October 13, 2021
Tikanga tops title in Tauranga Harbour rights allocation
A High Court decision on customary marine title to part of Tauranga Harbour has found there is no requirement that applicants held the land according to European concepts of ownership, and what counts under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 is tikanga.
The meaning of exclusive use and occupation must also be assessed with reference to particular tikanga.
Justice Grant Powell found there was unequivocal evidence supporting the grant of customary marine title over Te Tāhuna o Rangataua, an estuary in the southern part of the harbour, to five of the applicants – Ngā Pōtiki, Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti Hē, Ngāi Tukairangi and Ngāti Tapū.
Those hapū continue to hold area in accordance with tikanga since historical occupation some 300 years ago and showed the required level of use and occupation through strong whakapapa links, active customary practices and exercising their role as kaitiaki to protect and preserve the area.
There was insufficient evidence to support the inclusion of Ngāti Ruahine and Ngāi Te Ahi in the title.
The court also found customary rights in the foreshore of Te Tāhuna o Rangataua were not extinguished by the Tauranga Foreshore Vesting and Endowment Act 1915, and even if they had, those rights would have been revived by the Foreshore and Seabed Endowment Revesting Act of 1991.