Turia spurns Key's option on foreshore and seabed

Tariana Turia. Photo / Anthony Phelps

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia has rejected the idea of leaving the foreshore and seabed as a no-man's land with neither the Crown nor iwi having ownership.

The Herald reported yesterday that one of the options government had presented to iwi leaders as a replacement for the Foreshore and Seabed Act was for neither Maori nor the Crown to own it. Instead some form of co-management could be negotiated.

Speaking on Radio New Zealand, Prime Minister John Key said it would remove much of the emotional debate about ownership.

However, Mrs Turia disagreed.

"This is an issue of justice. I still believe it's an issue of justice and should be treated as such."

Her preference was for iwi and hapu to be able to either go to court to seek ownership or to negotiate with the Crown over title and rights. However, she said it would depend on what individual hapu and iwi wanted.

"My preference would be to repeal the law, come up with a better solution, have general buy-in and have it be acceptable," Mr Key said.

"But I'm not going to shove it down the throats of Maori. If they say they don't want it, then they don't want it. And we can always leave the legislation as it is."

National and the Maori Party are also heading for the battlefields over GST. The Maori Party is strongly opposed to increases in GST but its confidence and supply agreement with the Government obliges it to support the Budget.