The first of more than 20 nationwide meetings has been a promising start to talks around a new Maori Land Service.

Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell hopes the service - which will take over many functions of the Maori Land Court - will strengthen protection and retain ownership of Maori land.

Arai Te Uru Marae chair Tania Williams said different agencies came together at yesterday's wananga in Dunedin with a lot of honesty.

She said they sat down as kanohi ki te kanohi [face to face], and had valuable discussions around what's important to them as Maori land owners.

Williams said the biggest downfall for Maori right now is they're not instructed through childhood about the importance of Maori land.

"It's time now to start training our tamariki as they're growing, with the right amount of information and the right amount of responsibility, so that when they become our age, they will already know their roles and responsibilities to the land."

Today's wananga is at Christchurch's Rehua Marae, with the series finishing in Kaitaia on October 14th.