To date, the Court has determined the successors of 125 original owners and are now seeking whakapapa information for the remaining owners from around 1895 who have not yet been succeeded to.
External link Māori Assembled Owners Regulations 1995 Sets out the rules on how a meeting of owners of Māori land must be held, how it is recorded and how the outcomes are reported.
Although this will require time, effort, and patience, it is important to have support from other owners before submitting an application. The judge will always consider the wellbeing of the whenua and other owners when making a decision.
Māori Trustee (Te Tumu Paeroa); Elect Advisory Trustee(s); and Determine the terms of trust e.g. Te Tumu Paeroa’s Standard Ahu Whenua Trust Deed.
It’s not about the backlog, rather it’s the impact that the delays have had on Māori land owners, their whanau and their hapū, as ultimately justice delayed is justice denied.
In some instances this is because the land has only one or just a few owners, or because the land is unsuitable for any form of development and owners have decided to leave it in its natural state.
Elect Advisory Trustee(s); and 5. Determine the terms of trust The block contains 109.3435 hectares and is situated on Makakahi Road, Ruatiti, Ruapehu District meeting of the owners of the land will be held as follows: PLACE: Waimarino Baptist Church (The Centre),14-16 Seddon Street, Raetihi 4632 DATE: Saturday 7 March 2026 TIME: 10am Please find below the Zoom link for the upcoming meeting.
Documents/Landowner-notices/4.-Aotea-Notice-of-hui.pdf (64 kb)
If your application is determined by a Registrar, you will not need to attend court.
Documents/Forms/MLC-Form-36-Application-to-constitute-a-whanau-trust-202104.pdf (104 kb)
(e) As soon as reasonably practicable after the house is established on the Site, the Occupier shall apply to the Māori Land Court pursuant to section 18(1)(a) of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 for an order determining that the house is owned by the Occupier.
Documents/Guides-Templates-Factsheets/2021-03-12-Example-Occupation-Order.pdf (150 kb)
The challenge now is to develop a robust and consistent framework, so that those owners of Māori Land who seek genuine resolution can use this service and avoid determinations that result in a winner and loser.
