Public Issues

September 2009 - Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004

The Ministerial Review Panel on the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 has presented its report, and 85% of the submissions favoured repeal of the Act. The review panel agrees with this view, and that the process of balancing Maori property rights in the foreshore and seabed with public rights and public expectations must be started again.

They suggest four options to proceed after repeal. The judicial model, that is to return to the Court process which was interrupted by the Foreshore and Seabed Act; the staged settlement model, based on negotiations between hapu and iwi and the Crown; the national settlement model, a single nation-wide settlement or the mixed model, which combines a number of discrete components of a national settlement, allocation of rights and interests, local co-management, and an ability to gain more specific access and use rights. This appears to be the preferred option for those who made submissions.

The Government has indicated that it will make a response by the end of August.

The report can be viewed at www.justice.govt.nz