Mountain Now Has the Same Rights as a Person
New Zealand has given Taranaki Maunga the legal personality name of Te Kāhui Tupua, which the law views as “a living and indivisible whole”
A mountain in New Zealand considered an ancestor by local Indigenous people has been recognized as a legal person, which means it has been granted all the rights and responsibilities of a human.
The law, which was passed on Thursday, gives Taranaki Maunga all the rights, powers, duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a person. Its legal personality has a name: Te Kāhui Tupua, which the law views as “a living and indivisible whole.” This includes Taranaki and its surrounding peaks and land, “incorporating all their physical and metaphysical elements.”
Government minister Paul Goldsmith, said, “We must acknowledge the hurt that has been caused by past wrongs, so we can look to the future to support iwi to realize their own aspirations and opportunities.” And Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, co-leader of political party Te Pāti Māori, said, “Today, Taranaki, our maunga [mountain], our maunga tupuna [ancestral mountain], is released from the shackles, the shackles of injustice, of ignorance, of hate.”
The snow-capped dormant volcano is the second tallest mountain on New Zealand’s North Island at 2,518 metres. There are several popular trails to the summit that are climbed in winter and summer. In 2014, New Zealand granted personhood to Te Urewera, a forest on the North Island. Government ownership ceased and the tribe Tūhoe became its guardian.
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
