Over
140 years on and legal rights over use of Lake Horowhenua are still in dispute.
In fact, there is still a dispute over settling the rules to decide how to
settle the dispute. Attempts by the
Maori Land Court to set up an accord between local authorities and Maori owners
of the Lake were given the go-ahead by the High Court.
Rights to Lake Horowhenua have a tortured
history. Colin Paki of Muaupoko has been
a high-profile defender of local Maori interests. He sued in the High Court complaining that an
accord brokered by the Maori Land Court between local Maori (represented on the
Lake Horowhenua Trust), the Lake Horowhenua Domain Board, the Horowhenua
District Council, the Horizons Regional Council and the Department of
Conservation was invalid. The accord is
intended to create a decision-making body capable of reaching agreement over
use of the lake.
The High Court was told a forerunner of
the present Maori Land Court decided in 1873 that Muaupoko own Lake
Horowhenua. This right of ownership has
never been lost, though there has been confusion over which members of Muaupoko
hold ownership and in what proportions. An
1898 Land Court ruling confirmed the lake could not be sold. It is held in trust in perpetuity for
Muaupoko with fishing rights held by Muaupoko owners. No satisfactory governing structure has been
put in place to govern use of the lake and its environs. Government legislation in 1905 confirmed
Maori ownership and their fishing rights, but declared the lake to be a public
domain open to all for use in “aquatic sports and pleasures”. This left undecided the relationship between traditional
Maori owners, the new Domain Board and local territorial authorities.
Local Maori have been vocal in
highlighting environmental damage in and around the lake. Drainage work has lowered lake levels,
destroying shellfish beds and creating a “dewatered” area around the margins. Untreated sewage from a local sewage
treatment plant is discharged into the lake after heavy rain. They resent the manner in which a
predominately pakeha local population has historically prevailed over the
historical rights of Muaupoko in use of the lake. The High Court described governance
arrangements for the lake as dysfunctional.
Mr Paki challenged attempts by the Maori
Land Court in 2012 to set up a new governance body. He claims the Court failed to comply with
rules already in place for governing the lake and further failed to ensure proper
representation of Muaupoko members. In
the High Court, Justice Clifford said the 2012 accord is no more than a non-binding
framework intended to advance discussions on an appropriate trust structure to
govern use of the Lake, something which has never been properly addressed since
the original 1873 court decision.
Paki
v. Maori Land Court – High Court (14.10.15)
15.114