Summarised by Centrist
A High Court decision has concluded the longest land case in New Zealand’s history, ordering the Crown to return the Nelson Tenths Reserves to its Māori beneficiaries. “It’s time now for the Crown to do the right thing,” said Kerensa Johnson, leader of the Te Here-ā-Nuku | Making the Tenths Whole project.
The ruling follows 180 years of disputes over land originally promised to Māori under the New Zealand Company’s 1840s agreements. Beginning in 1839, the New Zealand Company’s land purchases from Māori included a promise to reserve one-tenth of the sold land for their benefit.
However, conflicts and breaches plagued this agreement. By the late 1800s, much of this land had either been sold off or handled in ways that led to a loss of economic opportunity and access for Māori owners.
The Tenths eventually transferred to Wakatū Incorporation in 1977, ensuring a trust for descendants of the original landowners. Despite past settlement acts, unresolved breaches brought the case back to court. In 2017, the Supreme Court upheld that the Crown had a duty to reserve the Tenths.
After a 10-week hearing in 2023 Stafford v Attorney-General, the recent High Court decision acknowledged these breaches and ordered the return of the land after nearly two centuries. Prior to the ruling, the government, in June 2024, preemptively allocated $3.6m in taxpayer funds specifically to prepare for a possible appeal.
Image: Kerensa Johnston Facebook
