25 January, 2004

Greens endorse foreshore stand

The Green position on the Foreshore and Seabed has been endorsed at the party's annual policy conference in Dunedin today (Sunday).

The Green Party believes that public access to the foreshore can be guaranteed within a framework that recognises Maori customary title and Kitiakitanga, which will also protect the environment. It should be clarified in law that this ancestral collective title cannot be converted into individual freehold and sold.

"The position endorsed by party members at today's conference session is that any removal of customary title amounts to confiscation," said Green Co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons.

"We believe this arrangement is a more genuine and enduring guarantee of responsible public access than crown ownership as proposed by the government. As we've seen with rail, Telecom and our forests, crown ownership today is no guarantee of crown ownership tomorrow.

"Instead, our proposals provide a durable solution for the foreshore, grounded in honouring Te Tiriti.

"We have yet to see the final shape of the government's planned legislation for the Foreshore and Seabed. Our response will be grounded on the principles endorsed today," said Ms Fitzsimons.

ENDS

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