Progressives rethink support for seabed bill

By AUDREY YOUNG

Labour's small coalition partner, the Progressive Party, is set to have a major rethink of its position on the troublesome Foreshore and Seabed Bill.

And the Government may also face the embarrassment of having the divided select committee that heard hundreds of submissions on the bill delivering no report, but individual party statements instead.

Deputy Progressive leader Matt Robson is attracted to the concept of the Crown holding "trusteeship" over the foreshore and seabed rather than Crown ownership, as promoted in the bill, and will take it to his caucus next week.

The trustee concept is also being examined at the 11th hour by members of Labour's Maori caucus.

It has lost a prime driver with Associate Maori Affairs Minister John Tamihere stepping down from the Cabinet pending an inquiry into his financial affairs.

It is also believed that an official in the office of the Prime Minister ordered that any backdoor work on the trusteeship alternative be stopped until Helen Clark and her chief adviser, Heather Simpson, returned from India last Friday.

"Trusteeship" would leave open the possibility that some Maori could claim ownership rights - customary title - in the High Court while overriding legislation would guarantee navigation and access.

Any foreshore and seabed not claimed under customary ownership would be held in trust by the Crown.

Mr Robson said the Progressives had agreed with the motivation for the Foreshore and Seabed Bill, namely the need for certainty in the wake of a Court of Appeal decision issued in June last year.

"But we also entered the select committee with an open mind to look at the various aspects of this quite complicated issue."

The Court of Appeal decision opened the possibility for freehold title to be issued over foreshore and seabed by the Maori Land Court.

The foreshore bill prevents that possibility. It still allows iwi to pursue a common law claim through the High Court for customary title - termed territorial rights in the bill - but debars the court from actually awarding it. Instead the Crown would enter discussions over compensation.

The trusteeship concept would allow court action to run its course.

Asked about speculation that the committee is too divided even to report on this bill, Mr Robson said that would "reflect the reality of the [minority] Parliament".

"If a select committee can't come to a position, it is then up to the Parliament."

The passage of the bill is not dependent on the two Progressives' votes. Labour's 50 [Nanaia Mahuta has leave to cross the floor] and New Zealand First's 13 would still give it a healthy cushion.

The trusteeship concept was promoted to the committee by Auckland University Emeritus Professor Jock Brookfield.