Opponents dash fishing deal hopes

Ngai Tahu and other opponents of the Treaty of Waitangi fisheries allocation scheme are meeting to assess their position after a collapse of support for their stand.

Maori were split almost equally between supporting and opposing the allocation scheme.

This week, two North Island iwi withdrew their opposition, giving the commission the support of 65 per cent of Maori.

But hopes that the move would be a breakthrough in the 10-year battle to allocate the $700 million fisheries resource have been dashed because Ngai Tahu and its allies in Iwi Forum have reasserted their opposition.

Commission chairman Shane Jones said that if the scheme was approved, it could be in place by next winter. If it became tied up in litigation, as Iwi Forum has indicated is a possibility, resolution was unlikely within three to five years.

The scheme gives Ngai Tahu $86.3 million in assets but the tribe is demanding almost $100 million.

Mr Jones said Ngai Tahu's sense of grievance about the allocation scheme was matched by the extent of its financial resources to fight the case in court.

"Litigation is a lose-lose situation. If Ngai Tahu choose to litigate, very few tribes can match the depth of their pockets to fight it in court."

- NZPA