Mike Butler: Tribunal’s coastal conjuring

More evidence that the Waitangi Tribunal makes it up as it goes along appears in its latest blockbuster titled Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 Inquiry Stage 1 Report.

Predictably, the tribunal “found” that “the procedural and resourcing arrangements supporting the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 breached the Treaty and prejudicially affected Maori”.

Why “predictably”? The tribunal almost without exception recommends in favour of claimants and has done so for decades.

Frank Newman: It's a Win! Of Sorts...

There is no doubt the announcement by Minister Paul Goldsmith that the Marine and Coastal Area Act is to be amended to reaffirm Parliament’s intentions when it passed the Act in 2011, is good news worthy of applause.

The Minister says the changes include:

• Inserting a declaratory statement that overturns the reasoning of the Court of Appeal and High Court in Re Edwards, and the reasoning of all High Court decisions since the High Court in Re Edwards, where they relate to the test for CMT.

NZCPR Newsletter: MACA Misinformation

Last month, the new Government announced a timetable for implementing their Coalition promise to restore the Marine and Coastal Area Act to what Parliament had originally intended. This was in response to activist judges misinterpreting the law in such a way that Maori tribal groups were on track to gain control of New Zealand’s entire coastline right out to the edge of the 12 nautical mile Territorial Sea.

Hon Paul Goldsmith: Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. 

“Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied an area from 1840 to the present day, without substantial interruption.

“However, last year the Court of Appeal in Re Edwards made a ruling which changed the nature of the test and materially reduced the threshold.

“The Government does not agree with this change, and wants to ensure the wider public has confidence these tests are interpreted and applied consistently.

The Leighton Smith Podcast: Dr Muriel Newman on the danger to the governance of NZ, the Marine & Coastal Area Act

            Click image to listen

Muriel Newman and her organisation NZCPR (New Zealand Centre for Political Research) have a long standing campaign to prevent a tribal takeover of NZ’s foreshore and seabed.

With Muriel, we cover the danger to the governance of NZ ie, the Marine & Coastal Area Act, a common electoral role, media, radicalisation and its growth and the danger of a return to the Dark Ages.