Summarised by Centrist
Parliament has passed the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Amendment Bill by 68 votes to 54. The vote fulfilled a coalition promise to restore the original intent of the 2011 law.
The bill tightens the legal test for Māori customary marine title, requiring proof of exclusive and continuous use since 1840. It also applies retrospectively, overturning several recent High Court rulings.
Court rulings in recent years have widened the criteria, leading to hundreds of claims. One of those rulings, which granted customary title to Rangitāne hapū along the north Wairarapa coast, is now void. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the reform restores balance between public, private, and tangata whenua interests. He acknowledged the disappointment among some iwi but said the law “corrects the test and brings consistency.”
Protests around the country were held, where demonstrators burned copies of the bill. On Parliament’s forecourt, Te Pāti Māori MPs Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Takuta Ferris also burned a copy of the legislation. Speaker Gerry Brownlee condemned the act as “the dumbest thing you could possibly do.” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called the stunt “not very smart,” while NZ First labelled it “radical theatre.”
The 2011 Marine and Coastal Area Act replaced Labour’s Foreshore and Seabed Act, allowing Māori to seek recognition of customary title.
In a letter, Te Pāti Māori has urged Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro to withhold Royal Assent for the Marine and Coastal Area Amendment Bill, calling it a “gross breach of the Treaty” and a repeat of the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed confiscation. Signed by all six MPs and 10,000 supporters, the letter asks Dame Cindy to use her constitutional powers to block the Bill and meet with iwi leaders to discuss its impact.
Hobson’s Pledge, which campaigned for the reform, called the law “a victory for one law for all.” The group credited New Zealand First for driving the change through the coalition and said the amendment “restores clarity, fairness, and the principle of equal treatment under the law.”
Read more over at The Post and The NZ Herald
