This speech will be about my role as a Judge of the Māori Land Court. However, because I became a Judge only a matter of weeks ago, I do not yet have many stories to share with you about my new job.
Land interests remained in the name of my grandfather and my great-grandmother.
In his classic book Māori Land Tenure (1977) Sir Hugh Kawharu wrote that the system of Māori land tenure created by the Native Lands Act of 1865 was an ‘engine of destruction for any tribe’s tenure of land, anywhere’ (p 15).
Documents/Guides-Templates-Factsheets/MLC-150-years-of-the-Maori-Land-Court.pdf (11 mb)
In accordance with tikanga Māori there is no distinction to be drawn between whenua (land) that is dry and land that is covered by the sea.
Documents/Judges-corner-articles/JWI-ACPECT-Presentation-2022.pdf (540 kb)
Ihaia Raharuhi is a descendent of Hoani Te Uakihi, one of the successors to Tāmati Pirimona Marino. He shared that “the significance to this land and the story of Tāmati Pirimona Marino is kept alive with my whānau through the stories, and photos, and images that we share amongst each other and hang in our whare.”
Ka taea e ia te whakawhiti i ōna hea ki a au? My parent is on the list, and they are living. Can they transfer their shares to me?
Important Note: If an undivided interest in land i.e. shares in a block is being transferred, section 148 of the Act requires the transferee to be a member of the preferred classes of alienees which comprise – • A child or remoter issue of the transferor. • Whanaunga who are associated in accordance with tikanga Māori with the land. • An owner in the land who is a member of the hapü associated with the land. • A trustee of a person belonging to 1 to 3 above....
After 15 or so years as a corporate lawyer, you can imagine my surprise to have the opportunity to join the Māori Land Court.
Shares in Māori freehold land are rarely transferred.
To my Māori language, if I am to be completely honest, it was not only my law degree or the experiences I gained in my legal career that led me here today, it was because of you that I now have a position amongst the Māori Land Court judiciary.
