New Zealand Recognizes a Mountain as a Legal Person
2025-02-05
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1New Zealand's parliament recently passed a law that gives a mountain all the rights and responsibilities of a human being.
2The indigenous Māori people of New Zealand consider the mountain their ancestor.
3The mountain is now known by its Māori name, Taranaki Maunga.
4The Māori people of New Zealand represent about 15 percent of the country's population.
5Taranaki Maunga is a dormant volcano on New Zealand's North Island.
6Snow covers the top of the 2,516-meter-high mountain.
7It is a popular place for tourism, hiking and snow sports.
8The legal recognition of the mountain is one of the steps New Zealand's government has taken to make up for harm the indigenous population suffered in the past.
9The new law makes it known that the Taranaki area was stolen from the Māori after New Zealand was colonized.
10The new law gives Taranaki Maunga all the rights, powers, duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a person.
11The law says a newly created group will be "the face and voice" of the mountain.
12Four members from local Māori tribes and four members appointed by the country's conservation minister will be in the group.
13Paul Goldsmith is the lawmaker responsible for the legal settlements between the government and Māori tribes.
14In a speech to Parliament, he said, "The mountain has long been an honored ancestor, a source of physical, cultural and spiritual sustenance and a final resting place."
15Britain colonized New Zealand in the 1700s and 1800s.
16In 1770, the British explorer Captain James Cook named the volcano Mount Egmont.
17In 1840, Māori tribes and representatives of the British government signed the Treaty of Waitangi.
18The treaty promised the Māori would keep the rights to their land and resources.
19However, the British government began breaking parts of the treaty after that.
20In 1865, the government took a large area of Taranaki land, including the mountain, to punish the Māori for rebelling against British rule.
21Over the next one hundred years, hunting and sports groups helped oversee how the land was used, but the Māori did not.
22Goldsmith told the Associated Press that, in the past, Māori customs connected to the mountain were banned while the government supported tourism in the area.
23The Māori protest movement of the 1970s and 1980s led to increased recognition of the Māori language, culture and rights in New Zealand's law.
24This has included billions of dollars to pay for the harm caused by breaking the Treaty of Waitangi.
25The mountain's legal rights are in place to support its health and wellbeing.
26The law will support traditional uses of the land and calls for conservation work to protect the native wildlife.
27The mountain will remain open to the public.
28New Zealand was the first country in the world to recognize landforms as people.
29In 2014, a law gave personhood to Te Urewera, a large forest on the North Island.
30Government ownership ended and the Tūhoe tribe became its guardian.
31And in 2017, New Zealand recognized the Whanganui River as a human, as part of a settlement with the tribe connected to the river.
32All 123 lawmakers in Parliament supported the new law for Taranaki Maunga.
33The unity of the vote was a change from recent disagreements in New Zealand about proposed changes to the Treaty of Waitangi itself.
34In November, about 40,000 people marched to Parliament to protest a new law with proposed changes to the treaty.
35The protesters said the new law would take away Māori rights and harm the progress that has been made during the last 50 years.
36Most officials do not expect the bill with the proposed changes to become law.
37I'm Andrew Smith.
1New Zealand's parliament recently passed a law that gives a mountain all the rights and responsibilities of a human being. 2The indigenous Māori people of New Zealand consider the mountain their ancestor. 3The mountain is now known by its Māori name, Taranaki Maunga. The Māori people of New Zealand represent about 15 percent of the country's population. 4Taranaki Maunga is a dormant volcano on New Zealand's North Island. Snow covers the top of the 2,516-meter-high mountain. It is a popular place for tourism, hiking and snow sports. 5The legal recognition of the mountain is one of the steps New Zealand's government has taken to make up for harm the indigenous population suffered in the past. The new law makes it known that the Taranaki area was stolen from the Māori after New Zealand was colonized. 6The new law gives Taranaki Maunga all the rights, powers, duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a person. The law says a newly created group will be "the face and voice" of the mountain. Four members from local Māori tribes and four members appointed by the country's conservation minister will be in the group. 7Paul Goldsmith is the lawmaker responsible for the legal settlements between the government and Māori tribes. In a speech to Parliament, he said, "The mountain has long been an honored ancestor, a source of physical, cultural and spiritual sustenance and a final resting place." 8Britain colonized New Zealand in the 1700s and 1800s. In 1770, the British explorer Captain James Cook named the volcano Mount Egmont. 9In 1840, Māori tribes and representatives of the British government signed the Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty promised the Māori would keep the rights to their land and resources. However, the British government began breaking parts of the treaty after that. 10In 1865, the government took a large area of Taranaki land, including the mountain, to punish the Māori for rebelling against British rule. Over the next one hundred years, hunting and sports groups helped oversee how the land was used, but the Māori did not. 11Goldsmith told the Associated Press that, in the past, Māori customs connected to the mountain were banned while the government supported tourism in the area. 12The Māori protest movement of the 1970s and 1980s led to increased recognition of the Māori language, culture and rights in New Zealand's law. This has included billions of dollars to pay for the harm caused by breaking the Treaty of Waitangi. 13The mountain's legal rights are in place to support its health and wellbeing. The law will support traditional uses of the land and calls for conservation work to protect the native wildlife. The mountain will remain open to the public. 14Are other landforms considered people? 15New Zealand was the first country in the world to recognize landforms as people. In 2014, a law gave personhood to Te Urewera, a large forest on the North Island. Government ownership ended and the Tūhoe tribe became its guardian. 16And in 2017, New Zealand recognized the Whanganui River as a human, as part of a settlement with the tribe connected to the river. 17All 123 lawmakers in Parliament supported the new law for Taranaki Maunga. The unity of the vote was a change from recent disagreements in New Zealand about proposed changes to the Treaty of Waitangi itself. 18In November, about 40,000 people marched to Parliament to protest a new law with proposed changes to the treaty. The protesters said the new law would take away Māori rights and harm the progress that has been made during the last 50 years. 19Most officials do not expect the bill with the proposed changes to become law. 20I'm Andrew Smith. 21Charlotte Graham-McLay wrote this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 22________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24indigenous -n. someone or something that is native to a place for a relatively long period of time 25dormant -adj. not currently active 26tourism -n. the activity of traveling to places for enjoyment or the industry that provides food, shelter and activity to tourists 27liability -n. something that you are responsible for such as paying back a loan 28sustenance -n. something that gives support, help and strength; food