'[5] What is deemed to be a taonga has major political, economic and social consequences in New Zealand and has been the subject of fierce debates as the varying definitions and interpretations have implications for policies regarding such things as intellectual property,[6][7] genetic engineering[8] and allocation of radio frequency spectrum.
Fundamental to taonga are the relationships they exist in, including the people that made or cared for them, the communities they came from, and the ways they are connected to specific aspects of Maori culture.
The English-language version of the treaty guaranteed the Māori signatories "full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties".
The Māori-language version of the treaty, which the vast majority of the signing parties endorsed (461 of 500 signatures[10]), used the word taonga to translate the English phrase "other properties".
It was proposed that the language be official for all purposes enabling its use as of right in Parliament, the Courts, Government Departments, local authorities and public bodies.
[18] In November 1996, various members of Te Roroa filed a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal concerning the Maunganui block, the Waipoua Forest, Lake Taharoa and surroundings, and the Waimamaku Valley in Northland.
A part of the Wai 38 claim related to taonga, in particular: wahi tapu "spiritual places of special significance to tangata whenua", and wakatupapaku (burial chests deposited in ana (caves and crevices)).
The claimants commissioned a report from Professor D. Williams on traditional ecological knowledge, ethnobotany and international and New Zealand law on intellectual property and conservation.
[21] "Ko Aotearoa Tēnei" considers more than 20 Government departments and agencies and makes recommendations as to reforms of "laws, policies or practices relating to health, education, science, intellectual property, indigenous flora and fauna, resource management, conservation, the Māori language, arts and culture, heritage, and the involvement of Māori in the development of New Zealand’s positions on international instruments affecting indigenous rights.