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A member of a Bay of Plenty group awarded customary rights and title to parts of the coastal area around Opotiki is questioning what right the Landowners Coalition of Whangarei has appealing the High Court decision that went in favour of the tribal group.
Karen Mokomoko from Te Whanau o Mokomoko says the appeal is frustrating when the six groups of the Whakatohea tribe involved in the case want to proceed with drawing up the orders to implement the judgement. See Claimants frustrated
The Landowners Coalition is headed by Bob Syron, a property investor, and Frank Newman, a director of the New Zealand Centre for Policy Research think tank which is headed by former ACT MP Muriel Newman.
The Landowners Coalition was represented in court by barrister Christopher Finlayson, who as Attorney General in the last ACT-National-Maori Party Government wrote the Marine and Coastal Areas Act to replace Labour’s Foreshore and Seabed Act.
Mr Newman said that when the Act was passed the Attorney General indicated valid claims for a customary title would only affect around 4 percent of the coastline because, for a claim to be successful, the claimant group would have to prove that it had enjoyed “continuous and exclusive” use of the relevant coast since 1840 – a very demanding test.
But the Whakatohea judgment by Justice Churchman has implications for approximately 200 similar claims currently before the High Court which cover the entire coast of New Zealand.
The key issues at stake in this particular matter include clarifying these phrases in the Act:
- “Holds the specified area in accordance with tikanga”,
- “Exclusive use and occupation”, and
- “Substantial interruption”.
In the Whakatohea case, Justice Churchman decided that:
- Tikanga should be given greater weight than western proprietary concepts,
- Use and occupation can be “exclusive” even when shared, and
- Neither the granting of a resource consent nor the fact of land having been lost or confiscated represents a substantial interruption to connection to the land.
Attorney-General David Parker did not appeal the decision on behalf of the people of New Zealand. He refused to say whether he would have appealed the decision if the Landowners Coalition had not done so.
Our petition which asks Parliament to amend the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 to restore public ownership of the coastal area, put all claims through the High Court, and repeal customary marine title, while affirming customary rights has picked up more than 36,400 signatures. We need your support. The petition may be signed at https://www.change.org/beaches4all
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