We are proud to announce the release of our new Māori Legislation Handbook with an endorsement from Chief Judge Wilson Isaac, Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court and Chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal.

"E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā kārangatanga maha, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

The editors of the Māori Legislation Handbook are to be congratulated on setting out all current legislation pertaining specifically to Māori in a thorough and clear fashion.  Since the first edition was published in 2005, the handbook has become the standard reference text for judges and practitioners in the field, and this updated and expanded edition continues the high standard set by earlier printings.

Comprehensive guide focused on Māori

A new volume is timely, with the recent passage of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011, setting out an entirely new legal framework in this much-discussed area, and the Māori Land Court Rules 2011, which substantially revises many areas of the Court’s procedure.  The new edition also features a welcome expansion to incorporate sections of general legislation concerning resource management, coastal resources, forestry and climate change legislation.  This ensures that the handbook provides a comprehensive guide to legislation specifically focused on Māori.

Recognition and promotion of rangatiratanga

Much of the legislation collected in this volume has, at its core, a common thread: the recognition and promotion of rangatiratanga.  This finds perhaps its fullest expression in the preamble of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993, which establishes the underlying purpose of the Act as affirming the protection of rangatiratanga embodied in the Treaty of Waitangi, recognising that Māori land is a taonga tuku iho, promoting the retention of that land in the hands of its owners, their whānau and their hapū, and facilitating the occupation, development and utilisation of that land for the owners, their whānau and their hapū.  It can also be seen underlying the excerpted fisheries, forestry and resource management legislation, in the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal in the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, and in the legal recognition of te reo Māori in the Māori Language Act 1987.  I hope that this handbook may be used in the same spirit, as a tool to assist iwi, hapū and whānau in achieving their aspirations.

E ai rā te matua tangata, ma te ture anō te ture e aki."

 Chief Judge Isaac 

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Click for more information about the  Māori Legislation Handbook 2012
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