Show Us Your Principles John

The government needs to completely rethink its foreshore and seabed stance said ACT Leader Richard Prebble.

"Minister John Tamihere admitted after the last hui that government `s proposals had not only been rejected by Maori but the government had not received any workable suggestions.

"It doesn't appear to have occurred to the government that this might be because the government's proposals are nonsense.

"I understand that the government has received an equally strong rejection from interest groups that have responded to its proposals.

"The reason for this is not hard to find. The government's so called 4 principles are, on examination, not principles at all but just a statement of policy. They are contradictory. If the government really were interested in certainty instead of creating a new form of title - the public domain - which won't be settled for years, it would have simply legislated that the Ninety Mile court decision was New Zealand law.

"A government that was serious about consultation would have explained why this option is being rejected. There would have been some real intellectual rigour in a discussion document.

"It is extraordinary that the first proper conference involving recognised experts and a representative range of those interested in the foreshore, including Maori, should be at ACT's conference on the foreshore this weekend.

"If Minister Tamihere is really interested in a thoughtful discussion of the issues surrounding the foreshore and seabed he would be attending ACT's conference rather than boycotting it along with the other ministers," Mr Prebble said.

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