Government close to answer on seabed claim

By RUTH BERRY, political reporter

The Government's plans for resolving Maori claims to the foreshore and seabed will be outlined to the Cabinet today.

But a weekend hui has left the vexed ownership issue unresolved.

Tomorrow, a group of MPs and ministers led by Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen, will meet to work through some of the detail of the plan.

A framework for negotiation is likely to be issued this week or next.

Intensive lobbying is continuing, and Maori MPs are prepared to stand fast on the issue.

But Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia is warning Maori to be pragmatic.

Attorney-General Margaret Wilson, Labour's Maori MPs and members of Parliament's justice and electoral committee reiterated the Government's foreshore and seabed position at the hui in Taupo over the weekend.

The strength of feeling over the issue was clear at the hui, but the Government MPs emerged largely unscathed.

Ms Wilson and Mr Horomia said the discussion had been constructive and would be fed into "the process".

Much of the debate focused on the meaning of the word "ownership", as there were cultural differences around what it meant, Ms Wilson said.

Confusion about concepts and terms such as customary rights and title also had to be resolved.

For the first time Ms Wilson said the Government would protect customary title.

It has previously promised only to protect customary rights.

Ms Wilson said this was not a change in course, as the Government believed they were the same thing.

Opinion at the hui was divided on that point, but it remains unclear what the Government is promising to protect for coastal iwi and hapu.

It is still promising to protect public rights of access to the coast and sea.

The hui was staged as Ms Wilson and the Government start a high-risk strategy to reach agreement with central North Island claimants.

The Weekend Herald revealed that the Government's goal is to settle the $500 million claim within two years, increasing the likelihood of all outstanding claims being finalised before 2015.

Ms Wilson said for the first time at the weekend that the Maori Land Court's powers would be altered to prevent it awarding exclusive foreshore or seabed freehold title to iwi, who last week asserted ownership of both.

"I think the court's powers are going to have to be changed to achieve what Maori want," she said.

She believed the changes would enhance and expand the court's powers "to enable it to give full expression to customary rights".

The Government is reviewing a raft of marine-related pieces of introduced or proposed legislation as a result of an Appeal Court ruling that said iwi had a right to claim customary title to the foreshore and seabed.

Ms Wilson said aquaculture reform legislation expected to be introduced next month would be delayed unless an early resolution was reached.

Local government and environment select committee chairwoman Jeanette Fitzsimons said the Cabinet last week gave the committee a six-month extension on reporting back the Marine Reserves Bill.

A request for a delay had been planned before the court decision, but the move suited the Government's new plans.

There is speculation the bill may be changed to enable iwi to exercise customary rights within the reserves.

Ms Wilson ruled out any immediate strengthening of the treaty clause in the Resource Management Act, which the Waitangi Tribunal has repeatedly said is too weak.

But she said greater requirements might be placed on local government. Councils will be in charge of tendering marine farms under the Government's aquaculture plans.

At the hui, Massey University Maori Studies professor Mason Durie warned the Government against repeating the mistake of presenting Maori with a set of non-negotiable points.

He said the aim of the negotiations should be to harmonise the Government and Maori positions.

Legislation should endorse areas of agreement, and leave options for future change where disagreement persisted.

He said the position of Maori as the indigenous people of New Zealand needed better constitutional recognition.