Māori Land Court ruling on ancient waka sends funding decision to Cabinet

Cabinet must decide whether to fund excavating a double-hulled waka on Rēkohu (Chatham Islands), carbon-dated to 1440–1470. The Māori Land Court ruled the entire vessel has been "found," meaning the Ministry for Culture and Heritage's duty to care for it "cannot be avoided, delegated or postponed." The Ministry had argued its obligations covered only the 750 fragments already recovered — about 10% of the waka.