Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Iwi leaders reject foreshore and seabed proposal

Updated at 7:35 pm on 5 June 2010

A national hui of 100 iwi representatives has rejected the Attorney-General's proposal to replace Crown ownership of the coastal area with a public domain that nobody owns.

Ngai Tahu chairperson Mark Solomon told Waatea News that the hui, in Auckland on Friday, proposed that the foreshore be vested equally in the Treaty partners, as an inalienable right that could never be sold.

Mr Solomon says there are some positive aspects in the proposal going to Cabinet next week.

But he says it is wrong for Maori to be treated differently to the 12,000 landowners with existing titles to parts of the foreshore.

Mr Solomon says the Crown has indicated it wants the issue settled by the end of the year, or it is off the table and the existing legislation remains in force.

Ngai Tahu says iwi leaders want to keep talking to the Crown over a replacement for the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

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