Judges acting as mediators
Kaiwhakawā Wilson Isaac
Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu
Judge Wilson Isaac was appointed to the Māori Land Court in March 1994. He was appointed as Deputy Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court in 1999 and the Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court, and Chair of the Waitangi Tribunal in August 2009.
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Māori Land Update –
Ngā Āhuatanga o te whenua
June 2025 | Hune 2025
This update is issued by the Office of the Chief Registrar, Māori Land Court | Te Kooti Whenua Māori
to provide key statistics on Māori land, including the number and total area of Māori Customary Land
(MCL) and Māori Freehold Land (MFL) blocks, and how many of these are managed by trusts or
incorporations versus those that are not.
Good governance is the key From the experiences of Māori Land Court Judges, good governance is the key to effective utilisation of Māori land held in multiple ownership.
The Māori Land Court is conducting an
inquiry to establish the successors to SILNA lands pursuant to Section 29, Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 in accordance
with an application filled by the Minister of Māori Affairs, currently under application A20180009373.
1 CJ Media statement, “Note from Chief Justice Winkelmann” released 25 March 2020. 2 Māori Land Court COVID-19 Court protocol as at 23 March 2020. 3 Māori Land Court COVID-19 Court protocol as at 20 April 2020. 4 Māori Land Court COVID-19 Court protocol as at 12 May 2020.
What you need to know:
• You can include Māori land, general land, or both.
• You can include land regardless of its location (for example, the blocks do not need to be
located next to each other)
She was sworn in as the Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court in August 2023. Her appointment to this role marks the first time since 1865 that a woman has led the Māori Land Court bench.
