Prime Minister John Key poured cold water on calls to change the New Zealand flag yesterday, but will face another contentious issue when he meets iwi leaders at Waitangi later today.Mr Key is being welcomed on to Te Tii Marae this morning ahead of Waitan
Prime Minister John Key poured cold water on calls to change the New Zealand flag yesterday, but will face another contentious issue when he meets iwi leaders at Waitangi later today.
Mr Key is being welcomed on to Te Tii Marae this morning ahead of Waitangi Day celebrations tomorrow and is scheduled to meet iwi leaders from around the country this afternoon.
Ngapuhi leader Sonny Tau said foreshore and seabed legislation and water ownership were the main items on the agenda.
He told the New Zealand Herald website leaders were happy the government had committed to repealing the 2004 foreshore and seabed law, but it was time to discuss what would replace it.
"Maori are wanting ownership. Personally, I don't agree with ownership because under our tikanga no one ever owned a public resource. It was the introduction of colonial law that the concept of ownership entered the Maori world."
However, any replacement law had to provide for a role for Maori guardianship, he said.
"It should be a shared resource with Maori having a significant say in the kaitiakitanga of the resource."
Mr Key has expressed confidence new laws can be worked out, but Labour has reversed its position and now opposes repeal of the current laws.
Water ownership and allocation is a regular discussion point at Waitangi, without much headway made, but Mr Taurua thinks being able to speak to Mr Key may advance matters.
Mr Key was manhandled at last year's celebrations, resulting in the arrest of two men, so security around him is expected to be tight this weekend.
This year's commemorations will feature the attendance of about 60 members of the diplomatic corps, some of whom have been absent since then Governor-General Dame Cath Tizard was spat on at Waitangi 15 years ago.
Their return is evidence that commemorations at Waitangi continue to grow as a pivotal part of the New Zealand calendar, Waitangi National Trust chief executive Jeanette Richardson said.
"It reflects the fact that Waitangi Day has truly become a positive national day where we can come together, remember our history and think about the future."
The commemorations will celebrate the 70th birthday of the mighty Ngatokimatawhaorua canoe, built in honour of Kupe's canoe.
New navy ship HMNZS Taupo is in the Bay of Islands for the commemorations, with the amphibious sea support ship HMNZS Canterbury also there.
Mr Key yesterday rebuffed calls for a change to the New Zealand flag, after the New Zealand Herald said it was time for a new one.
"New Zealanders have a variety of views... and for the Government to set its focus on whether we need a new New Zealand flag I think would be a very foolish thing to do when you are trying to deal with big international economic issues."
