Mountain Gets the Same Rights as People

New Zealand has transformed a mountain sacred to the Māori into a legal person — giving it rights, say advocates, akin to those of living beings.

“Today, Taranaki, our maunga, our maunga tupuna, is released from the shackles … of injustice, of ignorance, of hate,” said Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, a Māori leader and descendant of the Taranaki tribes.

Parliament passed the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill unanimously, granting Taranaki Maunga full rights and protections. The law recognises the mountain as a single legal entity, called Te Kāhui Tupua, with four representatives from Māori iwi (tribes) and four appointed by the government to govern its wellbeing. This move follows earlier steps where natural entities, such as the Whanganui River and Te Urewera forest, were also granted personhood — expanding a legal framework that honours Indigenous perspectives and strengthens conservation under new models.