What’s at stake? The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Amendment Act raises the legal bar for iwi and hapū to prove Customary Marine Title, forcing groups like Ngāi Tahu to re-litigate already settled claims.
Background The Act replaces parts of National’s 2011 Takutai Moana law, itself created to repeal Labour’s 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act. The new law is retrospective and reverses some existing court rulings, despite the Supreme Court clarifying the legal test last year.
Main players Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Justin Tipa; Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who pushed the reforms; and former Attorney-General Chris Finlayson KC, who created the original 2011 Act and says the new legislation is unnecessary and counterproductive.
Ngāi Tahu has condemned the Government’s new Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Amendment Act, calling it a betrayal of Māori rights and a failure of Crown integrity.
The legislation, which passed in Parliament last night, raises the legal threshold for iwi and hapū to prove customary
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Key points
What’s at stake? The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Amendment Act raises the legal bar for iwi and hapū to prove Customary Marine Title, forcing groups like Ngāi Tahu to re-litigate already settled claims.
Background The Act replaces parts of National’s 2011 Takutai Moana law, itself created to repeal Labour’s 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act. The new law is retrospective and reverses some existing court rulings, despite the Supreme Court clarifying the legal test last year.
Main players Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Justin Tipa; Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who pushed the reforms; and former Attorney-General Chris Finlayson KC, who created the original 2011 Act and says the new legislation is unnecessary and counterproductive.
