Seabed legislation 'evil' says submission

1.00pm


The proposed seabed and foreshore legislation is "evil", Hauraki's Maori Trust Board said in its submission to a selection committee today.

The board made its submission on behalf of 12 iwi groups, including the Coromandel's Ngati Maru, in Wellington. Tainui MP Nanaia Mahuta also outlined her opposition to the committee.

Hauraki's submission labelled the bill "evil and discriminatory and in breach of international human rights".

The board said its people were among the most landless in the North Island, with only 2.6 per cent of dry land staying with iwi.

"The bill trashes us -- it cuts across our legitimate legal rights of due process," the board said.

No region was so intertwined with the foreshore as Hauraki, the trust board said, with Coromandel Peninsula home to more than 6500 Maori archeological sites.

Hauraki viewed the bill as a continuation of attempts since the 1980s by government to alienate iwi from their customary rights to the foreshore.

Meanwhile, Ms Mahuta said she was against the bill because it was not supported by Tainui and prevented iwi from establishing the full extent of their customary rights.

The Labour MP said the proposed law change offered no compensation for the loss of rights and limited the development of the resource under those rights.

Her submission related to her hapu's connection to a small area of coastline, Waharau, on the Firth of Thames.

She said her family's guardianship of the area remained intact, with her marae managing the Waharau campsite in a joint arrangement with the Auckland Regional Council.

Co-operation and open access to beaches and harbours could be achieved by a recognition of the customary rights of tangata whenua within a regional governance framework, she said.

- NZPA