Land and rivers can own themselves

• Author: Mick Strack
• Position: School of Surveying, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
• Pages: 4-17

Land and rivers can

own themselves

Mick Strack

School of Surveying, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to describe and critically review the new tenure arrangements that

have been established to recognise Ma

ˉori relationship with land (Te Urewera) and river (Whanganui River), to

ascribe them their own legal personality.

Design/methodology/approach –The paper describes the development of the legal arrangements in

Aotearoa, New Zealand, for Treaty settlements with Ma

ˉori, and documents the various forms of rights and

divisions of space that are changing the face of property institutions.

Findings –The paper nds that the acknowledgement of land and nature as having their own legal status

and, therefore, owned by themselves is bold and innovative, but is still not a full recognition of customary

tenure. The recognition of rivers as indivisible entities is stated but not clearly implemented.

Practical implications –Ma

ˉori interests and authority are now more clearly articulated, and Ma

ˉori may

expect to be able to engage in customary practices and restore their traditional relationships with their land

more explicitly.

Social implications –The avoidance of an ownership regime has tempered public concerns about issues

such as ownership of owing water. The formalities are still being completed in the case of the Whanganui

River, so the full implications are yet to be felt.

Originality/value –This is an innovative development in tenure arrangements seen by some as providing

for the rights of nature, but actually responding to the rights of the Indigenous people. This article may inform

others about possible models for more diverse tenure arrangements elsewhere.

Keywords Ownership, Colonialism, Ma

ˉori, Rivers, Ancestors, Land

Paper type General review

Introduction

Land ownership is a very strong cultural component of New Zealand society. Ma

ˉori, the

Indigenous people of Aotearoa, New Zealand, have a particularly strong relationship with

land and natural resources. Predominantly European settlers were enticed to the country by

promises of land ownership, based on the belief that land ownership promoted civil society

and vice versa[1]. The political philosophy of New Zealand, at least until the 1980s, included

the recognition that property ownership contributed to a fair and equitable society[2].

In recent years, land ownership has been at the heart of widespread public debate because

(especially in the primate city, Auckland) land ownership has become unaffordable[3], while

at the same time the New Zealand income differential has become extreme. Also, during

recent years, there has been a Ma

ˉori Renaissance, and the Crown has acknowledged the

adverse effects of colonisation on Ma

ˉori – particularly the loss of land. These different legal

and cultural traditions about the relationship with land and water have been subject to

re-evaluation, challenge and attempts at resolution in recent years.

The author wishes to thank his close colleague Dr David Goodwin for his insightful critique of the early

draft of this paper, and the two unknown reviewers for their suggestions to engage more explicitly with

postcolonial theory.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/1756-1450.htm

IJLBE

9,1

4

Received 11 October 2016

Revised 11 January 2017

Accepted 10 February 2017

InternationalJournal of Law in the

BuiltEnvironment

Vol.9 No. 1, 2017

pp.4-17

©Emerald Publishing Limited

1756-1450

DOI 10.1108/IJLBE-10-2016-0016