(1) On the application of the Minister, the court may consider a proposal that any piece of land (whether Crown land, land or an interest in land to which section 8A or section 8HB of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 applies or Maori land) should, by reason of its historical significance or spiritual or emotional association with the Maori people or any group or section thereof, be set aside as a Maori reservation under section 338 of this Act, and make a recommendation to the chief executive or, in the case of land or an interest in land to which section 8A or section 8HB of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 applies, the Minister.