The central North Island iwi had been confirmed as owner of the lake bed, the space occupied by the water and the airspace above the lake, via the Taupō Deed, by the Government in 1992 and in modifications to the deed in 2007. Board chairman John Bishara welcomed the ruling. “The trust board is pleased that the High Court has upheld the property rights of Ngāti Tūwharetoa in our taonga, Taupō moana,” he said.
CHRIS MARSHALL/Stuff
The High Court has ruled in favour of the Tūwharetoa Maori Trust Board in seeking to clarify whether it can license and charge commercial operators on Lake Taupō.
The United Nations (UN) issued a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, and New Zealand initially voted against it, along with the United States, Canada and Australia.
The Government at the time, led by Labour s Helen Clark, worried that some of it contradicted New Zealand law.
For example, Article 26 states: Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired.
As then-Māori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia pointed out, it was not consistent with how some land traditionally occupied by Māori is now lawfully owned by Māori and non-Māori.