Introduction to Understanding the Foreshore and Seabed debate
On the 19th June 2003 the New Zealand Court of Appeal ruled that the Ngati Apa were entitled to seek “customary title' over parts of the foreshore and sea in their tribal area.
The Ngati Apa was a test case because Maori tribes throughout the country, suffering widespread loss of their tribal lands, were concerned that earlier court decisions had determined that Maori land titles were so weak that they could not apply, even to the dry land adjoining the foreshore. The Marlborough tribe had been denied their claim in the Maori Land Court and had turned to the Court of Appeal.
The June 2003 decision, which had far-reaching ramifications for similar claims by other tribes, did not give the Ngati Apa title over their foreshore and seabed. It merely confirmed they had the right to seek legal confirmation that they did indeed have a legal interest in their foreshore and seabed.
The response of the Labour Government of the time was to announce they would introduce legislation to ensure public ownership of the foreshore and seabed. The considerable public and media controversy which ensued, including claims that Maori were about to block public access to New Zealand beaches, provided the impetus for the formation of the Maori Party in July 2004 which gained four seats in Parliament in the 2005 General Election.
The Foreshore and Seabed Act was enacted on 24th November 2004, and declared that the foreshore and seabed was owned by the Crown and Maori could merely apply for “guardianship” of certain areas. The passing of the Act remained highly contentious and served to strain relations between Maori and Pakeha throughout the country.
A Private Member's Bill, to repeal the Act, was introduced by Tariana Turia MP (co-leader of the Maori Party) in October 2006, but it was defeated.
The first agreement under the Act was signed on October 31st 2008 between the Government and the people of Ngati Porou which protected the customary right of local iwi of the East Cape to the foreshore and seabed but retained public access to the coastal area.
The National Government elected in 2008 indicated their willingness to reconsider the legislation and, after it had entered into a “Relationship and Confidence and Supply Agreement' with the Maori Party, set up a Ministerial Review Panel of three persons to review the Act. They reported back in July 2009 recommending repeal of the Act and even proposing that some interim legislation be put in place while the draft of a new Act was done, But the Government, while indicating the 2004 Act would indeed be replaced, would not commit itself to a timetable. The Prime Minister said he was hopeful for a cross-Parliament consensus on any replacement legislation. As at November 2009 the only movement has been that discussion have begun at Maori tribal hui throughout the country and the Opposition Labour Party has indicated they are not of a mind to join such a consensus.