A Review of the Law and Governance around Haka Ka Mate: A Clash and Contest of Worldviews and Legal Systems

This paper reviews the New Zealand Haka Ka Mate Attribution Act 2014 and its implementation. It addresses whether the interests of Ngāti Toa Rangatira relating to Ka Mate are sufficiently protected by this Act, in theory and in practice. It starts with an examination of the interests and cultural significance of Ka Mate to Ngāti Toa, before addressing why Ka Mate cannot be protected via standard Western intellectual property regimes. The paper then assesses the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Act 2014 in the context of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) and the Waitangi Tribunal Wai 262 Report. The effectiveness of Act is subsequently analysed vis-à-vis empirical data on how Ngāti Toa assert their interests in relation to external parties’ use of Ka Mate. The paper concludes that Ngāti Toa’s kaitiaki (guardian) relationship with Ka Mate could be better protected than it is under the Haka Ka Mate Act 2014, and that better protection of this kaitiaki relationship would support better organisational systems to practice kaitiakitanga (guardianship).