Until recently, the Crown owned New Zealand’s coastline on behalf of all New Zealanders. In 2011 parliament passed the Marine and Coastal Area Act which confiscated public ownership of the foreshore and seabed and then allowed Maori to claim title and ownership rights.
As a result, Maori lodged nearly 600 claims covering every square inch of New Zealand’s coastline out to 22km offshore, the airspace above and the minerals below.
On Sunday Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little and the High Court were poised to surrender ownership of massive stretches of coastline, to private Maori interests.
The new law will create and enrich a coastal owning tribal aristocracy and “sacred areas” will become off-limits to the public, enforceable by fines. Some tribal members have already illegally tried to block access to “their” beaches.
The legacy of this bad legislation will be a burden to us as a people, dividing us and creating conflict for generations. […]
Hobson’s Pledge
Hobson’s Pledge has created an online petition asking parliament to restore public ownership.
