Deal on foreshore law

The Government and the East Coast tribe of Ngati Porou will today unveil at Parliament the agreement for redress reached in negotiations under the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

The act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown in response to a Court of Appeal ruling that allowed for the possibility of the Maori Land Court awarding freehold title in the foreshore and seabed.

The act extinguished the right of tribes with exclusive, continuous use and occupation of coastal areas to claim customary title under common law in the High Court.