UN expert visit shines spotlight on Nelson Tenths

A United Nations indigenous rights expert has visited the Top of the South to learn about the Nelson Tenths case and the Crown’s breach of its legal obligations to Māori.

Francisco Calí Tzay, The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, met with representatives of the customary Māori owners of the Nelson Tenths Reserves last week at Te Āwhina Marae in Motueka, and visited several sites of significance in the region.

The Nelson Tenths is the longest-running property claim in the country.

In the 1840s, Māori landowners around Nelson sold 151,000 acres of land to the New Zealand Company on the condition that 10 per cent of their land would be reserved for Māori in perpetuity.

That agreement was never upheld.

Rather than setting aside 15,100 acres, the Crown reserved less than 3000 acres.

Mr Calí Tzay was briefed on the case and its relevance to breaches of international law as it relates to indigenous peoples by Wakatū Incorporation, which is supporting the ongoing litigation against the Crown.

He learnt about the significance of the case within the regional, national, and global landscape.

Wakatū Incorporation chief executive Kerensa Johnston says that Mr Calí Tzay’s visit was an opportunity to “shine a light on the Government’s ongoing breaches of human rights in respect of the Nelson Tenths Reserves”.

“Seven years have now passed since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision that the Crown owes a fiduciary duty to the customary Māori owners of the Nelson Tenths. Despite this, no land has been returned and no compensation has been paid,” she says.

“By failing to work with us on a solution to resolve our case, the Government continues to deny the customary Māori owners of the Nelson Tenths the right to their land, territories and resources, the right to redress, the right to take part in cultural life, and the right to self-determination.

“These are breaches of human rights under the United Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

“We hope the attention of the UN Special Rapporteur will help to both realise the human rights of the Māori customary owners of the Nelson Tenths and remind the Government of the significance of the Nelson Tenths kaupapa as we continue our fight for justice.”