Summary
On January 30, 2025, the 2017 settlement to grant Taranaki Mounga, one of Aotearoa (New Zealand)’s most sacred mountains, officially became law after years of negotiations. Parliament unanimously voted in favor of a law that would formally confer Taranaki, its companion peaks and surrounding environment the status of a legal person – to be named Te Kāhui Tupua.
In a rare show of cross-party consensus, the bill passed unopposed, with representatives of each party acknowledging the egregious harms wrought by the crown on Taranaki, the importance of reinstating the mountain’s name to Māori, and the significance of conferring personhood.
The minister for treaty negotiations, Paul Goldsmith, said it was a historic day that marked a new beginning in the relationship between the crown and Taranaki iwi.
“This is a special day and an opportunity to right the wrongs … going back 250 years – to the renaming of the mountain and the many, many events in between.”
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/taranaki-maunga/.
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