Terms of Use & Copyright

1. Copyright notice

All written content, research, analysis, compilations, tables, figures, redactions, and the structure and selection of source material made available through the Muaūpoko Secure Document Vault (the “Vault”) are © 2026 F. Hill. All rights reserved.

Underlying source documents, oral histories, photographs, maps, and tribunal exhibits remain the property of their respective rights-holders, including hapū and whānau of Muaūpoko, the Waitangi Tribunal, the Crown, and other archival institutions. Their inclusion in the Vault does not transfer any rights, nor does it grant the viewer any licence to reproduce them.

No part of the Vault may be reproduced, transmitted, republished, adapted, translated, sold, or incorporated into any other work — in whole or in part, in any medium — without the prior written consent of the author. Brief quotation for the purposes of bona fide academic review or hearings of the Waitangi Tribunal is permitted, provided full attribution is given.

2. Access tiers

Access is granted at the sole discretion of the administrator. Each registered user is reviewed and assigned a tier:

• Tier 1 — full access to all material, including unredacted and culturally sensitive content.
• Tier 2 — access to redacted versions only.
• New user — pending review; no document access.

Access may be downgraded, suspended, or revoked at any time, with or without notice.

3. Permitted use

You may use the Vault only for the purpose for which access was granted to you — typically Waitangi Tribunal proceedings, academic research, or whānau reference. You must:

• Treat all content as confidential unless explicitly marked otherwise.
• Respect tikanga Māori and the mana of the people, whenua, and kōrero referenced in the material.
• Acknowledge the author and source whenever permitted quotation is used.

4. Prohibited conduct

You must not:

• Copy, reproduce, screenshot, photograph, screen-record, or otherwise capture content shown in the viewer.
• Print, save, download, or extract documents except where the administrator has explicitly enabled download for a specific document and user.
• Share, transfer, lend, or sell your login credentials, or allow any other person to use your account.
• Distribute, republish, post on social media, or quote any portion of the material without prior written permission.
• Attempt to circumvent watermarking, signed-URL expiry, viewer protections, rate limiting, or any other security control.
• Use automated tools (scrapers, headless browsers, bots) to retrieve or index content.
• Re-identify or attempt to re-identify any individual whose information has been redacted.

5. User-submitted comments and feedback

The viewer allows you to submit comments or feedback against a document, optionally tied to a specific page. By submitting a comment you agree that:

• You retain ownership of what you write, but you grant the administrator a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual licence to store, display, moderate, reply to, edit for formatting, hide, and delete your comment in connection with operating the Vault.
• All comments are pre-moderated. They are not visible to other users until an administrator approves them, and may be rejected or removed at the administrator’s sole discretion, with or without reason.
• You will not submit content that is defamatory, harassing, obscene, unlawful, breaches confidentiality or suppression orders, identifies any person whose information has been redacted, or is culturally inappropriate or contrary to tikanga Māori.
• You may edit or delete your own comment only while it is still pending review. Once a comment has been approved (or an administrator has replied), it forms part of the record and can only be modified or removed by an administrator.
• You are responsible for the accuracy of anything you submit and for any consequences that follow from it.

6. Watermarking, logging & audit

Every page rendered in the viewer is watermarked with your email address and a timestamp. Every document access, download, acknowledgement, administrative action, comment submission, moderation decision, and notification delivery is logged with your identity, IP address, and user agent. Logs are retained for audit purposes and may be reviewed at any time. Suspected misuse will result in immediate suspension of access and may be reported to the Waitangi Tribunal, law-enforcement, and any other body the author considers appropriate.

7. Disclaimer

The material is provided “as is” for the purposes described above. While care has been taken to ensure accuracy, no warranty is given as to completeness, fitness for any particular purpose, or freedom from error. The author accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance on the material.

8. Termination

The administrator may suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without notice, where these terms have been breached, where access is no longer required, or for any other reason at the administrator’s discretion. On termination, any rights granted to you under these terms cease immediately.

9. Changes to these terms

These terms may be updated from time to time. The current version will always be available at this URL. Continued use of the Vault after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

10. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of Aotearoa New Zealand. Any dispute will be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts.

11. Contact

For permissions, takedown requests, access queries, or any other matter relating to the Vault:

• admin@muaupokoreport.online
• Or use the secure contact form.

Author: F. Hill — Muaūpoko Report, Aotearoa New Zealand.