Foreshore and seabed: Govt to pass marine and coastal areas legislation despite Supreme Court ruling

Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says the Government intends to pass the Marine and Coastal Area bill by the end of October. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Government is pushing forward with controversial legislation that affects Māori customary rights to the foreshore and seabed after a Supreme Court ruling raised questions over whether the coalition would consider the legislation necessary.

Today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith confirmed the Government intended to pass the Marine and Coastal Area (Maca) Bill by the end of October.

It comes after a series of court decisions regarding what the test should be for Māori to gain customary rights over a marine area.

A landmark 2023 Court of Appeal decision criticised the second limb of the test for customary marine title, saying the requirement for groups to have held exclusive use of an area since 1840 was too high a bar.

The ruling was expected to essentially lower the test for iwi to be awarded customary title in parts of coastal New Zealand.

In July 2024, the Government introduced legislation to overturn that Court of Appeal decision, arguing it gave too much power to iwi and hapū over what happens in too much of the country’s coastal areas.

The move is not unexpected as it was part of the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement.

Goldsmith said the bill was aimed at ensuring the Maca tests were interpreted and applied as originally intended.

This prompted fierce criticism from some parts of Māoridom, including Ngāi Tahu, which said the Government was taking New Zealand “back to the dark ages”.

“This is not the National Party that Ngāi Tahu knows and has had an intergenerational relationship with.”

Since then, the Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Appeal “erred” in its decision to ultimately ease the test for Māori to gain customary rights for use of the foreshore and seabed, raising questions about whether the Government would continue forward with the legislation.

Goldsmith said the Government would proceed with the bill because the Supreme Court decision did not go far enough.

“Therefore, we will progress with the bill currently before the House, which ensures these tests for applications directly with the Crown, or through the courts, are upheld as originally intended.

“If passed, the test will apply to any court decisions made since the Government announced its policy on July 25, 2024, and all undetermined applications in either the court or Crown engagement pathways.”

He said Customary Marine Title gives the holder valuable rights, including refusing resource consents in the area, such as for renewals of some private assets like wharves, or aquaculture expansion.

“All New Zealanders have an interest in the coastal waters of our country, so Parliament deliberately set a high test in 2011 before Customary Marine Title could be granted.”

Goldsmith said the Government intended to pass the legislation by the end of October 2025.

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.