As part of the Government's Going for Growth policy which is aimed at boosting Aotearoa New Zealand's economic growth and productivity, various Acts of Parliament have been reviewed, amended and enacted. Notably, this includes changes to the Overseas Investment regime (see our update here) and the passing of the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 (see our update on this here). In keeping with this trend, Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK), the principal policy adviser on Māori wellbeing and development, has completed a review of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 (TTWMA) and has released the 'Engagement and Potential changes to Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 (the Māori Land Act 1993) Discussion Document' (the Discussion Document) for public consultation.
As outlined in the Discussion Document, the Government's key objective is to improve the workability of TTWMA along with providing economic and housing opportunities for whenua Māori regulated by this Act. The proposed changes briefly described below, include (amongst other things) changes to:
- Court processes – to enable a central register of owners/trustees, to bring Part1/67 General land under the jurisdiction of TTWMA and to enable the Registrar to conduct Trust reviews.
- Appointed agents and the Courts powers – to widen the scope of the types of land over which the Court has jurisdiction to appoint agents; to widen the purposes for which the Court may appoint agents; for temporary governance on ungoverned whenua Māori in specific circumstances; and to widen the Court's powers regarding amalgamated land given the high thresholds required for partition orders.
- Housing – to provide the Court with a specific jurisdiction to determine ownership of a dwelling on Māori freehold land.
- Succession – to enable, on application by a beneficiary (under a will or under an intestacy), the Court to vest a freehold interest in General land in the beneficiary or the administrator.
- Leases – to enable trustees of Māori Reservations to have more decision-making powers regarding leases on Māori Reservations; to extend the period for which a short or long-term lease can be granted without Court approval from 52 years to 99 years.
- Minor changes – to change the age of majority for kai tiaki trusts and for minors who hold interests in land vested in a Māori Incorporation, to 18 years old; to create a default position where the name of the trust or a tipuna is registered against the Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) title; to allow the Registrar to release certificates of confirmation issued in respect of mortgages of land with a sole owner (removing the current one-month sealing requirement for these certificates); to enable Court Judges to correct simple errors to Court orders that are over 10 years old; and to clarify trustees’ ability to seek Court direction.
One of the competing tensions within TTWMA is contained in the preamble, in which the purpose is one of both retention and development of whenua Māori. This Discussion Document looks to create a more flexible approach towards development, although it will be interesting to see whether the overall protections for whenua Māori are impacted.
TPK has now opened the public consultation period, and for those interested, submissions on the Discussion Document are due by 23 May 2025.
Our team of Māori land law experts advise widely on Te Ture Whenua matters, and would be happy to talk to you about any questions you have on the Discussion Document. Also, be sure to check back as we track the progress of these proposed changes in future updates.
This article was co-authored by Charlotte von Dadelszen (partner), Brannavan Gnanalingam (special counsel), Stephanie Snedden (senior associate), and Alexia McEwen (solicitor).
