As a result, from time to time the MāoriLandCourt receives applications to extend existing urupā, or to set aside Māori freehold land, or sometimes General land owned by Māori, as new urupā reservations.
This brought the MāoriLandCourt record into the computer age with details of Māoriland blocks and their owners being accessible nationwide, without owners having to travel to the MāoriLandCourt where the land was located to get information.
In 2017, an application was made to the MāoriLandCourt to determine the
status of the land, the ownership of the land and the relative interests of the owners.
The MāoriLandCourt In 2003, the Minister of Māori Affairs applied to the MāoriLandCourt for an inquiry pursuant to s 29 TTWMA as to successors to the four remaining SILNA blocks.
Where the title to the land is held by a Māoriland trust or a Māori Incorporation, the
mortgage has to be sent to the MāoriLandCourt’s Registrar for noting (ss 150A and
150B of the Act).
Former Chief MāoriLandCourt Judge, who then became a
Justice of the High Court, ET Durie provided the following analyses of the nature of Māori rights to land;
Maori see themselves not as masters of the environment but as
members of it.
The Act also allows for appeals to the Māori Appellate Court
in relation to decisions of the MāoriLandCourt around
access to Māoriland for water infrastructure.
The Act also allows for appeals to the Māori Appellate
Court in relation to decisions of the MāoriLandCourt
around access to Māoriland for water infrastructure.