Meri Kirihimete me ngā mihi o te Tau Hou Pākehā.

Nāia te mihi maioha o te wā ki a koutou katoa. Kei te tūmanako mātou, kia whai wā ki te whakatā, ā, ki te whakawhanaungatanga i tēnei raumati ā te huringa o te tau hou Pākeha. He wā whakaaro mō tātou ki te whakaata me whakaaro i ō tātou wawata mō te tau hou e heke mai. Me haere haumaru, me haere rangimarie i tēnei hararei.

Mahara mai ki te pānui o Simpson Grierson.

In this issue, we take a look at some of the key developments in te ao ture, including our whakaaro on:

• the Supreme Court’s decision in Ellis v R, reaffirming the relevance and common law status of tikanga in Aotearoa;

• Māori property rights in water being considered by the Māori Land Court;

• the Natural And Built Environment Bill and its greater recognition of Māori interests and engagement;

• the October 2022 draft report of the review into the Future for Local Government - He mata whāriki, he matawhānui;

• the ‘Consitutional Kōrero’ wānanga focused on constitutional transformation in Aotearoa; and

• our pro bono work with Tunuiarangi Rangi McLean on the appropriation of his tā moko.

These are only some of the many developments in te ao ture at present. Others include the recent High Court decision concerning a tikanga-based resolution process relating to the Central North Island Collective Settlement, the continuing co-governance debate particularly in relation to the Three Waters reform), and the recent strike out application in Smith v Fonterra relating to a novel climate tort which awaits a decision from the Supreme Court.

Mauri ora!

Special thanks to Avary Patutama, Sarah Gwynn, Gemma Plank, Taha Brown, Grace Dimond, Madeline Ash, Bessie Isaachsen and Ngahuia Muru for their assistance in writing this update.