Maori land is land owned by Maori and administered by the Maori Land Court under Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 (Maori Land Act). It is essentially land which has never passed out of Maori ownership and is often held by a particular hapu or whanau. The term Maori Land refers to both Maori customary land and Maori freehold land. Maori customary land is that for which the ownership has never been determined and is accordingly not held in a title. It is vested in the Crown but held by Maori and managed accordingly to tikanga Maori (traditional customs and uses). Maori freehold land is land owned by Maori people but is not Maori land in the technical sense although it is sometimes administered by the Maori Land Court under sections of the Maori Land Act. Transactions involving Maori Land are required to be dealt with by the Maori Land Court and the land cannot be removed from Maori ownership without the Court's approval.

Accordingly, Maori Land is administered and regulated under a separate system to land held in general title. The unique nature of Maori land is characterised by:

Council is committed to working with others including government, Maori Land Court, Quotable Value NZ, other councils and Te Puni Kokiri to find solutions to the challenges facing Maori Land. Given the unique legislative, managerial and cultural requirements of Maori Land, a separate zone for Maori Land has been applied in the Kaipara District. Council is committed to working with others including government, Maori Land Court, Quotable Value NZ, other councils and Te Puni Kokiri to find solutions to the challenges facing Maori Land.

Hapu and iwi consider all land within their traditional rohe to be ancestral land even though the vast majority has been progressively alienated from Maori ownership since the time of colonisation. This alienation is a major contributing factor in the position of Maori in most socio-economic statistics.

Council recognises Maori have a special relationship with their ancestral land. It is not seen in terms of its productive or commercial value alone. For Maori it is taonga tuku iho, heritage from the past for present and future generations, establishes tribal and personal identity, is a resting place for the dead, and an important source of spiritual strength.

The Kaipara District contains around 230 blocks of Maori Land. They vary in size with the largest being the 2,981ha Pouto Topu A Block on the Pouto Peninsula. The combined area of Maori Land is around 9,600ha which represents just over 3% of the total district land area. Although blocks of Maori Land are present across the district they tend to be concentrated in a few localities. These localities are Waipoua, Kaihu, Pouto, Ounawhao, Tinopai and Oruawharo.

This Chapter does not specify what land uses can or cannot be done in this Zone. Instead it sets ‘standards’ to make sure that the effects of activities are within an acceptable level for the Maori Land Zone (and where appropriate for the Overlay environments).

As long as the standards are met, landowners have flexibility on what activities they do on their property. For example, Marae and Papakainga are permitted on Maori land so long as they meet the performance standards for matters such as noise, density, setbacks, height, access, traffic generation, earthworks etc. However, if someone wants to exceed the standards, they will need to apply to do the work (lodge a resource consent). Council has an opportunity to approve or decline the consent and to set some conditions on how the activity is done.