When is a decision not a decision? When there are issues around mana whenua and ahi kā.
The High Court has ruled Ngāti Whātua ki Ōrākei have exclusive rights or mana whenua over central Auckland, but so do other claimants, and the decision has left iwi in limbo.
The case arose last year when the Crown offered land in Parnell and Grafton to Hauraki tribes for the Marutūahu settlement.
But the iwi involved have been told to sort their differences out together instead of using the court process.
Ngāti Whatūa Ōrākei will consider its next move after the High Court refused to give it a declaration that it holds exclusive mana whenua rights over central Auckland.
Joe Pīhema of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei says "There are benefits in mediation if the heart is open, if what is being said is true, and if well-established tikanga are adhered to."
"The football has been kicked back to us."
According to the decision handed down by Justice Mathew Palmer, the rights of all iwi need to be acknowledged in central Auckland.
Paul Majurey, the spokesman for the Hauraki Collective, says a return to tikanga-based processes is something they are willing to pursue.
"The court has emphasised the tikanga of all iwi: Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Te Akitai Te Wai o Hua, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and the Marutuahu iwi."
"There are other legal avenues available to all parties but we seem to have a very good foundation now on what the judge has said to consider that and see where there might be common ground."