COASTAL COALITION - retaining Crown ownership of the foreshore & seabed

Site Index

Lindsay Perigo interviews Muriel Newman about the foreshore & seabed, NZCPR and politics

Articles of
Interest

•Coastal Coalition's CIR Gets the Green Light by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•Why we are running a Citizens Initiated Referendum against National's Marine and Coastal Area Act by Dr Hugh Barr here>>>

•Decision Time for CIR by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•The Challenge of Citizens Initiated Referenda by Larry Baldock here>>>

•Popular beaches targeted for claims by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•Making Referendum Count by Colin Craig here>>>

•An Odious Omnibus by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•Repealing the Marine and Coastal Area Act 2011 by Dr Hugh Barr here>>>

•Reinstating Democracy by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•Racial Extortion or "Freedom from Fear" by Gavin de Malmanche here>>>

•Corporate iwi get rich at your expense by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•A dangerous law by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•No ordinary bill by Chris Trotter here>>>

•Travesty of trust by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•A question of trust by Michael Coote here>>>

•Call for Finlayson to be replaced by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•Extracts of Submissions to the Marine & Coastal Area Bill here>>>

•Setting the record straight by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•Protest without end by Mike Butler here>>>

•Intimidation & fear in coastal communities by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•Maori occupation at Taipa: an insiders' view here>>>

•Speak now or forever lose your beach! by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•"Marry in haste, repent at leisure by Prof Roger Bowden here>>>

•An Open Letter to John Key by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•Foreshore and seabed public access by David Round here>>>

•"Free" beach access - the truth! by David Round here>>>

•National's Foreshore and Seabed Bill by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•Submission Process a Disgrace by David Round here>>>

•New Race-based Legislation Tabled by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•The Iwi Tax is Upon Us by Prof Roger Bowden here>>>

•Tribalism vs Democracy by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•A Crime Against the Public by David Round here>>>

•John Key - Selling Out to Maori Activists by Dr Muriel Newman here>>>

•The Great Foreshore and Seabed Sellout by Michael Coote here>>>

•Gone by Xmas by Dr Hugh Barr here>>>

•The foreshore & seabed smell has become deafening by Prof Roger Bowden view>>>

•In Pursuit of the National Interest by Muriel Newman view>>>

•Putting Us in Our Places by Chris Trotter view>>>

•Maori Ownership of the Foreshore & Seabed by Muriel Newman view>>>

•F&S Mk2: Still Giving Away Our Foreshore & Seabed by Hugh Barr view>>>

•Coastal Maori tribes clear winners of foreshore review by Michael Barnett view>>>

•When the tide goes out it will all belong to Maori by Hugh Barr view>>>

•A Call to Action by Muriel Newman view>>>

•Revisiting the Foreshore & Seabed Act by Michael Coote view>>>

•Referendum on Foreshore & Seabed by Muriel Newman view>>>

•Riding roughshod over foreshore & seabed by David Round view>>>

•Controversy and Consultation by Muriel Newman view>>>

•The Foreshore & Seabed - Part 1 by David Round view>>>

•The Foreshore & Seabed - Part 2 by David Round view>>>

Submissions to the Review

•Local Govt NZ
•ChamberCommerce
•NZCPR
•Roger Bowden
•NZ Minerals Industry Association

click here >>>

•To view petition signatures - please click here>>>

Background Information

•Govt Review of the Foreshore & Seabed Act 2004 - here >>>

•TV3 interview with Attorney General -
here >>>

•Maps of the 10 million ha of the Foreshore & Seabed - here >>>

THE COASTALCOALITION
The Coastal Coalition is an umbrella group formed to unite people who believe the foreshore & seabed is the birthright and common heritage of all New Zealanders equally and should remain in Crown ownership. We have no affiliation to any political party.

CITIZENS INITIATED REFERENDUM
The Coastal Coalition's Citizens Initiated Referendum is being promoted by Dr Muriel Newman and Dr Hugh Barr on behalf of the Coastal Coalition. The petition question asks:

Should the Marine & Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 be replaced by legislation that restores Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed?

If we gather the support of 10 percent of registered voters (that's 320,000 signatures - equivalent to the population of Wellington plus Hamilton!) by next June for our petition question then the government will be required to hold a nation-wide referendum of all voters. If you would like to volunteer to help us gather the required number of signatures, please scroll down and fill in the form below.

Download the CIR referendum form: here>>>

Read the instructions here>>>

Message to copy & paste to email on to your contact list: here>>>

Q&A Information Leaflet: here>>>

One page background letter: here>>>

Register for the free newsletter to keep informed of progress here>>>

We need all the help we can get to collect signatures - but to make sure every signature counts, please ensure supporters write legibly (offer to help if necessary) and that they are on the electoral roll. Below you can see how some supporters are having great success collecting signatures at their local shopping centre. To volunteer to help, please contact Geoff Parker our CIR Coordinator on 09 426 7874 or by email cma3nz@inbox.com.

A great effort by volunteers collecting signatures in an Auckland Mall. Contact Geoff Parker for info.

•To help with the CIR campaign, please complete and send the following form:

Please complete this form if you would like to help with the Coastal Coalition's Citizens Initiated Referendum to restore Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed. We need to collect 320,000 signatures and need as many volunteers as possible.

Your contact details:
E-mail address * required information
First name *	Last name *
Suburb & city or town where you live *	Phone Number (landline if possible) *
How did you hear about us?	Comments and suggestions
Please indicate how you would like to help us with the Citizens Initiated Referendum: Coordinators to help coordinate efforts in your local area Volunteers to help gather signatures Volunteers to distribute flyers to local households and businesses Volunteers for our letters to the editor campaign Volunteers for our radio talkback campaign Thank you very much for your support. We will be in touch once the CIR has been approved and we are ready to start collecting signatures. If you are experiencing problems with this page, please call Muriel on 09-4343836.

•CIR FORM - this is what it looks like:

•CIR FUNDING
By law, we can spend $50,000 in advertising the CIR so we are appealing for donations now. To support the CIR, please click here>>>.

•KEEP INFORMED
To keep informed on the progress of the CIR, please make sure you are on the mailing list for the free New Zealand Centre for Political Research newsletter, NZCPR Weekly, which will publish weekly CIR updates. You can register for the mailing list here>>>.

With all political parties - except National and the Maori Party - strongly opposed to the Marine and Coastal Area Act, a successful referendum will provide a mandate for the new government to repeal this disastrous law.

•GAZETTE NOTICE
Here is the official notice from Parliament giving the go-ahead to the CIR. It was published in the New Zealand Gazette dated 14th of July 2011 but available for public scrutiny on 15 July 2011. To read it in the Gazette click the image and go to page 3059.

_______________________________________________________

•HISTORY OF THE COASTAL COALITION CAMPAIGN
We have left the website below intact as a record of our campaign to oppose the Marine and Coastal Area Bill. Many New Zealanders still have no idea what the law change will mean, so we hope that by browsing through the material produced during our campaign, we can help inform people about why National's dreadful law to privatise our coast to corporate iwi needs to be repealed!

MESSAGE TO ALL COASTAL COALITION SUPPORTERS:

This letter is to thank you most sincerely for your support during our campaign to oppose the Marine and Coastal Area Bill. Everyone has worked so hard on the campaign that it is extremely disappointing to see that National was prepared to ignore overwhelming public opposition and force their bill through.

However, in spite of the final outcome, collectively, we have all made a huge difference. Don’t forget that when National first announced their law change, they wanted it passed by Christmas. Then they tried to pass it through Parliament under urgency just after they got back from the Summer break. If it hadn’t have been for our opposition, they probably would have succeeded!

National’s whole approach was based on half truths - keeping New Zealanders in the dark not only about the radical nature of the bill, but also about how they were sacrificing our coast for the Maori Party’s support and another term in office.

The Coastal Coalition’s public information campaign was designed to alert the public to what was going on. Networks of volunteers were quickly built around the country to inform locals through fliers, letters to newspapers, calls to talkback radio, and a myriad of other initiatives. Billboards were erected around the country and a series of major national newspaper advertising campaigns were run in conjunction with email campaigns. As a result of our efforts, the select committee dealing with the bill received many thousands more submissions than they would have expected, and Members of Parliament were inundated with messages appealing to them to oppose the bill.

It was a truly Herculean effort!

I would like to pay a special tribute to the enormous contribution of Hugh Barr our spokesman and Geoff Parker our national volunteer coordinator, who like me have worked full time on this campaign on a voluntary basis since last May, when the Coastal Coalition was first formed.

The fact that in spite of our best efforts the bill was forced through with no public mandate – and in spite John Key’s promise that it would not go ahead if the public were not in support - demonstrates a real failure of democracy in New Zealand. In addition, National MPs displayed an appalling lack of backbone by privately admitting they did not support the bill, while publicly turning their back on constituents to vote for it.

Many of you would have heard National’s claims that they were not worried about upsetting the public by passing the bill because voters would have forgotten all about it by the time the election came around. Well, on behalf of the tens of thousands of Coastal Coalition supporters of all races, all political persuasions, and all walks of life, I can tell the National Party that we are not prepared to let this matter rest. We are looking at launching a Citizens Initiated Referendum (CIR) to repeal the new law and reinstate Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed. We believe all New Zealanders deserve to have their say on this divisive law, which will affect the whole country and all future generations. If you would like to register your interest in helping us with the referendum, please let me know by clicking here>>>.

This whole debacle has served to remind us that when a government goes off the rails, New Zealand’s democratic system provides no checks and balances with which to undo the damage. That’s why, through the New Zealand Centre for Political Research, I have been researching this issue to see what safeguards exist in other jurisdictions - you can read all about it in my NZCPR Weekly newsletter "Reinstating Democracy" - see here>>>. It seems to me that New Zealand needs a mechanism similar to the US Ballot system - which has been in place for over 100 years ago in over half of the US States - that not only enables citizens to promote legislative change but allows them to veto unacceptable laws that are being forced through by their legislature.

This whole foreshore and seabed debate is really about the wider issue of what sort of country we want in the future. I believe the Coastal Coalition and most other New Zealanders want one nation not two. That’s why we have been fighting so hard against the Marine and Coastal Area Bill. And while we have suffered a set back through the passing of the bill, this is a battle that is certainly not over!

Thanks again for your wonderful support – we could not have done all that we did without your help!

Kindest regards,

Dr Muriel Newman
New Zealand Centre for Political Research
www.nzcpr.com

...

Coastal Coalition
Committed to retaining the Foreshore and Seabed in Crown ownership
www.CoastalCoalition.co.nz

24 March 2011
Media Release

Citizens Initiated Referendum over Marine & Coastal Area Act

The Coastal Coalition has responded to the passing of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill through its final stages in Parliament today, by announcing it will launch a Citizen’s Initiated Referendum to repeal the new Act.

Dr Hugh Barr and Dr Muriel Newman, joint Coastal Coalition spokespeople said, “We have decided to proceed with the referendum because the majority of New Zealanders are strongly opposed to the Bill. Kiwis want to be treated as one people not two.

“While most people agree with the principle of settling outstanding historical Treaty injustices, they believe that repealing public ownership of the foreshore and seabed - so it can be privatised and gifted to Maori - is a step too far.

“The public believed the Prime Minister when he promised that if the new law did not receive popular support he would not push it through. The Marine and Coastal Area Bill has almost no public support - over 95 percent of submitters were opposed. Yet today the Prime Minister is pushing it through. He has broken his promise and betrayed the New Zealand public.

“The Coastal Coalition’s campaign to oppose the Marine and Coastal Area Bill has been supported by tens of thousands of New Zealanders from all walks of life, all ethnic groups and all political persuasions. This Referendum will be launched on their behalf and will give all New Zealanders a chance to say that they do not want a bar of this new law.

“The Coastal Coalition believes all people should be treated equally under the law and that New Zealand should be one country not two. We strongly oppose the law change and we look forward to giving New Zealanders a chance to have their say on this divisive legislation”, Dr Barr and Dr Newman said.

Contacts:
Dr Muriel Newman, 09 434 3836, 021 800 111 muriel@newman.co.nz
Dr Hugh Barr, 04 934 2244, 027 686 0063 hugh@infosmart.co.nz

LINZ report on ownership of the foreshore and seabed View here >>>

•Please register your interest in helping with a Citizens Initiated Referendum to repeal the Marine and Coastal Area Bill here>>>

•Donate to the Coastal Coalition here>>>

•Sign up to the Coastal Coalition here>>>

Emailing MPs is easy:
For a simple three-step guide to email MPs - please click here>>>

• Briefing paper by the Maori Party to iwi describing how much they will gain from this new bill. View here >>>

•Please help us send our new "BETRAYAL" flier viral: view here>>>

----------------------------------------------------

•Please help us send this OPEN LETTER flier viral: view here>>>

We are calling on the public to help stop the Marine and Coastal Area Bill - which is ready to be passed into law by:
1. Emailing National MPs and Peter Dunne to ask them to withdraw the Bill
2. Sending the flier to everyone in their address book.

•Read our STOP HIM flier here>>>

•Read Coastal Coalition's response to National's attacks here>>>

•Read National’s Bill here>>> & the present Foreshore & Seabed Act here>>>

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP STOP THE BILL:
•Help us advertise more widely here>>>
•Volunteer to help here>>>
•Tell John Key you won't vote for him if he passes this Bill:
To email John Key click here>>>
•Tell all National MPs the same - and tell them how angry you are here>>>
•Phone talkback and raise your concerns
•Write articles for your local newspaper and letters to the editor
•Promote our Coastal Coalition website at www.CoastalCoalition.co.nz
•Direct people to our Facebook page
•Discuss your concerns on blogs and other electronic forums
•Email your contacts to alert them to what's going on
•Share your concerns with everyone you know - get them talking
•Register for NZCPR free newsletter for weekly campaign updates here>>>

•A Coastal Coalition volunteer campaigning against the bill!

•As a result of our Official Information Request, the Attorney General released details of the submissions to the government's review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004. It shows 77% were opposed to repealing Crown ownership and 91% were opposed to the government's new law. Full details are available on the Ministry of Justice website here>>>

•View our newspaper ad/flier setting out our concerns here>>>

•New Advertisement: National MP Chris Finlayson, called opponents of his Marine and Coastal Area Bill "clowns" and "paranoids" - whose the clown?

Click the image to see the ad - why not send it on. A high resolution file is available here>>>.

•Read a Briefing Paper on key changes in the Bill here>>>

•A short flier about National's plans can be downloaded here>>>

•Expert opinion on "free" beach issue by David Round here>>>

•High resolution billboard images available here>>>

•View "Our favourite Kiwi beach" on YouTube here>>>

The Coastal Coalition's version of a bumper sticker!*
This is a great example of the spontaneous initiatives that are emerging in our grass roots campaign to "save" our foreshore and seabed from the National and Maori parties!
(*see larger image and more details here>>>)

Background to the Foreshore and Seabed legislation

The foreshore and seabed is a massive resource that comprises around 10 million hectares – one third of the land mass of New Zealand. Horizontally it is the distance between the average spring high tide waterline and the 12 nautical mile territorial limit. Included are the beds of rivers that belong to the coastal marine area. Vertically it is the airspace above this zone and the water, subsoil, bedrock and other matters like mineral wealth below.
The foreshore and seabed were vested in the Crown when New Zealand adopted British common law in the 1800s. As a result of a Court of Appeal decision in 2003, which was widely misrepresented to imply that Maori ‘owned’ the foreshore and seabed, the Labour Government affirmed Crown ownership through the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act.
The National Party wants to repeal Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed in favour of Maori interests. They believe this will cement a long-term relationship with the Maori Party.
Under National’s bill, corporate iwi will be given effective ownership of the foreshore and seabed, not through a rigorous Court process but through negotiation with government Ministers. Their rights would include the power of veto over other coastal operators, and the potential for widespread development – resorts, mining, aquaculture,
and so on.

What's next?

The government is planning to repeal Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed before the end of summer. It is very important that everyone who wants to see Crown ownership retained contacts National Party MPs to tell them that they will not get your support at the election if they go ahead and pass this law. MP email addresses can be seen here>>>.

In fact, if Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed is to be preserved the public need to express outrage. But they first need to be informed! That's why the Coastal Coalition is building a network of concerned citizens who are spreading the word about what is going on and encouraging everyone who shares our concerns to sign up - using the form above. Those who aren't in a position to help but would like to be kept informed should sign the Foreshore & Seabed petition here >>> (see link at top of right hand sidebar above).

Supporting the Coastal Coalition's public information camapaign is another key way to help - donations can be made here>>>

It is essential that the organisations in local communities are briefed on the government's plans so they can inform their members. Since the government is trying to keep this whole issue underneath the radar of public opinion, it's up to us to raise awareness levels ... before it's too late!

The work of Coastal Coalition volunteers is critical. Please encourage as many others as you can to sign up to the COASTAL COALITION to help us spread the word that National's bill must be stopped!

Muriel Newman can be contacted about this website on muriel@newman.co.nz
or 09 434 3836 or 021 800 111

To visit the New Zealand Centre for Political Research website to sign up for the free newsletter to read weekly Coastal Coalition updates
- please click www.nzcpr.com

•15 July 2011
Coastal Coalition launches Citizens Referendum to repeal Marine Act here>>>

•14 May 2011
Coastal Coalition says Maori Party has no moral authority to lead racial debate here>>>

•10 Apr 2011
National's Plan to Bend Rules Threatens Democratic Process here>>>

•14 Mar 2011:
Marine Bill Changes set up Exclusive Racial Fishing Zoneshere>>>

•10 Mar 2011:
Coastal Coalition vindicated by Maori opposition to foreshore & seabed bill here>>>

•15 Feb 2011:
National MPs under pressure to break ranks here>>>

•9 Jan 2011:
PM Breaking his promise on Marine Bill here>>>

•18 Dec 2010:
Withdraw your Bill Prime Minister here>>>

•9 Dec 2010:
Labour pulling support more than a "set back" Mr Key here>>>

•8 Dec 2010:
Marine & Coastal Area Bill hearings ignoring non-Maori here>>>

•6 Dec 2010:
Coastal Coalition Submission on the Marine and Coastal Area Bill here>>>

•6 Dec 2010:
NZCPR Submission on the Marine and Coastal Area Bill here>>>

•6 Dec 2010:
Who's the real clown Minister? here>>>

•19 Nov 2010:
Extension of submission timeframe called for due to Parliamentary website malfunction here>>>

•17 Nov 2010:
Where are you holidaying this summer? - call for submissions by Friday
here>>>

•30 Oct 2010:
Coalition Advert in major daily papers spells out details of National’s coastal privatisation bill
here>>>

•29 Oct 2010:
77% oppose National's plan to repeal Foreshore and Seabed Law here>>>

•27 Oct 2010:
Call for a special committee to hear Marine bill here>>>

•26 Oct 2010:
Coalition Ads spell out details of National’s coastal privatisation bill
here>>>

•23 Sept 2010:
Call for Release of Supressed Sumissions
here>>>

•14 Sept 2010: Misinformation Campaign Harms the Public Interest - here>>>

•10 Sept 2010: Clause for Free Beach Access Removed - here>>>

•8 Sept 2010: Coastal Coalition on Foreshore Act Changes - here>>>

•7 Sept 2010: Foreshore & Seabed Bill a Sellout - here>>>

•25 Aug 2010: Coastal Coalition Refutes John Key's Claims on Foreshore - here>>>

•17 Aug 2010: New Iwi Kiwi billboard shows Key giving away foreshore and seabed - here>>>

•30 July 2010: Maori MP confirms foreshore privatised to iwi - here>>>

•12 July 2010: Taranaki coastal rights claim- here>>>

•7 July 2010: Ironsands Industry unclear about foreshore law - here>>>

•13 June 2010: National’s ‘public domain’ a raw deal for non-Maori - here>>>

•9 June 2010: National Flirting with Disaster on Foreshore & Seabed - here>>>

•30 May 2010: Too much Secrecy over Government’s Plan to Privatise Foreshore & Seabed - here >>>

•30 April 2010: Govt Proposals for Foreshore & Seabed Trample Democracy says LGNZ - here>>>

Some of Our Coastal Coalition Supporters

•NZCPR

•Outdoor Recreation Associations

•Auckland Chamber
of Commerce

•Northland Chamber of Commerce

•Natural Energy

•Matakawau Boating Club

•Coromandel Harbour & Boating Assoc.

•Megisti Sailing Charters

•Game Fishing Charters

•Gulf Group Marine Brokers Tauranga

•Pacific Ranger Charters

•Earth2ocean

•A J Bond Construction Ltd

•Family Financial Services Ltd

•Buffalo Luggage Ltd
•Bay FM Radio

•Les Howard
Past President Greypower

•Graham Bloxham
Media Specialist

If your organisation would like to be listed, please click here >>>