations - failure to protect funds - no relief from trustee liability - recipient liability - Tata v Katipa - Waiwhakaata 3E4C Lot 2A (2018) 170 Waikato Maniapoto MB 123 (170 WMN 123) - Reto Blattner de-Vries

2019 Māori Land Court judgments - index

Te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Waitangi Tribunal

Te Mana Whatu Ahuru: Report on Te Rohe Pōtae Claims Part III (Wai 898, 2019) - Carolyn Southey-Jensen

Waitangi Tribunal procedure - urgent inquiry declined - prosecution of Māori - larger inquiry appropriate - Decision on application for an urgent hearing (Wai 2608, #2.5.3) - Meredith Clement

Waitangi Tribunal procedure - urgent inquiry declined - local government - upcoming kaupapa inquiry - Decision on application for an urgent inquiry (Wai 2883, #2.5.3) - Meredith Clement

Waitangi Tribunal procedure - urgent inquiry declined - local government electoral law - claim not ready to proceed - Decision of the Deputy Chairperson on application for an urgent hearing (Wai 2880, #2.5.4) - Meredith Clement

Print version

Download the Māori Law Review July 2019 (453 KB PDF)

Te Mana Whatu Ahuru: Report of Te Rohe Pōtae Claims - Claims Pre-publication version part 3

Te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Wai 898, 2019)

The Waitangi Tribunal has released part 3 of its report on Te Rohe Pōtae Claims in pre-publication format. This report follows on from parts 1 and 2 which were released in September 2018. This part addresses the land policy and legislation that the Crown imposed after 1900 in Te Rohe Pōtae and the implications this had for Te Rohe Pōtae Māori.

The following commentary summarises the arguments of the Crown and the claimants; some of the issues identified by the Tribunal; key aspects of the Tribunal’s discussion and the findings of the Tribunal under each chapter of this part of Te Mana Whatu Ahuru.

The Tribunal makes numerous findings of breach by the Crown of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi through successive legislative schemes that administered Māori land in a manner inconsistent with the interests of the owners and in a manner that promoted mass alienation of Te Rohe Pōtae Māori land.  Through this conduct the Crown further failed to act in accordance with its assumed obligations to Te Rohe Pōtae Māori under Te Ōhāki Tapu and in particular Te Rohe Pōtae Māori expectations of mana whakakaere over their lands.

See Te Mana Whatu Ahuru: Report on Te Rohe Pōtae Claims Part I for a summary of chapters 1-6.

See Te Mana Whata Ahuru: Report of Te Rohe Pōtae Claims Part II for a summary on chapters 7-11.

For a shorter overview see Te Rohe Pōtae district inquiry – Te Mana Whatu Ahuru: Report on Te Rohe Pōtae Claims – overview

Download Te Mana Whatu Ahuru: Report of Te Rohe Pōtae Claims Part III (4 MB, PDF).

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Raukawa Settlement Trust v Waitangi Tribunal

High Court [2019] NZHC 1438

21 June 2019

Following a judicial review case the Court awarded costs to the successful party but discounted the award by 40 per cent to reflect public interest factors in the case.

Download Raukawa Settlement Trust v Waitangi Tribunal (424 KB PDF). read more

Decision on application for an urgent hearing

Waitangi Tribunal (Wai 2608, #2.5.3)

25 June 2019

A decision on an application for an urgent hearing into claims of disproportionate prosecution of Māori in the justice system. Urgent inquiry declined. The claim was more appropriately heard in the context of a larger inquiry rather than in isolation.

Download  Decision on application for an urgent hearing (457 KB) read more

Decision on application for an urgent inquiry - Whangarei Hapū Local Government Representation Claim

Waitangi Tribunal (Wai 2883, #2.5.3)

27 June 2019

A decision on an application for an urgent inquiry into claims about how local authorities engage with Māori. Application for urgent inquiry declined as it did not meet the required standards for urgency.

Download Decision on application for an urgent inquiry (615 KB). read more

Māori Land Court [2019] Chief Judge’s MB 337 (2019 CJ 337)

30 April 2019

Application to cancel a combined partition order dismissed. The Court found that the applicant had not demonstrated that the order was erroneous in fact or in law because of any mistake or omission on the part of the Court or in the presentation of the facts of the case to the Court.

Download Peita - Motatau 3H2 (362 KB PDF) read more