Page 1 MLC 04/26 - 11
The Māori Land Court of New Zealand / Māori Appellate Court of New Zealand
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Māori Land Court | Judge’s Corner
Judge D J Ambler
Review of Te Ture Whenua Act 1993
Introduction
At the beginning of April this year the Associate Minister of Māori Affairs released the
Review Panel’s report into Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993.
This is the narrative of a piece of land in Te Tau Ihu – Aorere. It sets out how Judge Reeves dealt with an application for accretion and for determination of ownership, where ownership records had not been maintained for over 100 years.
There have, of course, been numerous ahu whenua trust orders with composite whānau trust-administered areas created since Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 gave statutory recognition to shareholdings within blocks according to discrete whakapapa groups.
Where the default duties listed in Schedule 1 conflict with provisions made in Te Ture
Whenua Maori Act 1993, the duty has been amended or expressly excluded.
In addition, there were requirements in Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 and previous legislation for the transmittal of Māori Land Court orders as to title, which had not been consistently applied.
TE KOOTI WHENUA MĀORI | MĀORI LAND COURT
Place: Whangārei in Chambers
Present: W W Isaac, Judge
T Hepi, Clerk of the Court
Date: 17 August 2026
Application No: AP-20250000003483
Subject: Te Ti B2 Block - Injunction against any person in respect of any actual
threatened trespass or other injury to any Māori land or Māori
reservation.
Enhancements include a waharoa at the entrance to the courtroom, improved spaces to support services such as Te Ratonga Whakatau Wenerau our Dispute Resolution Service, and dedicated secure storage for court records and taonga.
