Appeals to tikanga Maori did not override bankruptcy legislation allowing Insolvency Service to seize a Rotorua home, evicting Kathleen and Bruce Bamber following their bankruptcy on debts totalling $332,750.
The Bambers claimed it was contrary to Maori custom for them to be removed from their family home. The two were bankrupted in 2019 on an unpaid debt of about $175,850 owed to the Tahorakuri Trust following their lease of land at Reporoa, near Taupo.
The High Court was told Tahorakuri had taken action to recover monies the Bambers received after subletting Reporoa.
The Bambers lived at Reporoa for a time, later shifting to Wingrove Road, in the Rotorua suburb Owhata.
Justice Harvey said Maori custom can form part of New Zealand common law, but does not override legislation. The Insolvency Act is clear; bankrupts can be required to surrender any property they own to Insolvency Service for sale to pay creditors.
The Bambers claim to retain possession of their Wingrove Road home on grounds of tikanga Maori was misguided, Justice Harvey ruled. Within Maoridom; your home or turangawaewae is your ancestral home, your house or whare is where you currently live. Wingrove Road was where the Bambers currently lived, it was not situated on their ancestral tribal land. And even if it were, the house could still be seized on bankruptcy by Insolvency Service, he said.
Bamber v. Official Assignee – High Court (23.02.23)
23.025