We need more of this the world over…
- Taranaki Maunga now has the rights of a person
- The NZ Mountain to be represented by a panel
- READ MORE: Aboriginal people are being given vouchers to share treaty ideas
A mountain in New Zealand will now have the rights of a human being under legislation to be passed by parliament.
Taranaki Maunga and his companion peaks are to become a legal person to be called Te K?hui Tupua when the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill becomes law after its second and third readings in Parliament on January 30.
The area has become increasingly popular for tourists after Lonely Planet named it one of the best places in the world to visit and the new law will mean that if a person harms or mistreats the mountain it will be the same legally as harming a tribe.
New Zealand’s Department of Conservation put out the call this week for four traditional owners who would like to sit on a panel alongside four Crown representatives to represent the mountain on the country’s south island.
The Crown agreed to give up ownership of the land two years ago with the panel known as Te T?puni K?k?rangi given responsibility to caretake the mountain range.
The Crown had previously agreed to share its ownership of the mountain with the region’s eight iwi, or tribes and also apologise for historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi against the mountain there will be no financial or commercial redress.
Moutn Taranaki is a dormant volcano which last erupted in 1775. It holds significant cultural importance to local tribes and is also the most frequently climbed mountain in NZ.
The New Zealand has also previously granted legal personhood to the Whanganui River.
The Department of Conservation said the purpose of Te T?puni K?k?rangi ‘is to be the human face and voice of Te K?hui Tupua / Taranaki Maunga’.
‘We are seeking nominations from those with knowledge in strategic and governance leadership, m?tauranga M?ori, environmental management, stakeholder management, finance, local government, nature conservation, earth sciences, recreation, tourism and the local community,’ the department continued.
Conservation board members are also being sought which will include three members for Taranaki Whanganui.
The new rules come under Te Pire Whakatupua m? te K?hui Maunga which is the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill.
This new bill will become law after it’s second and third readings are held at Parliament on January 30.
The reading will officially recognise the peaks as ancestral mountains which will grant the land human status.
After this procession Taranaki Maunga will officially become a legal person called Te K?hui Tupua.
Once this occurs the mountain will officially own itself and the park will be renamed Te Papa-Kura o Taranaki.
