17 December 2003 Media Statement
Government proposals on foreshore-seabed
A public domain title vesting ownership in the people of New Zealand and a regime to protect Maori customary rights are
at the heart of the government’s promised mid-December foreshore and seabed policy statement, released today by Deputy
Prime Minister Michael Cullen.
“Those private titles in existence will be respected.
“But new impetus will be brought to efforts by successive governments over a long period to recover these titles,” he
said.
The proposed package was comprehensive, internally coherent and offered benefits to all New Zealanders; greater
certainty of public access, protection of Maori customary rights and better input for Maori into the management of the
marine coastal area.
“The framework, legislation for which will be drafted over the summer for introduction in early March, provides for the
recognition of customary title and customary rights. Both are communal and inalienable but are achieved through slightly
different procedures.
“An independent statutory commission with appropriate expertise will move systematically around New Zealand examining,
according to tikanga Maori, who holds mana and ancestral connection over which areas.
“It will then recommend to the Maori Land Court where customary titles should be issued. The Court will notify all
interested parties of the commission’s recommendations and provide a period of time for objections to be lodged.
“In the event of an objection, it will conduct hearings to determine the issue. If there are no objections, it can issue
a customary title. This title will not impede access but will entitle the holder to greater participation in the
decision making processes for managing the relevant resource than is available to the general public.
“The Maori Land Court will also have the ability to annotate to the customary title specific customary rights at the
whanau, hapu and iwi levels. Examples might relate to the extraction of sand, use of space for waka launching and
preservation of burial sites,” Dr Cullen said.
“These mechanisms will replace the provisions of the Te Ture Whenua Maori Act and the High Court’s common law
jurisdiction in relation to these issues, and the Maori Land Court will be given more resources to equip it for its new
responsibilities.”
Dr Cullen said the customary rights would be strong rights but subject to regulation through the Resource Management Act
to ensure sustainability.
“A number of instruments exist now to protect Maori customary rights, including the RMA, the Fisheries Act and the Local
Government Act. But these systems do not always or everywhere work as well as they could.
“To address these problems, the government will establish and resource 16 regionally based working groups comprising
central government, local government and Maori to reach agreement on how Maori participation in coastal management might
be improved.
“Once these agreements are concluded, they will be formally recognised by the Crown so that the commitments in them
become legally binding.
“Where Maori already exercise effective guardianship over the local coastal marine area, the government will move to
ensure that these roles are able to be maintained,” Dr Cullen said.
“The net effect of these changes will be to give recognition to rights which are not currently recognised and to put
more teeth into existing consultative and participative arrangements with Maori.
“We have consulted extensively as we have developed these proposals including public meetings, hui, across the table
dialogue and 2165 written submissions - and we will continue to consult. The government will have full regard to the
report of the Waitangi Tribunal following the January hearings, and people will have a second opportunity to have input
during the select committee stages of the Foreshore and Seabed Bill.
“I believe the solution we are offering New Zealand today is fair and finely balanced and urge everyone to consider it
in the whole and in a constructive spirit,” Dr Cullen said.
ENDS