Led by our kaumātua Rore Stafford, our whānau met last week at the High Court in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, to continue on with the work to resolve our case against the Crown, for the return of land in Whakatū, Tasman and Mōhua.
In 2017, the Supreme Court held that the Crown, as legal trustee, owes a fiduciary duty to the customary Māori owners of the Nelson Tenths Reserves and Occupation Reserves in the Whakatū (Nelson) region.
Rore and Lynne Stafford, and Kerensa Johnston, outside the High Court, Wellington, August 2020
Last week, as part of the next step in resolving matters with the Crown, the High Court dealt with the judicial review of the Attorney-General’s failure to prevent the sale of Crown land in Whakatū, until proceedings against the Crown have been resolved.
In the High Court, we argued that:
The Crown has a duty to actively protect the land it holds on trust for our whānau in Nelson.
A moratorium to prevent any further Crown land sales is required to protect the Nelson land, and the Attorney-General has an active duty to protect the land.
The Crown’s duty extends to all land in its control, including Crown entity land.
The Attorney-General argued that the current informal arrangement, where the Crown notifies us of any land sales, is acceptable. We disagreed, saying this was not a strong protection as it fails to stop further land losses. In our case, the Crown has significant legal responsibilities as the trustee and Treaty partner.
Counsel for the Crown entities argued that the Crown’s duty does not extend to land held by those entities as they are not part of the Crown. In response, we argued that the Crown entities hold land in Aotearoa, which are impacted by the Crown’s legal obligations, recognisedby the Supreme Court, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This argument is well supported by Justice William’s dissenting judgment in the recent Court of Appeal caveat decision against ACC.
The hearing was very positive. Over the four-day hearing there was strong support from our whānau for Uncle Rore and the kaupapa he is leading. As soon as we have a decision from the Court, we will let you know. We are hoping we will have a decision before Christmas.
Rore and Lynne Stafford, and whānau, outside the High Court, Wellington, August 2020
Ngā mihi nui to our whānau who attended the hearing, and who traveled to the Court to support Uncle Rore and the working committee.
Your support was greatly appreciated and it was also noted by the Court, with the Judge closing the hearing by acknowledging the support of the whānau and the importance of the kaupapa.
Te nui hoki o ngā mihi ki runga i a koutou e tautoko ana i tēnei kaupapa nui rawa.
E koakoa ana te ngākau kia kite ai tātou i a tātou i te Kōti Teitei o te motu.
He mihi nui, he mihi aroha.
Kerensa Johnston
Tumu Whakarae (Chief Executive Officer)
Wakatū Incorporation