“I am the river and the river is me.” (Maori proverb)

The Parliament of New Zealand voted to recognise this river, revered by the Maori, as a living entity: "It will have its own legal identity with all the corresponding rights, duties and liabilities," declared Attorney-General Chris Finlayson. "The approach of granting legal personality to a river is unique. The new legislation recognises the deep spiritual connection between the Whanganui iwi (tribe) and its ancestral river".

The river is a single living being, "from the mountains to the sea, incorporating its tributaries and all its physical and metaphysical elements," according to the new legislation. The interests of the river will be defended in court by a lawyer representing the tribe and another Government in the same way an adult represents a child before the judge.

The iwi has been fighting since the 1870s to obtain this text and received the sum of 80 million New Zealand dollars (52 million euros) to cover court costs as well as a sum of 30 million dollars to further the health and wellbeing of the River.