Te Pūrongo Ture

Time is ticking - Trusts Act changes coming soon

As noted in our Hōngongoi issue earlier this year, the Trusts Act 2019 (the Act) comes into force at the end of January 2021. These changes will have a significant impact on the governance and administration of all express trusts in New Zealand. This includes charitable trusts and trusts for the benefit of iwi, hapū and whānau, including those already in existence.

As experts on trusts we have released a five part series, providing an analysis of the key changes under the Act.

1 – Introducing the Trusts Act

A detailed overview of the changes under the Act, the context surrounding those changes, and the steps trustees need to take.

2 – Disclosure of trust information to beneficiaries

A summary of the proposed new rules in relation to providing information to beneficiaries. This includes a focus on the ongoing obligation to make basic trust information available to every beneficiary, and responding to requests from beneficiaries for further trust information.

3 – Duties of trustees

Consideration of the five mandatory duties that cannot be modified or excluded and the 10 default duties that may be modified or excluded (subject to limited exceptions). Most of these trustee duties are generally accepted to already exist, but there are three new ones.

4 – Trustee accountability, liability and indemnities

A discussion of how the new provisions under the Trusts Act will impact trustee liability, including that it will be easier for beneficiaries to question trustee decisions in court. The concept of ‘gross negligence’ is further expanded on. 

5 – Governance and administration

A guide to promote best practice in trust administration as the Act brings with it increased scrutiny of trustees and a higher standard of trusteeship.  

If you require specialist advice on any matter raised in the above series, please contact a member of our Te Waka Ture team. We will be happy to assist you alongside our trusts experts.

We recently celebrated Māori language week with a number of exciting events at both our firm and across the motu.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori ki Chapman Tripp

I ngā wiki kua pahure nei, i whakanui nei mātou o Chapman Tripp i Te Wiki o te reo Māori i roto i te tari, me ngā mahi i whakahaeretia puta noa i te motu. Nā ngā tikanga noho haumaru e pā ki te mate urutā nei o COVID, i tū te kēmu patapatai, me te ataata i runga i te ipurangi, nā ngā mātanga reo o Chapman Tripp i whakarite. I whakarewatia anō hoki tō mātou pukapuka rauemi Māori hou nei ko He Tāpapa Reo. Kei roto i taua pukapuka ko ngā mea pēnei:

• Reo ki te tari
• Ngā kupu mihi
• Whakahua kupu/Mita
• Whakatauākī / whakataukī
• Rauemi
• Ngā Pataka Kupu
• Ngā Mātanga reo

He hōnore nui mā mātou ki te tautoko i ngā pakihi Māori, nā ngā pakihi nei o Huia Bookshop, Tuhi Stationery, Māori Visual Arts business Toi Ātea, me Taputapu Design ngā paraihe mō te kēmu patapatai.

He tau hītori nui te tau nei mō Aotearoa. Atu i te miriona tāngata o te motu nei, tae rā anō ki ngā Chapman Trippers i māia ki te kōrero Māori ki roto i ngā tari me ngā kainga i ngā wā noho haumaru nei o COVID. I māia anō a Chapman Tripp ki te whakanui i te Te Tiriti o Waitangi me Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016 i ō mātou tari katoa o te motu.

He koa katoa mātou i te wairua kipakipa, te wairua māia mo te Wiki o te reo Māori i haruru ai ki roto i a mātou. E whakapae ana mātou, he pērā te tupu haere o te aroha mō te reo Māori i roto i ngā whakahaeretanga katoa o Aotearoa.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori ki Chapman Tripp

We recently celebrated Māori language week with a number of exciting events at both our firm and across the motu. COVID restrictions meant that we used virtual formats for daily quiz questions and a video of the firm’s te reo ambassadors. We also launched our inaugural He Tāpapa Reo Māori booklet, full of wonderful te reo Māori phrases for staff to practice. The booklet includes these topics:

• Reo ki te tari – Reo in the office
• Ngā kupu mihi – Salutations / valedictions
• Mita – Pronunciation
• Whakatauākī / whakataukī – Proverbs
• Rauemi – Resources
• Ngā Pataka Kupu – Online Dictionaries
• Reo Ambassadors

We were proud to support small Māori businesses by sourcing all our quiz prizes from Huia Bookshop, Tuhi Stationery, Māori Visual Arts business Toi Ātea and Taputapu Design. 

Aotearoa also made history this year. Over a million people, including our own Chapman Tripp people, united to celebrate te reo Māori by learning and practising te reo Māori in their offices and homes, which worked well amidst COVID times. We went further this year by promoting Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Ture mo Te Reo Māori 2016 across our offices nationwide.

We were thrilled with the high level of participation and enthusiasm by many of our people during Māori Language Week and believe this trend is reflected across an increasing number of private and public organisations across Aotearoa.

Celebrating Māori language week, we launched our inaugural He Tāpapa Reo Māori booklet, full of wonderful te reo Māori phrases for staff to practice.

Te Ture Whenua Māori (Succession, Dispute Resolution, and Related Matters) Amendment Act 2020

The Te Ture Whenua Maori (Succession, Dispute Resolution, and Related Matters) Amendment Act will come into force in January 2021. Some of the key changes this Act brings are:

1. a new formal dispute resolution that gives parties the option to have a mediator work with them to resolve the dispute, incorporating tikanga Māori as appropriate
2. Māori Land Court Registrars to handle simple and untested succession applications without the need for a hearing
3. owners of a beneficial interest in Māori freehold land to be able to leave that interest by will, allowing Māori to better exercise rights of ownership
4. the tikanga of the relevant iwi or hapu to be considered in determining a relationship of descent for whangai
5. improved access to Māori landlocked land, and
6. wider jurisdiction for the Court to better facilitate matters concerning Māori freehold land such as mortgages, easements, covenants and injunctions.

This reform is intended to: develop the sustainable growth of whenua Māori, improve Māori landowner understanding, increase Māori wealth, and strengthen the connection between Māori and their whenua. It aims to do away with the costly and complex nature of current legislation, which ultimately hinders Māori growth.

Keep an eye out for the second stage of reform – the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill, which was introduced to Parliament in February 2020, and aims to address longstanding issues with rating of Māori land.

Te Hunga Rōia Māori – Zui-ā-Tau

Chapman Tripp is proud to have once again supported this year’s Hui-ā-Tau for Te Hunga Rōia Māori. We have been supporting this event since 2012.

In light of COVID-19, Te Hunga Rōia Māori decided to hold a Zui-ā-Tau, a virtual hui, in late August. Te Waka Ture members and several of our alumni attended the Zui-ā-Tau throughout the motu.

The kaupapa for this year’s conference was “‘Māu te tītī, māku te whewhera. Kei a tāua te matangohi! (“Let’s create the wedge, let’s create the opening. Let’s be successful!”). Panel sessions embraced discussions surrounding Tikanga Māori in the Peter Ellis case and ‘Waikato-Tainui – Past, present and future’.

We would like to congratulate Chapman Tripp solicitors Cameron Jacob-Sauer (Ngāi Te Rangi) and Toni Love (Te Atiawa) on being re-elected to the Hunga Rōia Māori executive. Cameron is a co-representative for the Tāmaki Makaurau region, and Toni is a co-representative for Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Ka nui te mihi!