Opinion: In a move that raises questions about its priorities, the government has chosen to allocate $5million of taxpayer money in the Budget to engage in a protracted legal battle against the customary landowners of the Nelson Tenths Reserves.

It’s a decision that lacks economic prudence and, following the Supreme Court ruling in favour of the customary owners in 2017, illustrates another failed opportunity to resolve matters directly.

Instead of throwing good money after bad, the government should reconsider its approach and focus on pursuing a principled and pragmatic solution that serves the best interests of all parties involved.

The case relates to the Nelson Tenths Reserves and cultural lands in the Nelson region, and the Crown’s fiduciary duties concerning this land. For many years, the customary Māori owners, led by kaumātua Rore Stafford, have fought for the Crown to restore the lands to the whānau and hapū who descend from the original owners of the Reserves, who were identified by the Native Land Court in 1893.

This is not a Treaty case, and this is important. It is a case about trust law and the Crown’s legal obligations as the trustee to act in the best interests of the Tenths’ owners, which it failed to do.

In 2017, the Supreme Court, our highest court, ruled in favour of the customary landowners. It decided that the Crown has a legal duty to reserve the Nelson Tenths land for their benefit as well as protect their cultural lands, including papakāinga, across the region.