Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Karla Akuhata
A MAORI Land Court judge has ordered the creation of an ahu whenua trust but refused to remove the reservation status of land in a case relating to three blocks of land in Opape.
The three blocks are adjoining and consist of the 30 hectare Opape 3AI, 0.10ha Opape A1A1 and 7.8 hectare Opape 3A1A2.
Opape 3A1E, which has three owners, is subject to two recommendations made by the court to set aside parts of the land as Maori reservations for the purposes of an urupa and marae for the common use and benefit of Te Whanau o Te Urikore, a hapu of Ngati Muriwai Rua.
The Opape 3A1A1 block was created by a partition in 1951 and while Te Oitahuna Raukawa Whanau Trust is listed as the sole owner, there is no management structure in place.
Opape 3A1A2 was also created by partition order 1951 and it has 160 owners listed, with an ahu whenua trust in place. The trustees for this block are Julie Lux, Kepa Raukawa, Daniel Lux, Ruarakai Raukawa and Rover Waiapu.
In 2007, the court recommended setting aside an area of just over two hectares – extending across all blocks – as a Maori reservation for a papakainga, or village site, for Te Whanau o Te Urikore. It also set aside just over half a hectare for an extension to the existing marae reservation.
This year, Mr Raukawa filed an application to constitute an ahu whenua trust over Opape 3A1E on the basis that there was no management structure in place, which allowed Mr and Mrs Lux to put in place Maori reservations without the support of all the owners.
He also applied to cancel the Maori reservations on the blocks excluding the urupa area.
At the court hearing, Mr and Mrs Lux confirmed they did not object to the formation of an ahu whenua trust but they submitted it should be constituted over areas that were Maori reservations. However, all parties agreed to rescind the Maori reservation for the papakainga.
In the judgment from Judge Craig Coxhead, Mr Raukawa’s lawyer, Marcia Insley, submitted proper process was not followed prior to the lands being set aside as Maori reservations.
She said there was sufficient support for cancellation with Mr Raukawa and five of his siblings as well as Wakaroa Taka, as one of the owners, providing letters to the court requesting the reservations be cancelled.
“The letters filed claims that the reservations were set up without their knowledge by Mr and Mrs Lux for personal gain, that the beneficiary class is not correct, and that the siblings have received no benefits. They say they have been adversely affected, as they are restricted in doing what they believe is best for whanau while the land is designated as a Maori reservation,” she said.
“The letters also note, they already have their own marae, located a short distance from these lands, and did not consider the building on Opape 3A1E to be a marae.”
However, lawyer Maureen Malcolm – on behalf of Mr and Mrs Lux – said a cautious approach should be taken when considering the cancellation of a Maori reservation.
“A Maori reservation holds an important status due to its inalienability, and therefore a recommendation to cancel must not be made lightly.”
She submitted that Mr Raukawa failed to show there was sufficient support for the cancellation, with only a small group of the 140 descendants of the original owner of the land opposing the reservation status.
Judge Craig Coxhead agreed to constitute the ahu whenua trust over Opape 3A1E block, excluding the area of existing urupa, marae and marae extension. He appointed Mr Taki, Percy Raukawa, Mr Raukawa, Ani Worsnop and Raurua Raukawa as responsible trustees, with Mrs Insley as an advisory trustee.
However, Judge Coxhead declined to rescind the Maori reservation status for the marae and marae extension.
“Both Mr Raukawa and Mr Taki filed letters to say that they had not consented and were not consulted regarding the creation of the Maori reservations. At the hearing however, on cross-examination, both conceded they had signed trustee consents and acknowledged that their signatures were witnessed by a Justice of the Peace.”