Currently under the Act it is not possible to appoint a trustee or trustees to administer land in such circumstances because the Court is required to be satisfied that the owners “have had sufficient notice of the application and sufficient opportunity to discuss and consider it” per s 215(4)(a).
Documents/Judges-corner-articles/MLC-2014-Jun-Judges-Corner-Ambler-J.pdf (191 kb)
Many Māori people attended the sittings at Cambridge.
Documents/Guides-Templates-Factsheets/MLC-150-years-of-the-Maori-Land-Court.pdf (11 mb)
In many instances the Court must choose between appointing inexperienced trustees to manage land or making no appointments at all.
The 1882 statute brought all land used for burial – except urupā – under a common legal structure irrespective of how the land had come to be set aside. It became the local authority’s responsibility to meet the community’s burial needs in cases where there was inadequate provision, although many cemeteries continued to be managed by trustees.
They have many important responsibilities to fulfil and must balance the expectations of the beneficiaries with their duties as prudent trustees.
This retention and disposal appraisal report is produced in satisfaction of the requirements set out in the Public Records Act 2005.
Documents/Guides-Templates-Factsheets/MLC-2017-03-03-RDS-Report.pdf (1.1 mb)
So what realistically can be done to help with this problem – with the knowledge that Māori land is in multiple ownership, many of the owners are deceased and unsucceeded to, and many owners have no recorded addresses so are difficult to contact?
The Māori Land court requires you to send notice of the application to the landowners, occupiers, and trustees 10.
Documents/Guides-Templates-Factsheets/MLC-title-improvement-english.pdf (385 kb)
The Māori Land court requires you to send notice of the application to the landowners, occupiers, and trustees 10.
Trustees of pūtea trusts do not have the power to vote.
