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Maori could soon have the right to go court and test their customary rights to the foreshore and seabed.
National and the Maori Party have begun a review of the act and it's clear the Maori Party is expecting the controversial law to be radically changed.
But Prime Minister John Key is vowing no New Zealander will lose their access to the beach.
Click here to read some Foreshore and Seabed Act review FAQs .
The foreshore and seabed law, which was passed in 2004, caused
such anger that 40,000 marched on parliament.
Now as part of the Maori Party's deal with National, the act will
be reviewed.
The Maori Party clearly expect a major overhaul of the act,
possibly repealing it all together and allowing Maori to go to
court to test their customary rights, a path taken away when Labour
was in power.
The review team, headed by High Court judge Eddie Durie, reports in
June but the government already knows one thing.
"The basic rights of New Zealanders access to the foreshore and seabed would have to be preserved in any new legislation that might be proposed," says Key.
And iwi who took the original court action say beach access was
never the issue.
"No-one has been able to show me yet in my corner of the world
which iwi it is that's preventing access to the seabed and
foreshore," says Richard Bradley of Rangitane.
The Maori Party says freehold title isn't the aim either.
"These are about customary rights which are held jointly between hapu members. They are not held individually rights so therefore the opportunity to sell, or to do all these things the Labour government claimed would happen, were not there," says Tariana Turia, Maori Party co-leader.
Turia says they want to put right "an injustice that should never have happened".
"But we do not want to create another injustice for anyone else," she says. "We have said the Act should be repealed, and we are certainly open to hear what the panel might recommend about the best way forward for the country."
Her co-leader Pita Sharples says the review is extremely important to the Maori Party.
"The issue goes back to the foundations of our party, the identity of our people as tangata whenua, and us fulfilling our promises to the people," he says.
But is National simply opening up a can of worms here?
"It does have the potential to be extremely divisive and it does
lack credibility given that National was promoting the iwi versus
Kiwi division as a political ploy just a couple of years ago," says
Phil Goff, Labour leader.
That was under then National leader Don Brash. Under John Key the
relationship with Maori now could not be more
different.
"The National-led government recognises the concerns of the Maori
Party around the Foreshore and Seabed Act," Key says.
"Likewise, the Maori Party recognises the public interest and concern of all New Zealanders to ensure that their usage of the foreshore and seabed is protected.
"Our government takes pride in delivering on this part of the confidence and supply agreement between the two parties.
"It's an agreement that was intended to form the basis for an enduring and constructive relationship between our two parties.
"The Maori Party, and Rahui Katene in particular, have worked
closely with Attorney General Chris Finlayson on the terms of
reference for this review."
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Post new commenttra said on 2009-12-17 @ 00:36 NZDT: Report abusive post
I hope these people realise our land's they so carelessly sold off in this fashion. Are ancetral Lands and have connection to the people in those area's in such ,that they have urupaa(sacred berial site's) Very tupu