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APPLICATIONS
Te Kooti Whenua Māori – Māori Land Court
For more information, go to maorilandcourt.govt.nz
Te Kooti Whenua Māori – Māori Land Court (MLC) is the
New Zealand Court that hears matters relating to Māori
land.
Where the relevant tikanga does not recognise a relationship
that entitles whāngai to succeed, the Māori Land Court may
issue a court order giving whāngai a lifetime right to receive
income or grants from the land or the right to occupy the
family home on the land, or both.
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.
Land interests are held together rather than divided, which can help to preserve a whānau's ancestral connection with their whenua by preventing individuals from dealing with their interests separately.
Of the approximately 2.3 million ownership interests in Māori land, anecdotal evidence indicates that about half of these interests are held by deceased persons; many land interests are owned by the same person under multiple names; and many owners live far from their land and, in some cases, do not know they are owners of Māori land at all.
For example, a private mediation appointed
by consent under the Act, cannot create an outcome whereby the parties have agreed to a
change of status from Māori Land to General Land in their mediated agreement and expect
that to be rubber stamped by the Court.
For example, a private mediation appointed by consent under the Act, cannot create an outcome whereby the parties have agreed to a change of status from Māori Land to General Land in their mediated agreement and expect that to be rubber stamped by the Court.