Petition updateMake English an Official Language of New ZealandMixed language in landmark Seabed and Foreshore case
Gayleen MackerethAuckland, New Zealand
Feb 26, 2022

This extract from a report on the landmark claim by East Coast Maori groups under the reformed Seabed and Foreshore Act shows the use of untranslated mixed language even in legal contexts. 

"A new approach" (newspaper heading)

"To apply tikanga in this case, the judge relied heavily on the appointed pukenga, Dr Hiria Hape and Doug Hauraki. These two experts were agreed upon by the claimant groups as the authorities on Whakatōhea tikanga.

The pukenga identified a number of tikanga aspects that should guide the court, including mana, tino rangatiratanga, kaitiakitanga and tapu. The pukenga report also created a unique poutarāwhare framework, likened to a house where the tikanga of the region was brought together under one roof.

The poutarāwhare approach was a breakthrough in tackling the legal requirement that hapū show “exclusive use” of the marine and coastal area since 1840...

With the poutarāwhare approach, however, Whakatōhea hapū were able to show their shared use of the sea and coastline under a common body of rules. The court found that this showed ‘shared exclusivity’, a new legal concept that satisfied the law while maintaining hapū sovereignty."

https://www.newsroom.co.nz/judgment-for-the-decade-in-landmark-foreshore-and-seabed-case

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