Memorialised land (section 27B)
The Tribunal cannot recommend the return of privately-owned land to Māori, and cannot recommend the Crown to acquire privately-owned land. The only exceptions to this are noted in sections 8A to 8HJ of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. One of these exceptions is a section 27B memorial.
What is a section 27B memorial?
A section 27B memorial is a memorial which is placed on private land that has previously been owned by a state-owned enterprise. This memorial notes that the Tribunal can recommend the return of that land to Māori.
For this to happen, the Tribunal must first inquire into and report on any relevant claims relating to that land. If the Tribunal finds that a claim relating to that land is well founded, it can make a binding recommendation to the Crown that it purchase the land and return it to Māori ownership as a way of settling a claim. This process is also known as resumption.
Generally, an owner of memorialised land has no right to be heard on questions that arise in the Tribunal’s proceedings in relation to that land. This restriction is intended to prevent the landowner, including a landowner who has purchased the land with notice of the possibility of its resumption, from then challenging the hearing or settlement of a claim relating to that land. However, the landowner may be heard on strictly factual matters relating to that land.
Applications to remove a section 27B memorial
Private land owners can apply to the Waitangi Tribunal to remove a section 27B memorial from a certificate of title. This is in accordance with sections 8D to 8H of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. There is no application fee.
The Waitangi Tribunal’s Guide to Practice and Procedure contains further information, and templates of the forms needed to remove a section 27B memorial.