The Kermadec/Rangitāhua Ocean Sanctuary: Expropriation Free but a Breach of Good Faith

Abstract

This article explores the legal claims at the heart of the dispute surrounding the proposal that New Zealand create an ocean sanctuary surrounding the Kermadec/Rangitāhua Islands. While the author concludes that there is little merit in the claim that the creation of the sanctuary will result in an illegitimate expropriation of the private property inherent in the individual transferable quota conferred by the Fisheries Act 1996 (NZ), the claim that the Crown breached its duty of good faith to Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi is both strong and depressingly familiar.