High Court Judicial Review decision
Rore and Lynne Stafford, and Wakatū whānau, outside the High Court, Wellington, August 2020
Tēnā tatou katoa, ki ngā whānau o Wakatū me ngā uri o ngā hekenga,
Last year, led by Rore Stafford, we were in the Wellington High Court in a judicial action against the Attorney-General, where we took action in an attempt to stop the Crown selling any more ex-Tenths’ reserves land in the Nelson rohe.
The case focused on land in Nelson, which is currently held by ACC and includes land that was once part of the Nelson Tenths’ Reserves. This case is part of the broader work happening following the Supreme Court win in 2017, when the Court held that the Crown, as legal trustee, owes a fiduciary duty to the Owners of the Nelson Tenths’ Reserves and Occupation Reserves in the Nelson rohe.
The High Court decision has been released. You can read the full decision of the Court here.
In the High Court judicial review, it was argued that:
• The Crown has a duty to actively protect the land it holds on trust 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 fiduciary duty extends to all land in its control, including Crown entity land, such as ACC land and other land which is held in Crown-related bodies or entities.
In summary, the whānau has had some partial success in relation to ‘core Crown’ land. On that ground, her Honour Justice Ellis agreed that the land protection mechanism over core Crown land needs to be strengthened to ensure that there is adequate opportunity to deal with any proposed land sales by the Crown, while the broader proceedings are being resolved.
However, Justice Ellis did not agree with us that Crown Entities (such as ACC) and State Owned Enterprises form part of the Crown for the purposes of our case. Despite that, her Honour has indicated that those entities do have an obligation to provide adequate notice of a proposed disposal of land within the Spain award.
The next immediate step is for the legal team to submit further on the land protection mechanism setting out how it should be strengthened. We will also be considering all of our options, including any possible appeal, over the coming weeks. We will provide an update at our upcoming special general meeting (SGM), which will be held in Wellington on 27 March 2021.
Ngā mihi ano hoki to our whānau who attended and supported the hearing in Wellington last year, and who travelled to the Court to support Rore and the working committee.
He mihi nui, he mihi aroha.
Kerensa Johnston
Tumu Whakarae (Chief Executive Officer)
Rore and Lynne Stafford, and Kerensa Johnston, outside the High Court, Wellington, August 2020