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Marine and coastal rights law changes not justifiable, former United Future leader says

Peter Dunne, was leader of United Future in 2011 and voted in favour of the original Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King Former MPs who supported the National government's foreshore and seabed legislation back in 2011 are lambasting the coalition's move to make it harder for Māori to get customary rights. The government will amend the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act to toughen the customary rights test. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the changes would restore Parliament's "original intent" for the law, after a 2023 Court of Appeal ruling made it easier for groups to win customary title. A Supreme Court ruling overturning that decision meant the government paused introducing the changes last December. But, on Tuesday, it announced it would push ahead with amending the law saying the Supreme Court decision was still "able to be interpreted in quite a broad way". The changes will mean those seeking title will need to prove they have had continuous exclusive use and ownership of the area since 1840. Former Attorney-General and National MP Chris Finlayson has condemned the move calling it foolish and saying it would "undermine" Parliament's original intention and be "extremely harmful" to race relations. There is a similar sentiment from Peter Dunne, who was leader of United Future in 2011 and voted in favour of the law. He told RNZ the original legislation was designed to sort out the public's access to the foreshore and seabed while also recognising customary rights of Māori, if they could prove a "continuous connection" to it. Proving that connection, Dunne said, was already "quite a high test". "It was set out to be relatively high for quite a specific purpose; to make sure that the claims that were being made were genuine and well founded and not frivolous or opportunistic... it was generally accepted there needed to be a high bar." The Supreme Court had already made the law's original intent clear and he did not know why the government wanted to make it "clear times two". "It seems to me that that's almost a way of saying 'we want to make it tougher than was originally intended' and I don't think that's correct or justifiable." The Marine and Coastal Area Act replaced the controversial Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 , which had extinguished Māori customary rights in favour of Crown ownership, provoked widespread protest, and led to the formation of the Māori Party - now Te Pāti Māori. Dunne said the Supreme Court decision was definitive and if he were still in government he would lobby the government to "let sleeping dogs lie". "Uphold the spirit of the 2011 legislation [because] I don't think this issue, which has caused such controversy over the last nearly 30 years, needs to be reopened and all those old wounds brought to the surface again," he said. "It's time to now to move on, let the situation resolve itself according to that legislation, and do so without further provocation." Tau Henare was a member of the National Party at the time, and speaking at the bill's first reading, said the difference between the Marine Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act and its predecessor the Foreshore and Seabed Act, was access to the judiciary. "Everybody has a right, it does not matter whether they are black, white, red, or green; it does not matter, everybody has an absolute right to go to court to find out whether they are right or whether they are wrong." "This is about human rights, and that is what that whole debacle was about. Fifty thousand people were outside the front door of this place," he said at the time. Speaking to RNZ on Wednesday, Henare said Chris Finlayson was "absolutely right" and there was not "one person" in caucus who had any experience with "Treaty Jurisdiction Prudence". "It's a play for the dumb red neck vote. It shows how backward National have slipped. Be glad to see them go," he said. The law change is expected to pass before October. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.