Foreshore and Seabed Act Review
Te Karere political analyst Tina Wickliffe will be following the Foreshore and Seabed Act Review Panel throughout the country to bring you the latest information from the submission meetings.
For information about the review, dates and venues of the meetings, please click here.
Share your thoughts on the Foreshore and Seabed Act review below.
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Day 4
Pipitea Marae - Te Whanganui-ä-Tara
April 23rd
Panel member Richard Boast, who was ill during the South Island league of the tour, has joined the review in Wellington. Boast is a Victoria University lecturer, and has authored a book on foreshore and seabed, so he knows his stuff. But he's either still unwell or bored stiff - his hand props up his head as submitters present their arguments. I guess it would be like listening to a scratched record; so far only one brave member of the public has voiced support.
A familiar critic is here. John Mitchell was involved with the historic Ngäti Apa Court of Appeal case which found that the Mäori Land Court had the jurisdiction to explore Mäori customary rights to the takutai. Before you can say 'h?koi' Helen Clark's government moved to vest title with the Crown. Mitchell compares Labour's knee-jerk reaction to the recent mishaps in Fiji where President President Ratu Josefa Iloilo has wiped out the island nation's judiciary and constitution in a single press conference after their Court of Appeal declared the Bainimarama government illegal.
That may be a long bow, but it's telling that the former Labour deputy leader and architect of the Foreshore & Seabed Act, Dr Michael Cullen, made his own submission to the panel this week, and it's a significant back-down. Dr Cullen concedes that the act is unacceptable to most Mäori, and in a nutshell should restore the right of iwi to apply to the MLC for customary title.
John Mitchell is unimpressed with Labour's turnaround, but his
comparison of our former prime minister with Frank Bainimarama is a
bit of a stretch. I, for one, cannot imagine Helen Clark in a
black beret, it would be red.
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Day 2
Te Rau Aroha Marae - Ötautahi
April 21st
Southern tribes enjoy the longest geographical stretch of coastline, so it's fair that the review panel devotes two of its hectic 14-day schedule to Te Waipounamu. Te Rau Aroha Marae plays host and, unlike the Bluff hui, this one is well attended. And it's true what they say about southern hospitality, I've never been to this marae, yet I'm allowed to sit with the tangata whenua during the pöwhiri. Even a cat is allowed to roam freely in the wharenui; where I'm from it may well have ended up in the hangi pit.
The first two submissions were made by members of Te Rünanga o Ngai Tahu; one of them is the father-in-law of our presenter Scotty Morrison. James Daniels' submission is punctuated with snide remarks about political parties, and he's particularly pleased that New Zealand First has sunk to the 'bottom of the seabed' for its part in supporting the act. He's also got a beef, and wants to know why the panel hasn't held forum exclusively for iwi. The short notice is also a sore point; one of the submitters tells me he hastily prepared his submission in half-an-hour.
Chair Hana O'Regan explains that the schedule has essentially been determined by political expediency. The panel must make its non-binding recommendations by the end of June; the government is then expected to respond before the year is out. Hana tells the hui that if National, for example, should repeal the act or explore legislative alternatives, this will be done earlier in the term, and definitely not in an election year.
This leaves an air of optimism that repeal isn't a pipe dream, and if done earlier rather than later, National has time to appease those who're worried Mäori are going to stop them building sandcastles on the beach. On the flip side it also gives the Mäori Party more time to get foreshore and seabed off the political agenda should its Tory mates maintain the status quo.
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Day 1
Rëhua Marae, Motupohue
April 20th
Nearly six months after politically marrying the Nats, the Maori Party's confidence and supply baby, the Foreshore & Seabed Act review, is delivered. It kicks off in Bluff, where the oysters are fat, and the ocean glistens with the promise of bountiful seafood. Unfortunately, seafood is the only thing in abundance, the turnout at Rëhua Marae is low, mostly aunties and uncles (it's a Monday), and only a handful make submissions to their niece, cultural expert Hana O'Regan and former High Court Justice and legal luminary Eddie Durie. The third member of the panel Päkeha academic Richard Boast has taken ill.
Before cynicism sets in, we hear that many whänau couldn't make the hearing because they're away 'birding' or collecting tïtï. The mutton bird season opened at the beginning of April, which means some whänau are away harvesting for up to three months. One of the uncles is concerned the birders won't get a say. But Hana doesn't seem worried about their absence; she knows she'll get a bucket of birds out of it.
Local hapu like Ngai Tuahiwi have been gathering tïtï for generations, it's an integral part of their economic and cultural heritage. The fact that some of the relies are away on remote islands surrounded by the rough seas of Te Ara o Kiwa (Foveaux Strait) says more to the review panel than any rhetoric or political slogan. It's a poignant reminder of the unbroken relationship these people have with their marine, coastal and ocean environment. But under the act they're unable to illustrate an unbroken relationship to lands contiguous to the foreshore and seabed. It's a cruel irony.
I hear they had tïtï on the table at lunch. I
missed out, but I'm not fussed, one of the poua (Ngai Tahu for
koro) told me the tïtï are still a bit small.
