Govt breached treaty over foreshore and should call halt says tribunal

By AUDREY YOUNG

The Waitangi Tribunal has found that the Government breached the Treaty of Waitangi in a rushed development of foreshore and seabed policy and recommends that it stop everything and consult Maori better.

"We do not attempt to prescribe the nature or outcomes of that dialogue," the report says.

"Whatever happens, we hope for an outcome that is faithful to the vision of the treaty, two peoples living together in one nation sharing authority and resources and fundamental respect for each other."

The report is due to be publicly released on Monday morning. But the Herald understands that it recommends that claims to the foreshore be allowed to run their course in the Maori Land Court.

It also calls for consistency in Government policy, saying if title of rivers and especially lakes have been offered to Tuwharetoa and Te Arawa, the same could be done with the foreshore.

And it commended the co-management of Okahu Bay in Auckland between Ngati Whatua and Auckland City Council. The tribunal's findings are not binding.

It follows an urgent hearing on the matter in February in response to Government proposals released in December after the Court of Appeal ruled that the Maori Land Court could issue freehold title over the foreshore and seabed.

The proposals would prevent the issuing of freehold title, and guarantee public access to the beaches. They would also allow ancestral customary title to be registered against the entire coastline and Maori given greater management and consultation roles over it.

Customary use rights for various iwi, hapu and whanau would also be recognised and protected through the Maori Land Court.

The urgent hearing was held because the Government planned to introduce legislation on the matter in March, though that is thought to be running behind schedule.

The report says that the Government policy breaches the Treaty of Waitangi by denying Maori access to the court to establish property rights.

"We think that a policy that removes the means whereby property rights can be declared is a policy which in effect removes the rights themselves."

It says that not until the Maori Land Court has investigated the extent of customary rights can the issue of inalienability be addressed.