Significant changes involving alienations of Māori freehold land

The Te Ture Whenua Māori Amendment Act 2002 came into effect on 1 July 2002 and contains significant amendments concerning the alienation, administration and utilization of Māori freehold land.

Restrictions on alienation of Māori Freehold land have been removed in part.  For instance, a first offer of refusal to persons in the preferred class of alienee is now only required for alienations by way of sale or gift.

Māori Land Court confirmation requirements are also affected.  While alienations by sale or gift continue to require confirmation by the Māori Land Court, alienations by the owners in common by way of lease, license, forestry right for terms of more than 21 years, and mortgages simply require noting by the Registrar of the Māori Land Court.

In deciding whether to confirm an alienation, the Māori Land Court must simply examine the alienation to ensure that it is technically correct as to matters of price, form of documents and similar matters and must approve the transaction if those are in order.

Prior to the Amendment the Māori Land Court could refuse to confirm an alienation if the alienation would be inconsistent with the historical importance of the land to the owners, ahi kaa and other matters.

Amendments to the Māori Land Legislation have also made significant changes affecting wahi tapu reserves, occupation orders, Māori land trusts, Māori incorporations, partitions, subdivisions and landlocked Māori land.

Persons dealing with Māori freehold land need to be aware of the changes and the impact of those changes prior to making decisions.  For further information and advice regarding these amendments or Māori land generally, please do not hesitate to contact us.