Nats & Maori Party headed for foreshore & seabed showdown

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, February 12th, 2010 - 25 comments
Categories: foreshore and seabed, maori party, national - Tags:

It turns out that the silly ‘no-one owns it’ option for the foreshore and seabed is John Key’s ‘elegant solution’. Here he is defending the proposal:

“It is a concept where you don’t get into the emotional debate of ownership. Now it sounds a bit foreign when you think about it, but no-one owns the air, no one owns the sea and we live happily in that sort of environment.”

Um. John, look up Bernstein v Skyviews & General Ltd – a landowner has owns such airspace above their land as is necessary for the ordinary use and enjoyment of their land and the structures upon it. And my understanding is the Crown owns the sea out to international waters – it has the power to control all use of that sea except for innocent passage and other exceptions under international law. So, not the best comparisons John.

And Tariana Turia has rejected the con straight off. But Key has decided to play hard ball:

“My preference would be to repeal the law, come up with a better solution, have general buy-in and have it be acceptable. I’m not going to shove it down the throats of Maori. If they say they don’t want it, then they don’t want it. And we can always leave the legislation as it is.”

Ouch? See that? ‘This is my offer, take it or leave it’. Perhaps he has seen the Maori Party back down on so many things over the last year he expects they’ll fold again. But this is the foreshore and seabed. This is the big kahuna for the Maori Party. If they were to buy into Key’s silly no ownership option, it would be their death knell. They are not going to be bought off, even by letting Sharples write a new national anthem.

Key is about to find that promising a bed of roses is easy, but building that bed involves dealing with lots of thorns.

This is going to get very interesting.

25 comments on “Nats & Maori Party headed for foreshore & seabed showdown ”

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  1. Tony Milne 1
    12 February 2010 at 10:34 am

    John Key’s solution sounds like Labour’s original proposal (that the F&S be held “in commons”). National (and I’m sure Key) attacked that at the time and Labour backed down and went for Crown Ownership with recognition of Customy Title.

  2. tc 2
    12 February 2010 at 11:01 am

    Nat 2008…F&S Evil trust us we’ll fix it
    Nat 2010…F&S Okey Dokey like S59/EFA are also.

    Rememebr ‘Kiwi not Iwi’ and we now have a raft of preferential treatments being handed out by Johnny clown to keep the MParty ‘in line’, the latest one I’m led to believe being Sharples getting Maori schools exempted from Toecutter Tolley’s mandatory standards rollout…..they get the trial everyone wanted.

    To quote some former South Africans “…I came here to escape systemic racism…”, now I’m not saying Maori shouldn’t get some targetted assistance/programs etc but I can see the Nats leaving us with a springbok tour sized issue if they don’t handle it intelligently and carefully…….which means listening and appearing interested…mmmm.

    One thing’s for sure….the MSM will applaud anything they do simply beacause it’s not Helen anymore.

  3. BLiP 3
    12 February 2010 at 11:40 am

    Ahhh – its all beginning to make sense. This “do nothing” meme has masked the careful setting of an ambush designed to take our minerals from those that own them by those that want them.

    In october last year, stuff reported that National Ltdâ„¢ approved two prospecting permit applications lodged by Australian iron-ore giant Fortescue Metals Group subsidiary FMG Pacific lodged in June. Areas covered by the two-year permits include an 8204-square-kilometre area of seabed adjoining the west coast from Cape Reinga to the Manukau Harbour.

    How handy it would be if no one owned the sea bead.

  4. IrishBill 4
    12 February 2010 at 11:40 am

    And we can always leave the legislation as it is.’

    Jesus. That’s the smiling assassin right there. Either the maori party can suck it up and try to sell this as a win or they can split from national. 2010 is shaping up to be a good year for those who view politics as sport.

  5. marty mars 5
    12 February 2010 at 11:54 am

    yes – now is the time for labour (and their supporters) to really stick it to the maori party – give them heaps and make them pay for their impertinence … and watch as you drive them back to the gnats – so sad really that the left plays into the right’s hands like this

  6. gobsmacked 6
    12 February 2010 at 12:01 pm

    They are heading for three showdowns, at least.

    1) Foreshore & Seabed.

    2) GST (though I reckon the Maori Party will cave on that one)

    3) Whanau Ora

    Here’s Turia (from Waatea News):

    “Associate social welfare minister Tariana Turia says if non-Maori want whanau ora, they can develop their own version.

    In this week’s statement to Parliament, Prime Minister John Key said the Government will ensure Whanau Ora is available to New Zealanders of all races who are in need.

    Mrs Turia says while she doesn’t mind other people having the same opportunities, the Whanau Ora taskforce led by Sir Mason Durie is working on Maori solutions to Maori problems.”

    Key has to cover himself with the Orewa base (so not ‘race-based’), while Turia wants exactly that. Trouble brewing there.

  7. felix 7
    12 February 2010 at 12:37 pm

    Take it or leave it. I sense a shafting coming.

  8. Hine Te Po 8
    12 February 2010 at 12:57 pm

    Kia-ora,

    The left is as bad as the right in the treatment it accords to things Maaori. The aspirations of tangata whenua are labelled “race-based” and hard fought gains are described as “preferential.”

    What we are demanding and what we shall continue to fight for is recognition of our Treaty rights – as depicted in the Te Tiriti o Waitangi (not the English version). But then, even the English version and the principles derived therefrom have yet to be fully comprehended and thus implemented by successive governments of either persuasion.

    I sincerely wish the left would give up on the notion of viewing Maaori as simply another type of Pakeha – we are unique peoples fighting for the right to exist as separate peoples.

  9. prism 9
    12 February 2010 at 1:04 pm

    If the thrust of the policy was voiced as an attack on poverty and poor life outcomes with which Maori were highly motivated to work, Whanau Ora could then be regarded as a major policy focus to be followed by further programs widening the catchment.

    Poverty is high amongst Maori but also other ethnic groups as well. If it was lessening poverty and increasing life opportunities that was the expressed mission, then there would be policy changes to tailor it to different groups Maori amongst them, rather than presenting it as a “Maori exclusive” program.

    • Lew 9.1
      12 February 2010 at 1:08 pm

      I think the point is that those groups need to tailor it for themselves rather than having well-meaning Pākehā (or Māori) do it for them. But there will be a lot in common between such programmes, so a degree of coordination and general guidance would be valuable.

      L

  10. the pinkpostman 10
    12 February 2010 at 2:47 pm

    As a life long Socialist I must say that the Maori Party has been a big disapointment to me.When first formed there was an opportunity for the

  11. the pinkpostman 11
    12 February 2010 at 3:00 pm

    As a life long Socialist the Maori Party has beeen one of disapointment .Here we had a chance for the political Left to form a partnership that would have been of benifit to all. I think Labour missed out by writting the Maori Party off and I dont know how at his stage we can rectify that.Hopefully someone will come up with a solution..However having said that I think the real,downfull of the Maori Party has been its two leaders .Tariana Turia’s unnatural dislike of Helen Clark has destroyed any credibility she had . Sharples love of the good life he enjoys as a leader has corrupted him ,there he is living it up like some English Lord whilst his constituents are unemployed or on low mininum wages. The soon this unworkable party implodes the better ,Then Maori need to negotiate with Labour to really get above Maori problems.

    • Lew 11.1
      12 February 2010 at 3:09 pm

      Pink Postman,

      Perhaps the problem is that you mistake Māori poltics and Māori political loyalties, with their strong communitarian elements, for a sort of brown socialism. This is a common misconception, but it is just that — a misconception.

      That having been said, I agree that the past five years have been an enormous missed opportunity for the NZ left — though I see this as being predominantly Labour’s doing. Turia’s dislike of Clark is not in the slightest bit “unnatural” given the fact that Clark led the biggest single expropriation of Māori rights and resources of the latter part of that century, and even now, Labour doesn’t seem to have figured out where it went wrong.

      Labour has historically treated Māori as an electoral ATM — votes out, occasional policy in. They are deeply in debt, and Māori have — more than seventy years after the original alliance with Rātana — have signalled that they may restrict Labour’s line of credit. The sooner Labour realises that they need to make good on this debt, the better — for the country as well as the party. A Labour/Māori/Green coalition would be a genuine political force to be reckoned with — but it won’t happen until Labour realises where its loyalties lie.

      L

    • gitmo 11.2
      12 February 2010 at 3:22 pm

      I have a suggestion on how you can get over your disappointment.

      Fuck off you patronising twat and get a life.

  12. pollywog 12
    12 February 2010 at 3:07 pm

    I sincerely wish the left would give up on the notion of viewing Maaori as simply another type of Pakeha we are unique peoples fighting for the right to exist as separate peoples.

    Just don’t forget where you came from, the roots of your culture, language and traditions and that you’re part of a wider peoples ( pun intended). In return we as polynesians wont forget you were here first and therefore our hosts…so umm whats for dinner ? 🙂

  13. pollywog 13
    12 February 2010 at 3:17 pm

    Hopefully someone will come up with a solution..

    I already posted mine in another thread.

    Shane Jones and Hone Harawira for the win. The moderate and the radical. Maori starting with the far north would unite behind them on a labour ticket given Keys bungling of anything maori related. They are whanaunga after all and blood is thicker than water.

    It’s just a matter of time before Hone pulls the pin on Turia and Sharples.

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