Prime Minister John Key yesterday raised for the first time
the prospect of not repealing the Foreshore and Seabed Act if
there is no agreement on what should replace it.
He voiced what he called a note of caution - "it is going to
take realism on both sides" - but it is thought to have been
aimed more at iwi leaders.
It suggests negotiations are about to get difficult.
Maori Party co-leader and Maori Affairs Minister Pita
Sharples said he believed the policy was headed towards "a
form of co-management".
But his Maori Party colleague Hone Harawira said Mr Key's
words were "code" for not wanting to do anything meaningful.
Mr Key made his comment at Te Tii marae in Waitangi yesterday
just before meeting the iwi leadership group (ILG) - a small
group the Government consults on major Maori issues.
The group is assuming greater importance because the Maori
Party is seeking the agreement of the ILG on some big issues,
such as the emissions trading scheme and the foreshore and
seabed, before it will consent to a compromise with National.
A formal review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act has been
completed as promised in the confidence and supply agreement
between National and the Maori Party.
Mr Key said last November a repeal of the Act was "likely".
Yesterday, he told reporters a solution was "potentially
close".
"But we are at the point of all negotiations where we need to
see if we can make progress.
"In the end, there's always the options I outlined [on the
marae] which is the legislation stays on the books as it is,
or there is a repeal and full access to the courts. But I
think there is a better way through for the majority of
circumstances."
Dr Sharples said Maori did not have a concept of ownership
but wanted guardianship or kaitiakitanga.
"I think the way it is heading at the moment is a form of
co-management and I think it is going to take a lot more
work."
Asked if he would be happy with the Crown keeping ownership
if there was a way of providing kaitiakitanga, he said "No, I
wouldn't really be happy, but if the iwi sees that is a
possibility, fine by me.
I think what they do prefer is a tipuna [ancestral] title.
It's like having mana over the foreshore and seabed."
Mr Harawira said he wanted Maori title to be recognised but
with inalienable public access to address fears of Pakeha.
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