Poutini Ngāi Tahu have welcomed Trade Me’s ban on raw pounamu listings as a significant step towards protecting the taonga and tackling its illegal trade.
The decision follows years of work by Ngāi Tahu Pounamu to identify and report listings of stone suspected of being obtained illegally.
Poutini Ngāi Tahu Rūnanga co-chair Francois Tumahai, of Ngāti Waewae, says the platform’s support strengthens efforts to protect pounamu.
“To have the country’s largest online platform supporting our position is a big coup.”
The ban covers raw pounamu listings, while carved taonga can still be sold.
Tackling the illegal pounamu trade
Recent prosecutions and seizures have highlighted the scale of the illegal trade.
In June, a mother and son were fined a combined $5,000 for attempting to export 17.9 kilograms of pounamu in July 2024.
Police recovered 820 kilograms of stolen pounamu in Dunedin in 2025. Customs also returned nearly 60 kilograms to Poutini Ngāi Tahu in 2024 after intercepting separate illegal export attempts.
Tumahai says seeing illegally sourced pounamu offered for sale causes deep frustration.
“It gets the blood boiling that’s for sure. But it is what it is, so, what we could do is just work hard to get it removed from these platforms.”
The Ngāi Tahu (Pounamu Vesting) Act 1997 vested ownership of naturally occurring pounamu within the Ngāi Tahu takiwā and adjacent territorial sea in Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Pounamu in the Arahura catchment is owned and managed by Māwhera Corporation.
Trade Me commits to enforcement
Trade Me’s ban applies to all raw pounamu listings, removing the need to establish the stone’s provenance before taking action.
Trade Me marketplace general manager Sally Feinson says the company remains committed to working with Ngāi Tahu Pounamu.
“We value our close working relationship with Ngāi Tahu Pounamu and are committed to supporting their efforts.
“While carved taonga can still be traded, we will continue collaborating through our priority reporting channel to review listings quickly. Any seller breaching our policies faces swift action, including immediate listing removal and permanent bans.”
Protecting whakapapa and taonga
For Tumahai, protecting pounamu is inseparable from the history and identity of Poutini Ngāi Tahu.
“If it wasn’t for pounamu, I wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t exist on Te Tai Poutini. That’s the only reason we are here.
“Our tūpuna bloody fought battles for this stuff. There was bloody massive battles here on the coast, and we died for it.”
He says Trade Me’s decision is one step in a wider effort to stop illegally sourced pounamu being sold across online marketplaces.
“This is going to take some time, but that’s fine we’ll just keep chipping away at it.”
