By VERNON SMALL
The Alliance's Willie Jackson will today ask his party to invoke the Coalition's "agree to disagree" clause over a law to ban new marine farms.
He says the ban will harm Maori economic prospects.
"I want to vote against it, but I want the Alliance to vote against it too," he said yesterday.
Mr Jackson attacked ministers and Labour's Maori MPs for approving the ban, due to be debated in Parliament this week.
But he denied it was another challenge to Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton, who has faced criticism from within his party for being too conciliatory towards Labour.
"I certainly believe this should be a differentiation issue and I don't see it as a challenge to Jim at all," he said. "When Labour proposes and puts this type of legislation through it's a challenge to us as Maori MPs.
"We are not opposed to more efficient means of managing fisheries resources, but that should not adversely affect our people who in good faith invested millions ... in a process which has now been made redundant."
The ban, contained in the Resource Management (Aquaculture Moratorium) Amendment Bill, would stop all existing and new applications for marine farms.
But Mr Jackson said current notified applications at least should be allowed to run their course.
He was disappointed that Alliance cabinet ministers had approved the move, but they could not be expected to oppose it when Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia had agreed to it.
He said that the issue was "a defining moment" for Labour's Maori MPs.
Ngati Kahungungu had invested about $250,000 in their application and others such as Hauraki, Te Arawa, Whakatohea and Ngai Tamanuhiri had thousands of dollars at stake.
The ban also has been opposed by groups representing marine farmers and by Pacific Marine Farms, owned by the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission.
But Environment Minister Marian Hobbs has said the moratorium is needed to allow local authorities to upgrade their coastal plans.
The ban on applications being processed would stay.
"There has to be a cut-off point somewhere."
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