Geoff Parker: Mana Whakahono ā Rohe - The Power Behind the Process

In a recent opinion piece, New Plymouth District Councillor Dinnie Moeahu defends Mana Whakahono ā Rohe (MWaR) by dismissing critics as victims of "myths" and "political slogans". He argues that because MWaR agreements under Sections 58L–58U of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) are categorised as "participation agreements", they do not transfer statutory authority, create co-governance, or establish a veto.

This defence relies heavily on semantics. In public policy and administrative law, controlling the process can significantly influence the outcome.

David Farrar: We need transparency over when Iwi are paid not to object

Don Brash e-mailed:

Hobson’s Pledge has always stood firmly for the protection of private property rights. When a major infrastructure project directly impacts local communities or land, it is completely right for legitimate, proportionate claims to be recognised and mitigated.

But what is happening right now with the Port of Tauranga expansion is not a defence of property rights. It is something else entirely.

Dr Don Brash: Instead of fixing the RMA, Govt is perfecting the machinery of division

The following is written in Don's capacity as Hobson's Pledge Trustee.

A few weeks ago, Hobson’s Pledge sent the Government an Official Information Act (OIA) request concerning the Gore District Plan and its requirement that farmers and those using the land must assess their use against Ngāi Tahu's cultural values, such as mauri, wairua, whakapapa, and utu.

Deborah Palma: How Clear Property Rights Built the American Frontier

Property was clearly defined, so the future made sense.

In the mid-19th century, the town of Peoria, Illinois, originally established as a French outpost in the 18th century, underwent a period of rapid expansion. Although not a newly founded settlement, its transformation during this period reflects a broader pattern seen across the American frontier. Within a few decades, it evolved into a regional agricultural and commercial hub. This was not the result of luck or central planning. The decisive factor was clear, recognized, and transferable property titles. Farmers knew that the land they cultivated belonged to them. Merchants felt secure investing in warehouses, mills, and river transportation. Families built homes with the expectation that their children would inherit the fruits of that effort. Where property was clearly defined, the future made sense.

Guest Post: Your land, my rules

A guest post by a reader on Kiwiblog:

The Prime Minister wants a culture of ‘yes.’ A New Zealand that builds. An RMA replacement premised on the enjoyment of property rights. He has said so many times, in many rooms, and with great conviction.

Good on him. It is what would-be homeowners need, too.

But Auckland’s actual homeowners got upset about apartments. Then the Prime Minister discovered the word ‘impose.’

Steven Gaskell: The New Land Game - How Councils Could Hand Māori First Dibs on Your Property Without You Noticing

So, you thought Māori wards were just about “representation”? Think again. While everyone’s been busy debating flags, karakia, and consultation quotas, a quieter revolution is taking shape in council back rooms — and it’s got “land” written all over it.

Ani O'Brien: A week is a long time - 19 July 2025

Spotlight on Chris Bishop

He’s consistently one of the highest performing ministers in the Government and there are a couple of things I want to highlight about Chris Bishop this week. First is his excellent speech at the LGNZ conference in Christchurch. It takes a steel spine to stand up in front of a room full of local government egos and tell them to pull their heads in. Standing ovation!

Nick Clark: Towards a system that respects property rights - Tidy tweaks or real change?

After decades of planning gridlock, the government has promised to put property rights at the heart of New Zealand’s resource management system. But will its latest reforms deliver lasting change or just patch up the mess we already have?

The government is proposing sweeping changes across three packages covering infrastructure and development, the primary sector, and freshwater management. The direction is largely positive: streamlining infrastructure consenting, reducing housing barriers, easing regulatory burdens on farmers, and providing greater freshwater flexibility.

Zoran Rakovic - A New Crown, The Same Sword: Power, Hypocrisy, and the Eviction of Selwyn Huts

Ngāi Tahu now owns the land—but the people in the huts must go. We ask: when power changes hands, does justice follow?

Opinion: The settlers of Greenpark Huts did not descend from mountaintops with deeds of conquest. They arrived with huts and hope, making lives on the muddy fringes of Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora. Through decades, generations came to treat those huts not as property but as places of meaning—battered perhaps, but woven into the fabric of ordinary New Zealand life. And now, as ownership passes fully into the hands of Ngāi Tahu, the story is coming to a bitter end. Eviction notices. Legal wrangling. No renewal. No negotiation. Just the cold mechanics of removal.

Zoran Rakovic: Whose Land Is It Anyway? New Zealand’s Property Rights Farce

“Property rights are not about hugging a fencepost. They’re about knowing who’s in charge, who gets the bill, and who reaps the spoils.” — Alchian & Allen, paraphrased for clarity and sanity.

Let’s drop the pretence. New Zealand is fast becoming a textbook case in how to muddle up a perfectly decent nation. The latest chapter in our decline? A slow, clumsy dismantling of one of civilisation’s most basic and boringly essential inventions: clear property rights.

Nick Clark: Fast-track approvals are necessary but should be temporary

The government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform is shaping to be a tale of two approaches: one necessary but potentially problematic, the other more fundamental and promising.

Last weekend, Ministers Chris Bishop and Shane Jones unveiled a long-awaited list of 149 projects that will be included in the government’s controversial Fast Track Approvals Bill.

Nick Clark: RMA Replacement Phase 3 – The welcome focus on property rights

Last Friday the government made a heartening announcement that its phase 3 reforms to the Resource Management Act will make property rights a ‘guiding’ principle.

The RMA has failed in good part because of two fundamental flaws from a property right perspective: first, it allowed all and sundry to object with impunity to a changed land use; second, it denied compensation for the lost value from a successful objection.

Both flaws are bad for New Zealanders’ wellbeing. Unaffordable housing, over-crowded homes and people sleeping in cars is one result. Consenting costs for infrastructure projects exceed $1.3 billion per year and can add many months to getting them built.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Treaty of Waitangi legal "experts"....

Treaty of Waitangi legal "experts", in particular judges, have misunderstood its economic rationale, endangering national prosperity in the process.

The underlying aim of the Treaty of Waitangi, at least in economic terms, was to promote a higher standard of living for Māori and non-Māori alike. This article's purpose is to argue how its words were unambiguously designed to achieve that purpose, but have since been hijacked by political operatives and NZ's legal profession, ruining its original intent. 

Perce Harpham: New Zealand is Whucked!

Wanganui was once the name of what is now written as Whanganui and the “wh” is pronounced as an “f”. This change took about 3 years of public discussion before it occurred so there was some semblance of due legal process. 

I do try to accept such changes even though in 2024 I have lived half of the time since the Treaty was signed and the Queen’s writ became the law. And that law was set down as applying to all the “PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND”. I have respected that law all of my life. But I do have difficulty with the changes in our administration which have occurred without any public discussion or semblance of due legal process.

Reuben Chapple: Maori Land

Property rights come about in one of two ways:

1. What in a pre-legal society might be referred to as “Customary Title.” This is not ownership at all, merely a temporary right of use or occupation, lasting only until extinguished by superior force.

2. Legal ownership. This means the ability to exclude others by the force of law. The underlying requirement is a universally recognised, settled form of civil government that protects property owners against violent dispossession, and provides for ongoing security of tenure, i.e. “time without end in the land.”