New Zealand’s Environment Court recognised on 4 July that the Māori tribe Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has the dominant tribal relationship to land and water around Westhaven Marina in Auckland.
The decision ruled that Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s connection to the area was greater than that of other tribes involved in the court process. Known in Māori as iwi, these tribes were Ngāti Maru, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Te Ākitai Waiōhua, Te Patukirikiri and Ngaati Whanaunga.
The case originated in 2019, when Auckland Council’s Eke Panuku Development Agency won a resource consent to expand the marina by extending the northwestern breakwater and causeway via reclamation. The expanded site would include public open space, a car park and access to new marina berths. One of the conditions was that Eke Panuku Development Agency would invite 19 iwi and hapū (sub-tribes) to establish a forum in which all would be treated equally.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei appealed that consent and challenged the land management engagement conditions, arguing that they had the dominant connection to the land and water around Westhaven Marina and that they should therefore take a lead role in land management engagement with the development agency.
Opposing Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, the five other iwi in the court process argued that the court should provide for all parties’ relationships with Westhaven and that none were stronger than the other.
Ruling in favour of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Justices Laurie Newhook and Michael Doogan, and Deputy Environment Commissioner Glenice Paine, concluded that Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei “provided clear and compelling evidence [...] that the area around Westhaven forms part of the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei [territory] by virtue of [conquest], consolidated by [ancestral connection] and strengthened over time by the continuous [occupation of the land] and [spiritual power]”.
The original ruling with Māori terminology can be found here.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Deputy Chair and historian Ngarimu Blair welcomed the ruling, saying: “While it has been incredibly disappointing and frustrating to have to seek the acknowledgement of the courts, a process that requires significant resources and time, this is the system we have to work with. We hope this outcome stops a process which benefits no one, other than those who are claiming a say in the rohe [territory] of other iwi.”
Westhaven Marina is located approximately two kilometres northwest of downtown Auckland in New Zealand and is the largest recreational marina in the Southern Hemisphere. Created in the 1940s, it is home to some 1,800 recreational boats, four yacht clubs and a variety of marine businesses and hospitality establishments.
