July 30, 2020
Mānuka Trust prepares for court battles
The Mānuka Trust has held its first meeting as it prepares to marshal a Māori defence of the taonga species.
Interim trustees include Federation of Māori Authorities chair Traci Houpapa, Paul Morgan from Wakatū Incorporation, Tame Iti from Ngāi Tūhoe, Haami Piripi from Te Rarawa and others.
Chair Pita Tipene from Ngāti Hine says New Zealand producers of mānuka honey and other derivatives face challenges from overseas apiarists who want to cash in on the name.
The trust has a $6 million grant from the Provincial Growth Fund to kick start its kaitiaki activities, which include commissioning research in both western science and matauranga Maori.
"Because when you fight legal battles in foreign courts, you better have the evidence to back up if you say mānuka is yours. We can talk about its whakapapa and provenance and those sorts of things, but in a court of law you've got to have facts that stack up. You better have a really sharp team to stand up when you say 'this is a taonga from Aotearoa,'" Mr Tipene says.
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