On September 19, the panel extended this invitation to Tōpuni Kōkōrangi – the body responsible for co-governance and protection of Te Kāhui Tupua, which is the legal personality of Taranaki Maunga. The Crown agreed to grant Taranaki Maunga legal personhood in 2016, a decision which passed into law in January 2025 and saw the Crown apologise for the confiscation of half a million hectares of land. In legend, Taranaki Maunga came from Taupō, where he fought for the affections of Pihanga, the peak beside Tongariro. He said the decision to bring the maunga into such a contentious project application made it into “a tussle between the matua and the maunga” – himself the matua of mining. He obviously knows what he’s doing, or he wouldn’t have consented to it.”He was more concerned about the invitation to the maunga.