Summarised by Centrist
The Supreme Court has ruled that riverbeds flowing into the sea can now be swept into Māori customary marine title orders.
The move opens up fresh frontiers for tribal ownership claims under the Takutai Moana Act.
The ruling came as part two of the Court’s decision on Eastern Bay of Plenty claims. The first part, in December 2024, reversed a 2023 Court of Appeal decision that had lowered the threshold for gaining customary title.
This second instalment finds that “marine and coastal area” includes navigable riverbeds, and that Parliament never clearly extinguished Māori customary rights to those beds.
One example: the confluence of the Waiōweka and Ōtara rivers near Ōpōtiki is now eligible for inclusion under customary title, provided it meets other legal hurdles.
The Attorney-General had argued that previous Acts of Parliament vested full beneficial ownership of navigable rivers in the Crown. The Court disagreed, saying those laws lacked the necessary clarity to override customary rights. In other words, unless Parliament used a flashing neon sign to extinguish title, the claimants get the benefit of the doubt.
The decision leaves the High Court to decide how this applies to specific areas. Meanwhile, the coalition government is pressing forward with changes to the law aimed at restoring the stricter standards removed by the 2023 ruling. Those changes were paused after the first Supreme Court intervention, but are now back in play.
