University of Canterbury Home
    • Admin
    UC Research Repository
    UC Library
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    1. UC Home
    2. Library
    3. UC Research Repository
    4. Faculty of Law | Te Kaupeka Ture
    5. Law: Journal Articles
    6. View Item
    1. UC Home
    2.  > 
    3. Library
    4.  > 
    5. UC Research Repository
    6.  > 
    7. Faculty of Law | Te Kaupeka Ture
    8.  > 
    9. Law: Journal Articles
    10.  > 
    11. View Item

    Fluid Personality: Indigenous Rights and the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 in Aotearoa New Zealand (2019)

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Accepted version (410.2Kb)
    Type of Content
    Journal Article
    UC Permalink
    https://hdl.handle.net/10092/101183
    
    ISSN
    1444-8602
    Collections
    • Law: Journal Articles [218]
    Authors
    Esterling, Shea cc
    Collins T
    show all
    Abstract

    In March 2017, the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 (NZ) (‘Te Awa Tupua Act’) became the first piece of legislation in the world to declare a river a legal person. Through this grant of legal personality the Whanganui River acquires the rights, duties, powers and liabilities of an entity with legal standing including the ability to sue those who harm it. This legislation is aimed at reconciling the relationship between the government of Aotearoa New Zealand and its Indigenous peoples (Māori) in light of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, one of the founding documents of Aotearoa New Zealand. However, the Te Awa Tupua Act also offers a platform to explore the promotion and protection of Indigenous rights in international human rights law including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples in relation to Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand. This inquiry demonstrates that despite the novelty of the legislation and the exciting progress towards re-establishing Māori governance and management over the River that they held for centuries before European colonisation, the innovative grant of legal personality to a river does not fully address past wrongs in that it continues to exclude Māori ownership of freshwater. Ultimately the Te Awa Tupua Act leaves Aotearoa New Zealand wanting in its commitments under international human rights law.

    Citation
    Esterling S, Collins T (2019). Fluid Personality: Indigenous Rights and the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 in Aotearoa New Zealand. Melbourne Journal of International Law. 20(1). 197-220.
    This citation is automatically generated and may be unreliable. Use as a guide only.
    ANZSRC Fields of Research
    48 - Law and legal studies::4807 - Public law::480703 - Domestic human rights law
    45 - Indigenous studies::4511 - Ngā tāngata, te porihanga me ngā hapori o te Māori (Māori peoples, society and community)::451115 - Te ture me te tika Māori (Māori law and justice)
    45 - Indigenous studies::4511 - Ngā tāngata, te porihanga me ngā hapori o te Māori (Māori peoples, society and community)::451109 - Ngā tikanga Māori (Māori customary law)
    48 - Law and legal studies::4804 - Law in context::480410 - Legal theory, jurisprudence and legal interpretation
    48 - Law and legal studies::4806 - Private law and civil obligations::480604 - Property law (excl. intellectual property law)
    Ngā Upoko Tukutuku / Māori Subject Headings
    Ture | Laws::Tikanga tangata | Human rights; Rights, Human
    Tikanga tuku iho | Values::Kaitiakitanga | Conservation of natural resources; Customary rights; Land stewardship; Rights, Customary; Stewardship, Land
    Ture | Laws::Ture putaiao | Environmental laws
    Rights
    All rights reserved unless otherwise stated
    http://hdl.handle.net/10092/17651

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Sustainable prosperity and enterprises for Māori communities in Aotearoa New Zealand: A review of the literature 

      Neha T; Macfarlane A; Macfarlane S; Clarke TH; Derby M; Torepe T; Duckworth F; Gibson M; Fletcher J (2020)
      The purpose of this paper is to explore recent literature on ways that Māori (the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) have developed strategies to attain sustainable prosperity and develop effective enterprises. ...
    • Cultural Property at the Crossroads: An Examination of the issue of the Restitution of Cultural Property to Indigenous Peoples in Article 11 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 

      Esterling, Shea (Aberystwyth University, 2015)
      Over the past thirty years, Indigenous Peoples have turned to international human rights law (IHRL) to help secure the return of their cultural property. In 2007 the United Nations [U.N.] passed the Declaration on the ...
    • The Treaty and the Tax Working Group: Tikanga or Tokenistic Gestures? 

      Scobie M; Love T (2019)
      This paper engages with the Māori perspectives in the Tax Working Group Future of Tax report. It is argued that a Māori worldview can contribute to a more equitable and sustainable tax system, and that engaging with ...
    Advanced Search

    Browse

    All of the RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThesis DisciplineThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThesis Discipline

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • Research Outputs
    • UC Theses
    • CONTACTS
    • Send Feedback
    • +64 3 369 3853
    • ucresearchrepository@canterbury.ac.nz
    • ABOUT
    • UC Research Repository Guide
    • Copyright and Disclaimer
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • Research Outputs
    • UC Theses
    • CONTACTS
    • Send Feedback
    • +64 3 369 3853
    • ucresearchrepository@canterbury.ac.nz
    • ABOUT
    • UC Research Repository Guide
    • Copyright and Disclaimer