Northlander wins rehearing in the Māori Land Court

• Published date: 13 November 2023
• Author: Mike Dinsdale
• Publication title: Northern Advocate, The (Whangarei, New Zealand)

However, he has been warned his case was poorly made and he should think carefully about whether to continue it

Hone Tana had initially gone to the court to seek a review of the Pukahakaha East 5B Trust. The parties filed a great deal of evidence but the court did not hear the application. Instead, Māori Land Court Judge Te Kani Williams dismissed the application without a hearing and awarded costs against Tana.

Judge Williams was critical of Tana’s case in the first hearing.

The crux of Tana’s complaint was around the trust’s decision to buy two blocks of land at Mahanga Rd in Pataua South and Whakairiora Maunga that he, through the Ngunguru Sandspit Protection Society, had been trying to buy.

Tana alleged the trustees failed to adhere to court directions to meet the hapu iwi trust; the trust used large sums of beneficial owners’ money to buy...