Who’s running our country?
It seems like a simple enough question.
In New Zealand, our Parliament is sovereign. With National, ACT, and New Zealand First commanding a majority of votes in the House, the elected Coalition hold the reins.
But is it that straightforward?
In a representative democracy like ours, three pillars share the work of governing: the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary.
The Legislature – our elected House of Representatives, acting through Parliament – is responsible for law-making.
The Executive, made up of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet and government ministries, designs the legislation, puts it into action, and manages day-to-day affairs.
And the Judiciary, which operates independently, interprets and applies the law according to the intention of Parliament when it was passed.
In reality, the law-making process can be fraught. Not only is it complex, but unintended consequences will often not emerge until long after legislation is enacted.
When problems do appear, if they are serious enough, it is the responsibility of Parliament to correct the law, so it delivers what was originally intended – or if circumstances have changed, repeal the law altogether.
A current example of a fundamentally flawed law is the Marine and Coastal Area Act. Fourteen years after being introduced by National, at the behest of their Maori Party coalition partner, this law that replaced Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed with a regime that opened up the coast to tribal claims, has turned into a disaster that now threatens national security.
At the time, the public, who were overwhelmingly opposed to the law change, were assured by then Attorney-General Chris Finlayson, that no more than 10 percent of New Zealand’s 20,000 km coastline would end up controlled by Maori.
He argued the test for a Customary Marine Title was so stringent that only a minority of claimants would succeed.
The first requirement was that applicants must have held their claimed area in accordance with Maori custom or “tikanga”.
A Regulatory Impact Statement issued by the Ministry of Justice at the time, explained that while tikanga was to be applied to the first limb of the test, it was specifically ruled out of the second limb on the basis it would create too much “uncertainty”.
The second limb of the test was instead based on common law: claimants had to have “exclusively used and occupied the area without substantial interruption from 1840 to the present day.”
Under a common law interpretation, “exclusively used” meant claimed areas could not be shared by others – ruling out overlapping claims. And “occupied without substantial interruption” ruled out raupatu applicants whose coastal land had been confiscated for historical insurrection, along with those whose land had been willingly sold.
This reasoning led to reassurances: there was nothing to fear from the repeal of Crown ownership of our coast since successful claims would be limited to a small number in remote areas.
However, the Maori Party, which was fully involved in the law-making process, had other ideas. In a “Keeping our promise” pamphlet, they informed supporters that the tests for customary title had been designed to work in their favour:
“Tests incorporate tikanga, allowing for variations among iwi, transfers of rights between hapu, and for tikanga to evolve. Tests do NOT require claimants to hold adjoining land (so raupatu iwi can claim customary title). Allowing others to fish, and overlapping rights of neighbouring hapu, do not disqualify claims (manaakitanga is part of tikanga)…”
In other words, the Maori Party had made sure that applicants with alienated land that had either been confiscated or sold would not be disqualified, and, as long as “tikanga” – which includes ‘manaakitanga’ or ‘sharing’ – was included in the test, nor would the multitude of overlapping claims.
And that’s how it played out in Court: All of the Courts – the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court – have interpreted the law exactly as the Maori Party claimed, with tikanga taking precedence over the common law requirements in the test.
If only a handful of claims had been lodged, it probably wouldn’t matter much. But word had gone out and on the eve of the seven-year deadline for lodging claims, upwards of 600 applications flooded in, covering the entire New Zealand coastline many times over.
The implications of the Marine and Coastal Area Act for our country are alarming. As the first cases coming before the Courts were found – almost without exception – in favour of claimants, it became glaringly obvious that the “no more than 10 percent” guarantee was fiction, and Maori tribal groups were on the cusp of securing strategic control of our entire coastline and Territorial Sea.
In other words, New Zealanders had been duped.
In response, the new Government promised to “put it right” by introducing an amendment to the Act that strengthened the tests to ensure they delivered what Parliament intended – namely a minority of successful claims in remote coastal areas.
In addition, all judgments on claims that had been through the Courts but were not finalised when the law change was announced in June last year were to be annulled, with the cases re-heard under the amended law.
The only exception was a handful of cases that had been appealed to the Supreme Court, which were scheduled to be heard last November, with a judgment not expected until well into 2025.
However, two weeks after that November hearing – and just days before the Coalition’s Amendment Bill was expected to be passed into law – the Supreme Court rushed out a partial judgment that aimed to stop the law change going ahead by essentially declaring that tikanga must be the over-riding consideration in claims for the coast.
In other words, since the activist judges of the Supreme Court didn’t support Parliament’s intention to restrict the number of successful applications, they changed the law to ensure most claimants will succeed.
In response to the judgement, the Coalition put their Amendment Bill on hold pending advice from Crown Law. Now, six months later, there’s been nothing but silence.
So, in answer to our question of who runs the country, it appears it is not our elected Government, but the unelected and unaccountable judges of our highest Court.
Whether Parliament has in fact forfeited sovereignty to the Supreme Court – remains to be seen.
But the defiant manner in which the judiciary is circumventing the intentions of Parliament should leave the Coalition in no doubt whatsoever, that no matter what changes they make to the Marine and Coastal Area Act, activist judges will still find a way to deliver the coast to Maori.
In such a hostile environment there is no other option than to deal with this law in a similar way to the disastrous Resource Management Act reforms. Since Labour’s attempt to update and improve the RMA was widely regarded as being far worse than the original legislation, it has been repealed and the original law re-instated to provide certainly, while an alternative is developed.
With the Marine and Coastal Area Act clearly beyond legislative repair, it should also now be repealed and the original 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act reinstated to provide certainty while future options are considered.
And with the Courts once again starting to award Customary Title to claimants, this matter is now urgent.
This week’s NZCPR Guest Commentary features extracts from research undertaken in 2010 by Treaty expert and then Canterbury University Law Lecturer David Round, warning about the dangerous consequences of the proposed Marine and Coastal Area Act:
“This new law will be the most indescribable gift to Maori of an enormous part of the remaining public property and public wealth of this country. It will deprive the rest of us of any possibility of enjoying the immense economic opportunities which the foreshore and seabed affords and which, heaven knows, we so desperately need…
“Over an enormous part of the coastline of our wonderful country, perhaps all of it, the way will be laid open for Maori ownership rights – they will have immense influence on any proposal for anything. Undersea cables, marine farms, tidal power, airspace, all sorts of minerals…
“Customary owners will have a veto on all Resource Management Act proposals for or near their coastline. Boat ramps, whitebait stands, jetties, anything…
“The foreshore and seabed deal, if properly handled, will guarantee tribal elites a long-term future clipping the ticket on everything that goes on, and will keep them in the luxury to which they are rapidly becoming accustomed.”
David’s warning is as relevant today as it was back then. It’s why Maori radicals are so viciously asserting what they say are their rights.
The foreshore and seabed represents an indescribable win – if they control it, they will be well on their way to realising their He Puapua ambition of tribal rule by 2040.
These days, the Maori Party, which was behind the law change, has dropped its benign façade. MP Tuketai Ferris revealed their true colours in a recent Parliamentary debate, when he stated: “It’s our country. You’re in a Maori country.”
Imagine how it will play out if claimant groups that are also openly hostile to the Crown and the public good are given control of New Zealand’s coastline.
Such an outcome would create a profound national security risk.
The point is that New Zealand is no longer the “benign strategic environment” described by former Prime Minister Helen Clark.
Today’s geopolitical climate is undeniably hostile – through both internal and external threats.
Only weeks ago, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army dispatched three warships armed with ballistic missiles with a 1,000 km range into our region to undertake live fire exercises within 300 km of the Tasmanian coast.
Authorities only became aware of what was happening when a Virgin Australia commercial airline pilot with a flight path over the area, intercepted an emergency call from a warship warning him to immediately divert. Altogether 49 commercial aircraft with flight paths over the area were forced to change course.
The Chinese not only failed to notify our government of their deployment of warships to patrol our region and conduct live-fire drills, but they also deliberately excluded us from their negotiations with a New Zealand Realm Nation – despite our constitutional responsibility for the foreign affairs and security of the Cook Islands.
The Chinese are hungry for rare earths and other strategic seabed minerals. Should title to our foreshore and seabed pass to iwi, how long will it be before the Chinese are raping our coast under long-term mining arrangements providing a perpetual royalty income stream to the tribal elite?
In this strategic environment of increasing geopolitical tensions, it is no longer safe to allow control of our country’s coastline and Territorial Sea to fall into tribal hands. National security concerns demand that any move that could undermine sovereign control of our coast should be abandoned.
As a nation we simply cannot afford to put New Zealanders at risk by compromising defence operations, nor limiting the government’s ability to adequately respond to national security concerns.
Indeed, it is ridiculous that anyone or any group should have rights akin to ownership over the nation’s foreshore and seabed. It should be “owned” by the Crown on behalf of all New Zealanders – as it was for most of our history. To give it away to a group of rent-seekers acting in their own self-interest is not only grossly stupid it is bordering on treasonous.
Since one Parliament cannot bind another, the Coalition needs to realise it no longer has to prop up a dangerous and highly destabilising law that was promoted by a Party that is now openly advancing anarchy.
The fatally flawed Marine and Coastal Area Act should be repealed and the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act restored to provide certainty, security and to protect the public good.
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THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
*Is it in the national interest for the Coalition to carry on trying to reform the Marine and Coastal Area Act, or should they repeal it and restore the Foreshore and Seabed Act?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| Must act quickly before many more $ms are wasted on funding the theft of every New Zealanders birth right by greedy Maori litigants and the greedy lawyers. | Graeme |
| When is this bulldust going to end. | Richard |
| Why has this it already been Done ?? Its urgent and a no brainer. | Jan |
| As fast as possible | Anthony |
| return to ALL NEW ZEALANDERS to be equal, keep the beeches for all people in NZ. | Paula |
| I am so tired of this racist behaviour by the Maori elite. It’s time to get back to being one people. | Phil |
| Luxon and co are too weak to make changes and do what they promised as per their election campaign. | Chris |
| It’s like dealing with low IQ recalcitrant children. They will always make a lot of noise. They will screech and bellow, yell and wail about not getting their ice creams. Well when we have a proper Government that stops appeasement and rules with strength and conviction then the noise will continue. The fraudulent bulling has no basis what so ever. The law as per our sovereign Parliament need to be seriously supported by all the nation’s citizens. Without the rule of law being upheld then there the future is going to be nothing more than a Lollie scramble. Just as well I have a sweet tooth. | Garry. |
| The present situation is an absolute disgrace | Jerry |
| This wouldn’t happen if there were not any Maori parliamentary seats. Now that one of the Maori Party has died, there should be no bye-election but whole lot need to be abolished. | Monica |
| It is incredible that this subject has been allowed to carry for far too long. As long as NZ supports two sectors this country will not progress to the place it was 50 years ago. Restore F&SA to rescue Nz from a seperaist country. | Peter |
| It should have never been changed in the first place. | Denis |
| the crown should be owners of seabed and foreshore and no others. this action is required urgently. | Noel |
| In a more perfect World definitely Repeal MACA and restore F&SA, but it now seems that the people in power are just not up to this task, and that it is too far ‘in process’. to have any hope of turning this around. Time to book a flight out before the 83% wake up and this all really hits the fan! | Tony |
| Definitely repeal MACA and restore F&SA. Allowing the ownership of our coast and territorial waters out to the 12-mile limit simply because of ancestral links opens up alot of potential issues including the rights of other New Zealanders to make a living, recreate, or simply enjoy our beautiful coast. This special area needs to be owned by the crown on behalf of all New Zealanders. | Rob |
| Take a leaf out of Trumpys approach and on the Maori problem (NB there are no full blooded Maori and those that claim they are are, are tea spoon Moari’s ). Some ferm legislation is called for. | Geoff |
| John Key is akin to Jacinda Aedern | Michael |
| Stop the rot by restoring the F&SA. Fiddling with current legislation will lead to confusion and delay. | Peter |
| Government needs to Wake up and act Urgently to restore and stop this Takeover of entire Coastline | leo |
| This is racial action at its worst. 1 country,1 people, 1 law | Rod |
| Will NATIONAL, ever change.? When are they going to get off their fat-backsides, and actually do something for the People that keep them in power? and when will they Reel in LUXO, and give him a real job, as a P.M? NATIONAL WILL BE TOAST, AT THE NEXT ELECTION, and then LUXON will SWAN OFF OVERSEAS just like ARDERN. | DAVID |
| Why the hell is luxless tripping all over the world visiting his N.W.O/E.U /HATO mates, that are ALL on the WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY? LUXO.. IS USELESS and so are his warmonger sponsors..All of them..MICRON, STORM-ON, VON DER-LIAR, ALL OF THESE, ARE CONTROLLED N.W.O PUPPETS,DOES LUXO KNOW SOMETHING WE DON”T? | DAVID |
| This lunacy needs to be stopped now. Maori do not own the coast, foreshore,seabed, geothermal resources nor the water that falls from the sky. | Andrew |
| do it | alan |
| Absolutely. It’s just ridiculous that this hasn’t happened already Yesterday would not be soon enough Just Bl… do it | Carolyn |
| NZ First must deliver on its Election promise and no back tracking e.g UNDRIP | Glenn |
| PLEASE DO THIS URGENTLY BEFORE WE LOSE ALL HOPE OF RESOLUTION OF THIS DEPLORABLE SITUATION | Sylvia |
| Not sure I taped REPEAL the first time. Sorry | Suzanne |
| Repeal is the only course of action. But corruption and greed may prevail. Nothing I ever say is acted on or even acknowledged. The majority of the country is asleep and sleepwalking to destruction. | Neil |
| I am sick of the Maori causes being pushed on to the majority 85% of non-Maori. Dump the troublesome treaty and the Tribunal and lets get to a situation where the majority have the ‘say’ that matters. | Derek |
| While Luxon is over in Europe organising World War 3 with his NATO mates, perhaps acting P M Seymour could get on with the job of repealing MACA. DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH THOUGH !! | A.G.R. |
| We are one people and Maori were not the 1st to habitat NZ. | dave |
| The second choice will only divide us further. | John |
| An absolute must, there is no middle ground here. NZ must retain its sovereignty for all New Zealand citizens and not just a handful of tribal radicals | Neville |
| racsim | Greg |
| And do so immediately.! This Coalition Govt was voted in to make such sensible legislation for the good of all citizens. | r |
| its time for New Zealand to grow up, and get real | Bryan |
| The MACA should be repealed immediately. It is no wonder that so many Kiwi’s are leaving this country, because of the radicalisation & rascism of Maori. This coalition governemnt is not doing what they promised. Luxon is useless. David Seymour is the only one brave enough to tackle the serious issues that NZ has. | david |
| Restore the 2004Foreshore & Seabed Act for certainty, security & for the public good for One New Zealand. | Stuart |
| When Luxon is at the NATO conference, he should ask Pres. D. Trump, how to strike out the nuclear maori cancer problem we have in this country! | Monica |
| the Crown and only the Crown should own the seabed and fore shore on behalf of the people | Paul |
| Failure to do so, and fast will lead to savage racial hatred and bloodshed. | Percy |
| Finlayson is a weasel. Due the the realtive silence of the coalition partners in general I believe they support this and are carrying on with jabcinda/wef/un agendas welcome to the new south africa | Wayne |
| Foreshore & seabed “owned” by the Crown on behalf of ALL Kiwis. | Malcolm |
| New Zealanders only have themselves to blame for the mess we are in to do with anything Maori. In my way of thinking the MMP system we voted in has been a catastrophe for this country. By the way Maori will never let the MMP system go as it was really a bonanza for them, so for those thinking we can change the system and get rid of it, they are joking, Maori are never going to let it go and our morbidly weak politicians wouldn’t dare. We are in a way already ruled by Maori and we can thank all the Morons who voted in this awful system. We are a nation of dolts. | Paul |
| Without question this action by the former Maori party is treasonous. The coalition must immediately reset this. | Bruce |
| unbliival | David |
| Absolutely, do it now. | Willam |
| The only thing for which I respected Helen Clark. Luxon you are a bitter disappointment over Maori issues and the very reason I did not vote for your party. Maybe pressure should be put on both Seymore and Peters to come out right now and say that restoring the former Seabed Act is a not negotiable bottom-liner for forming the next coalition. Luxon would have no choice. Finlayson was, and remains, an arrogant twit | Creed |
| Horrifying. | Jill |
| These 2 aspects regarding MACA, F&SA, should have been fixed, ages ago, why have these 2 been neglected? It’s just another Maori issue that they can delay with, hold up the proceedings, so that they can get the attention, from other politicians, the T.P.M have got this tactic down to an ART, with the help of their other Allies, in the house. Both of these aspects need to be shut down, because its’ ALL on the TAXPAYERS TAX DOLLAR….. and TIME IS MONEY! HAND OUTS HAVE TO STOP, FOR THE minority 17%.!! | DAVID |
| It is a ridiculous situation we are in and Luxon is too timid to do anything about it. I am losing faith in both Act and NZ First yo push it through as well. The minority Maoris with the activist judiciary are basically ganging up on the rest of society. The result of which is we will be the losers | Peter |
| NZs outlook becoming more terrifying by the day! | Caroline |
| Act immediately to repeal MACA and restore F&SA. Time is critical . The government will be tossed out at the next election if they don’t repeal MACA. The problem will then be who will replace them ? Is there any other party or group who will stand on a promise to repeal MACA and restore F&SA that the electorate will support. .Further, MACA may be concluded and all customary titles issued and before an election will it all be enacted before the next election ? That is it will be a done deal before then. Of course an incoming administration can still Rescind or repeal MACA and restore F&SA. But if there are customary titles created to the entire coastline before rescinding or repealing MACA imagine the CHAOS then. The Tribal elite would be claiming compensation that would bankrupt this country. After all it has been stated that a major North Island tribe has already stated that they want 12 Billion Dollars in treaty settlement and that is before taking the customary title to foreshore and seabed off them . Time is of the essence this is the most urgent deal in this country. The last chance to push back and declare NZ Parliamentary sovereignty in this matter. and stop it NOW. It is definitely time for BIG BOY pants we will be rduced to peasants in our own land if action is not taken to stop it. | terrence |
| national lead by luxon wont do a dam thing as he’s only in politics to get a gong just like key plus when the most hated woman that headed labour got into bed with the mongrel mobs that are sitting in parliament and with the help of finlieson and seeing a certain judge wearing a scarf covered with bloody scribble lines shows this country and the majority of the country are screwd, even today I saw a boat just off the coast with a diver taking kina well over the legal limit and they weren’t Europeans, just hope NZF and ACT can get something done but with the corrupt judges in this country it will be a battle | Richard |
| Clearly the Marine and Coastal Area Act has been a disaster — the unwarranted actions of the activist Supreme Court has caused most of the problem as it heeds the demands of extreme Maori activists. But, really, the act was flawed from the outset and should never have been passed. It was very naive to believe that its impact would be minimal. Going back to the old Foreshore and Seabed Act is a step in the right direction, but really it is still only a partial solution. The larger issue of whether this is to be one country united, or a nation divided by race-based claims needs to be addressed across all areas of law and legislation. | Marla |
| The coast belongs to every single person equally | Alison |
| Scrap the MACA! | Kim |
| The Coalition need to be bombarded with emails warning them of the dire results if they dont repeal the MACA and replace it with the F&SA immediately before any more claims are granted. If this happens National especially, will lose the next election, their supporters will be so angry. | Mary |
| As soon as possible !!! | Geoffrey |
| ownership over the nation’s foreshore and seabed should be owned by the Crown on behalf of all New Zealanders, not just one group | doomadgee |
| Maori have proven how incompetent they think and act | Brian |
| Repeal MACA and restore F&SA. NOW. Come on National grow some balls and do what the public of this country voted for you to do. | COLIN |
| Colour blind is the only way forward.The MACA discriminates against non Maoris in New Zealand | Brian |
| We have been duped! | Barbara |
| This whole debacle is absolutely Outrageous! Chris Finlayson should be deported! | Ron |
| Just hurry up and sort it! | Pamela |
| There’s no other truly democratic way to deal with this. | Chris |
| This and all the devious deals done are from our disasterous MMP system. Just look at the idiots, tribalists and radicals sitting in parliament today. First past the post needs to be reinstated by binding referendam. Been to many traitors operating under MMP. GET RID OF MACA IMMEDIATELY. CROWN OWNERSHIP FOR ALL NZrs TO ENJOY FREE OF MAORI RADICALS AND TRIBALISTS. | Kevin |
| F&SA should be immediately restored and any further claims by maori stopped forever. There needs to be no path forward to gaining ownership of coast for anyone or any organization of any type, forever | Flip |
| Be Bold & decisive. | douglas |
| I agree that the approach of radical Maori political groups must be rained in to protect the interests of future generations of New Zealand citizens rights. I am fearful for the future of our country if the current trend of pandering to the claims of Maori disadvantage and the resulting division between races continues. | Chris |
| Enact that anything allowed which is customary is done using pre-European arrival tools, methods and dress. Then see if Workplace will enforce H&S Act. | Jimmy |
| IWI/AOTEAROA, Have OWNERS…! Lackey LUXLESS, and our2 party, ‘uniparty’, Have a SMART DEAL going…every 3years they take ‘turn-about’ pretending to be our GOVERNORS, in that building on the hill in Wellington….are they gonna be on the swings or the monkey bars?They both serve the same Bosses…The U.N and the W.E.F, and do their bidding, of their agenda, for the next 3 years. All of these Tyrants, know the TRUTH, but both of them prefer the LIE, some of them, think that they are ‘living the KIWI dream’, but they are fast asleep, and still believe it…! Who controls AOTEAROA.N.Z…? THE INTERNATIONAL WEF/IMF ZIO BANKERS… DEVILS,THAT START ALL WARS!! latest…ISRAHELL/IRAN. | DAVID |
| Repeal it NOW. National this is a mess created by you. Fix it up NOW. | Noel |
| This nonsense has gone on far too long. All maori seats should also be repealed. One country , one people one vote | Rod |
| the incompetence & timidity of national party politicans is astounding. The catholic judiciary compound the problem. These are dark days for New Zealand. | Bruce |
| Just get Luxon to show some guts and get rid of ALL proposed legislation including any Maori efforts to alter our sovereignty or any other damn thing these treacherous people want. Just stand up to them, Luxon and tell them to go to hell regarding any matter that gives them any control over land, forests seas and their shores or whatever. There could be a revolution if Luxon’s not careful. | Alan |
| Kick it to touch and whilst at it kick the Waitangi Tribunal to touch as well! | Richard |
| repeal and replace. Simple | Mark |
| As soon as possible!!!! | Albert |
| This is a matter of National Security. MACA must be halted immediately. | Mark |
| Also ditch the Waitangi Tribunal, and find a way to curtail/stop these pro-MaoriActivist judges. | Frank |
| Far to late, for restoration, or repealing, for the Marine and coastal Acts, Both are past their used by dates. We need to abolish the obsolete T.O.W soon as possible, this should be replaced, with a CONSTITUTION AND UPDATED BILL OF RIGHTS, IN LINE WITH THE PRESENT TIME. The present arrangement of our Democracy , has also got to be looked at, this should be by Public Referendum,vote. The way things are at present is clearly not working.. RACISM WILL DESTROY OUR COUNTRY if this is not rectified, we will decend into civilwar…. T.P.M ARE NOT GOING TO CHANGE. | DAVID |
| MACA should never have been enacted. It was a con job. Plain and Simple. | Allan |
| MACA would give Maori total ownership of the seashore This should be avaible to all rather than a minority | malcolm |
| All Acts of Parliament have there flaws but the Foreshore & Seabed Act (F&SA) does work for the benefits of New Zealand as a whole and not creating more separatism as the Marine and Coastal Area Act (MACA) has done. | Martin |
| Absolutely the MACA MUST be repealed NOW with no moere pussyfooting around. What is happening to this country? The Government must wake up and be decisive – like the Israelis! | John |
| Asbso bloody lutely | robin |
| Repeal | Earl |
| No other option – I am so tired of activists running New Zealand – we so desperately need a real leader with commonsense – some countries in Europe and the USA are finally waking up. | Jan |
| All New Zealanders regardless of race or creed should have the right to visit, fish or otherwise on our foreshores’ | Allan |
| As a long term Nation supporter I am absolutely disgusted by Nationals reversal or lack of action on subjects concerning the open slather the Adhern govt gave to Maori. They will not be getting my vote next year. | Richard |
| Get moving and do it NOW | Bruce |
| Repeal it pronto. I did not vote for Helen Clark’s government but the one best thing she did was to create the old law. Everyone should own the foreshore and seabed around NZ and that can only be accomplished by Crown ownership. Any benefit from that ownership has to be enjoyed by ALL New Zealanders – NOT a racial minority. | Keith |
| It should be repealed along with The Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. | Terry M |
| the F&SA was one thing Helen Clark got right! | Chris |
| It is certainly not working as it was intended. This needs to be repealed asap. | Mick |
| Keep it Crown Land for all citizens to enjoy and place tight controls on activities associated with the coastal areas but not so as to inhibit what has been accepted activities for all in the past, fishing, enjoying the beach and coastal areas etc and get on with it enough dithering, act now! | Stewart |
| No brainer. !! | Andrew |
| MACA is unrecoverable. Deliberately so, thanks to the seditious traitor Finlayson. | Alistair |
| We all share the coast line. | Mike |
| Theres only 1 way to go, grow some balls and repeal/restore F&SA. 1 county NZ 1 people | John |
| MACA repeal is vital for the a security of NZ and freedom of access for all Kiwis to the sea. | Stan |
| Without question, the Foreshore & Seabed Act MUST be restored! | Gary |
| We live in a racist country that is becoming more divided day by day. We can not live in a country that is based on your tribe. Humanity has closed the door on New Zealand a very long time ago. | Alan |
| 100% and the sooner the better. What a fiasco, the sooner this Government takes responsibility and stops this madness. Does make you wonder who is leading who | Rob |
| One of the few things Helen Clark got right | Bruce |
| Whatever is cheapest and restores the rights of ALL New Zealanders to enjoy our beaches without the threat of ‘koha’ for the privilege. | David |
| It is imperative that the Foreshore and Seabed Act is reinstated. It is disgraceful that MACA is dispenses with forthwith. It is an enormous wrong being perpetuated upon the rest of New Zealanders. | Helen |
| The bill was ill conceived and wide open to Tickianga and whatever claimants wanted that to mean. . Can it and return to Government and public ownership or we’ll never see unfettered access to our coastline again | Peter |
| Deeply flawed approach to tribal rule and a 2 state country. | Jeff |
| NOW!!!!! | Colin |
| We are doomed | Iain |
| no other outcome, keep the coast for all NZ ders. | Gerard |
| The Foreshore and Seabed Act should never have been tampered with. It needs to be restored immediately. The burning question is when will this administration rein in the judiciary, Perhaps the question should be will it even attempt this. National seems very happy to kick the can down the road. | Gavin |
| When should we start packing our bags. It sounds like its a done deal and the judiciary will fight it all the way. Heaven knows why as it will affect their families as well. | Judy |
| Whatever they do they need to do something urgently. However from reading Muriel’s article it sounds like its too late. Chriss Findlayson has got a lot to answer for. | Lawrie |
| Do it | Glenn |
| the only way | Gerhard |
| Absolutely -And to not do so is madness for everybody. | Maurice |
| Your article should be printed in every newspaper and publication in NZ which will accept. Why can this not be done? | Robert |
| Repeal and then take time to get it correct and without possible misinterpretations. | Sue |
| And clear out the corrupt judiciary | Rob |
| When will the grabbing stop??!! | G |
| NOW is the critical word. | Ken |
| once in iwi hands they will as you stated likely sell it to the highest bidder | ido |
| Must be done now!!! | Patrick |
| The sooner the better | Bill |
| I am not going to be a slave to the IWI. | Larry |
| F&SA was one if the best things Helen Clark did. It’s there so just put it back. John Key stuffed up. | Andrew |
| Get it done now | Les |
| Keep it simple. Restore the Foreshore & Seabed Act for ALL New Zealanders | Chris |
| The government needs to act and pass a law that clearly ensures the rights of everyone. Unelected judges and Minister Goldsmith are acting in bad faith and undemocratically. Once again Mr Luxon is not showing leadership that could be construed as being in the interests of all New Zealanders. He needs to be reminded there is only one race.. the Human Race. | Peter |
| This is the only true way to ensure that this remains an asset for all the people of NZ | Lindsay |
| The Crown should own all coastal for all New Zealanders. The judiciary should be told their place which is under Parliament. | Alastair |
| The coastline line of New Zealand belongs to all of the citizens of New Zealand. In my lifetime I have never seen as much greed by Maori as I have witnessed in recent years. | Wayne |
| Enough of the indigenous conniving to grab some form of entitlement over other Kiwis. | Hugh |
| It’s the only sensible approach, and will be welcomed by the majority of ALL New Zealanders | Frank |
| If New Zealand parliament does not get their act together and make this one country, one people, we will be in big trouble. David Seymour for Prime Minister. A man that is truly honest and wants equal rights for everyone. Let’s not give any special rights to one portion of society. Let’s be friends and share the foreshore and seabed | dianne |
| This is going nowhere With Lucson at the helm and we have made comments in the past regarding this issue and nothing has been done so don’t hold your breath National are no better than Labour the previous lot so at the end of the day all us good Kiwis will be shafted and i won’t be around to see the carnage that this will cause . | Ken |
| Anything less would be considered treasonous. | Barry |
| repeal it and restore the Foreshore and Seabed Act | kabe |
| This is the only sensible option | Andrew |
| Shocking stupidity | mike |
| As soon as possable | David |
| Restoration of the F&SA would be a good start, however it is unlikely to happen under this coalition led by an appeaser. | Keith |
| The democracy of New Zealand is being threatened by the actions of the Greedy Iwi. Foreshore and seabed is to be available to all under one flag. | Karen |
| The Foreshore and Seabed should be owned by the Government for all New Zealanders. | Rob |
| Security is essential in the present uncertain international state. | Paloma |
| Its unworkable!! | Murray |
| Repeal and start again. | Steve |
| No person should “own” the foreshore/seabeds other than the state. | Glenn |
| All New Zealanders own the Coast line out to the International 12 mile limit | Francis |
| This racial game must stop,NOW. | JOHN |
| The current MACA is not in best interests of New Zealand and needs to be repealed. | Steve |
| the Maori have sold a beech forest & left a mess. the same will happen when they sell the foreshore if they get control!! | Chris |
| If they don’t reform – NZ is broken and open to Maori Elite destroying our countries way of life for their own greed | John |
| We must restore the F&SA. What is our Country coming to? To even think MACA could manage this is outright luncy. | Willian |
| Just get it done. | Mark |
| New Zealand DOES NOT BELONG TO THEBL MAORI IWI. OTHER TRIBES CAME FIRST Before them!:In any case if it hadn’t be for the English they still would UNEDUCATED!! | Dominique Greenslade |
| Wait until New Zealanders go to the beach and find they have to pay Maoris to enter, wait until a boat is to be launched, wait until they want to go surfing all to be told, pay up $50 or go then we will know who rules the roost | Warren |
| Just get on with repealing the current Act ASAP. | Mike |
| Bring back certainty=Helen Clarke did what Luxon is too scared to do. | fred |
| NO it should be restored to the way it was, were are not living in South Africa. This is ONE COUNTRY and the sooner every one gets on with it the better. Guess it does not matter as all the talent in New Zealand will be living in Australia and then it does not matter. The iwi will only have themselves to fight against, history will repeat and they will revert to the way it was. Would help if all the iwi companies “PAID TAX” instead of living well and wanting more?????? | Jeff |
| National are useless puppets of the WEF & UN etc. | chris |
| I need strong leadership which promotes only policies/legislation which is in the interests of ALL new zealanders, now and in the future. We know what will happen if this Act is not repealed. No one should “own”sea beds other than the govt. I note i have to pay to Tainui for use of water which flows over riverbed in the Waikato. | lydia |
| common sense should prevail.Sack all activist members of the judiciary as well as those whoappointed them,and repeal the act,and charge Finlayson with treason | gale |
| Obviously the Juciiary have been bought, unfortunately. | Peter |
| Stop in its tracts | Peter |
| There is no pretty way to put it. It is essential that The Crown owns the foreshore and seabed and that the sooner this is realised the better. Legislate now to achieve this. | Trevor |
| This belongs to all of us. Why are the majority of our population being ignored by our current government and in particular Christopher Luxon. He alone has been the biggest disappoint of any politician of recent times. His head in the sands attitude when it come to anything Maori is staggering. How do we stop the rot that is creeping into our everyday lives at an alarming rate. | Bev |
| Why hasnt this coalition govt already restored the foreshore and seabed act? Get off your backsides and make it happen NOW… | Allan |
| What a lot of tripe to go ahead with this nonsense, this is going too far and is only the tip of the gravy train iceberg | Laurie |
| Can we hope self-interest might save us. Most, if not all the members of the government will have a home, a holiday home, a rental property, at least one of which will be affected, if not all. | Leonie |
| Finlayson was appalling when handling the Treaty claims. He has proved it again on the Foreshore legislation. | DAVID |
| The Treaty of Waitangi did not include fisheries and forests. | Phil |
| Yet another Tkanga aguement supported by a weak judiciary | john |
| Asap before next election | Richard |
| It makes sense to repeal the present flawed law and start with a clean approach. Anything else will be food for lawyers. | Peter |
| Restore the F&SA before it’s too late. | Gifford |
| Let’s NOT muck around we should all know the main ‘Perversions’ by certain Radical Part Maori by now and follow the only Act for ALL NEW ZEALANDERS and restore the F &SA. | Geoff |
| Urgently needed | Malcolm |
| Return the law back to Crown ownership now. Luxon’s failure in this matter, tells you all one needs to know about National and their arrogance. Key and Luxon lack loyalty to the people, and why we are no longer National voters. Stand up people before it’s too late. | Sam |
| The current situation is totally untenable – there should be immediate steps to rectify this undemocratic hijacking. | Bruce |
| Excellent article today backgrounding the issue. | Ian |
| GET IT OVER AND DONE WITH | NOEL |
| As you said, we’ve been duped! We must fault the Maori Elite’s power grab! | Donna |
| This is typical greed by maori, who cant live by rules e.g. parliamanet and haka. They are better off controliing their own baby killers, drug sellers and sort their prison population also conforming to society first they are 6-8th settlers only its not theirs being beaten in war. Coming 2nd gives no winners rights. get with the real history. | mike |
| one nation one people | Mat |
| The coalistion Governmentis surely sleep walking to social and economic disaster. | Colin |
| yes they should but has this coalition government got the guts to face of this tribal rule, i don’t think they have, they have already allowed all these activist judges in to the judiciary if i was a younger man i would leave this country, the maoris will never give up, and the truth is they are not even indigenous to nz nobody is, I don’t know what will happen, but i think its all gone to far left wing now thanks to the tooth fairy and here horrible government | rodger |
| MACA was a croc – get rid of it | tony |
| This is so cunning & the secrecy around the participants is alarming | Peter |
| Repeal without delay. The same people will be our mountains,lakes and National Parks too. Maori Tourism !!!??? I know he is busy but please”God Defend New Zealand” from the mighty, vocal minority. | Bruce |
| I cannot understand why this does not seem to be an option for politicians. Seems straight forward to me. | Sally |
| Immediately, and dont stop there! | Greg |
| God gave us everything in the globe to one and all not just for a handful of jerks to wanting anachacy | Gaynor |
| Unless there is fairness for all NZers the separatism shall continue | Bruce |
| No brainer | Francis |
| It should and must remain in the Crowns ownership for all to use as we always have done. | Brenda |
| absolutely | Kay |
| Do this ASAP. Stop the rot before apartheid gains a hold in NZ! | Ray |
| (vast) majority rule. We are one people. | Fred |
| We can’t trust Judges. They are on the side of Maori and against Whites and every other ethnic group. Time and again they have proved this with their baised rulings. | Grant |
| When does the civil war start otherwise. | paul |
| It is now clear that MACA is a can of worms with many loopholes that have been exploited by activists. It must be repealed. | Grant |
| Dump the ancient maori seats asap | Judy |
| Stop the nonsense and save a fortune | Ray |
| The foreshore and seabed should be owned by the crown on behalf of all New Zealanders | Gerhard |
| This bit of treacherous National Party manoeuvring by the slippery Finlayson and Key must be exterminated otherwise New Zealand as a nation is doomed. If ownership passes to corrupt Iwi hands it’s time to emigrate or prepare to live in a Third World country with civil war on the horizon. | John |
| Parliament must retain sovereignity in New Zealand | Michael |
| Do it now | Ihaia |
| What is the Current Government doing about all this nonsense. We have heard absolutely nothing from them How serious are they taking all of this maori takeover | Wendy |
| Our foreshores are our border so need to be monitored and secured by the Crown. Crown ownership would also ensure access for al NZ ers. | Marilyn |
| Might be time time to pack our bags | Terry |
| If they don’t repeal MACA, you will never go sea fishing, swimming, surfing, etc again without paying a fee to iwi. | Mark |
| To not restore the F&SA would be disastrous for NZ. | Ian |
| this is an absolute disaster…MACA must be repealed…why is the coalition silent on this? | peter |
| Get rid of all this and move on to defend our national interests. Ignore corrupt wi. | Michael |
| STOP giving away our country. It is for ALL NEW ZEALANDERS regardless of what your ethnicity is. This thievery has to stop, and right now! | Heather |
| This must be done NOW. The Coalition has pussy footed around for far too long. Get rid of the Maori seats in Parliament. This has been obvious since the first M.M.P. election. Maoris are over represented in our Parliament. The majority of Kiwis are about to be banned from all beaches and water activities and any assets connected with the sea shore will be lost to Maoris. It will bankrupt the country. | CHRIS. |
| Show some balls,who runs the law in NZ.Are you frightened of the carkoi from hell.Sick and tired of giving in to moori.The arrogance of the elite.Always with a hand out for more tax payer money.Why ? when the moori economy is worth billions.Use your own money. | ROSS |
| No brainer | Trevor |
| Will Iwi defend the coast should it come under threat-unlikely- that will be left to those others. | David |
| The MACA was always a Trojan horse for control of the coastline by ethnic clans; it needs to be repealed asap. | Trevor |
| While we are all sleep, Maori have been busy. All those holiday homes at nice Northland beaches and Auckland beaches, Coromandel etc lakes will have no free access to the beach. | Rosemary |
| Restore the F&SA NOW, before it’s too late. This is about the most important thing the government needs to urgently do. To date nothing has happened, and I am getting really worried about this state of affairs. It’s just another nail in the coffin of democracy and is one of the reasons I have shifted my allegiance to Act and David Seymour. Come on NATIONAL get some guts and do whats right – time is nigh!! | Don |
| Present interpretations must not overrule the original intentions of Parliament. | Graham |
| I completely agree with Muriel Newman’s article and have said so before ! | Donald |
| This subject is madness to the highest degree. For a culture who contributes so little towards the greatness of this country and never have done and they basically want to takeover is treason – no other word for it! If they want to rule then they need to EARN it by democratic means and not try to steal it. Enough is enough – where is this present Govt we voted for taking this. Why are they so weak when it comes to the Maori revolutionary demands. Do they want all the hard working people to ditch this country for better prospects?? | A.Thompson |
| Kapiti Coast just given to 3 Iwi – one from Kawhia – Te Raupahara’s Raukawa | Margaret |
| No one tribe ever owned all the foreshore and seabed anyway. It seems to me it was always changing hands. | Brian |
| Reset by reinstating the F&SA while govt considers the benefits/costs of allowing judges to override sovereignty | gaye |
| F&SA worked – so restore it without delay! And our nutless wonder of a PM needs to get up off his rear and put the brown parasites and their tame activist judges in their place, so our country can move ahead. We are more than halfway through the current term and nothing of any value has been done to sort out this racist B-S. The fancy pre-election promises made with regard to this issue have not materialised and I, along with many other NZ’ers are rapidly losing patience, so fix it! | Scott |
| Maori signed the treaty and became the same as anyone who is a NZ citizen. The problem with Maori is that they have inherited from their ancestors the knack of lying and cheating.For those who do not believe this I suggest that you watch Parliament to find the proof. | Steve |
| ToW is past its use by date, ALL references to it must be deleted | Gareth |
| Get rid of the Waitangi Tribunal. And end all further claims | Rob |
| For the reinstatement of social harmony the principle of one people one nation should represent all people who live in new Zealand. Crown should own all waters both internal and external for the benefit of all New Zealanders. | Grant |
| it should be done immediately. this government needs to stand up & do what they were voted in for, hiding from the hard jobs in turning the country around will never turn the country around they are showing to be cowards, At least Clark had the gumption to stand up to them & say NO! God we need a strong leader like Trump to save us from the civil war that will surely come if this stupid law is not repealed. | Nigel |
| The current maca is unworkable and should be replaced | Gavin |
| Throw out Finlayson Marine and Coastal act because it being hijacked by Maori party | Ian |
| This is the only solution and the other option will again !! divide this country | RUSS |
| This situation is rediculous, it has been going on for such a long time. All our various Govts have been very neglectful of this and need to put it at top of the to do list… soon | Barbara |
| No preferenttial treatment for Maori. | Ann |
| Lets get Mr Trump over here . He seems the only bastion of common sense ,non woke thinking , anywhere in the world . When we have idiots like Key and Finlayson ,and now Luxon ,taking the easy option of giving away our beautiful countries assets to greedy maori half caste individuals . Make NZ great again . | Ray |
| NZ’s marine & Coastal foreshore & sea bed needs to be protected from these self interested radical maori rent seekers. | Greg |
| Definately repeal it . | Barbara |
| Without immediate repeal, there will be no coastal areas left under the control of the people of New Zealand, and the elected government will have no say in its future once the tribalists greed to grab everything they can at lightning speed is complete. It won’t end there – tribes will soon be going to war against each other over conflicting demands that they own the coast. Luxon and his Maori loving MPs are obviously totally happy for our entire country to fall under stone age savage control, with New Zealanders locked out of their own country, plus rapidly bringing about the end of our democracy. Forget 2040! 2030 is more likely! Your move, Luxon. | Colin |
| We cannot let the activists take over our country | Gerald |
| I fear there is too much common sense involved here–and it is NOT common these days. National screwed up with this law change so they have to sort it out in the best interests of all New Zealanders. | William |
| Apart from clarifying the relationship of the Judiciary and Parliament we need to return to what was initially intended or alternatively go back to the electorate to vote on | Bruce |
| The country has so much to thank Key and Finlayson for, they did almost as much damage as Ardern. The biggest current problem is the utter lack of spine being shown by the current government, they tend to say the right things, but do nothing. The people of New Zealand need to get laws that force politicians to keep election promises. | Hugh |
| it should never been changed you cant trust Maori or labour | adrian |
| Critically important decision. | Carrol |
| I cannot believe that the “other’ peoples of NZ cannot see what is going on under their noses – are they just too busy trying to live their lives, are they overwhelmed by guilt, too scared to speak out, or are they simply well-indoctrinated. The people on RNZ and other media are intelligent people… why do they not see the other side??? There will be no going back after this. | Heather |
| The Act must be repealed but I can’t see it being achieved. | George |
| WE ARE ALL ONE PEOPLE AND THE COASTLINE BELONGS TO ALL OF OUR PEOPLE | William |
| Why oh why is nothing getting done!! This is top priority! | Marianne |
| should absolutely be in crown ownership for every one to enjoy and benefit from | LesW |
| There can be no rational excuse for this not to be an immediate solution | RIchard |
| Imperative. Urgent | Tony |
| Words fail me! | sandra |
| It is urgent to do this -oberlapping claims exist over the whole of the Marlborough Sounds. It would be the end of the Sounds as we know it and all our residents and businesses if they succeed. | Anthony |
| The insidious, Apartheid in this country sickens me. Why are we not shouting this from the rooftops and imploring the outside world to boycott NZ like they did South Africa for similar crimes? | Geoff |
| Marine farming will be finished if Maori own the sea bead | John |
| asap….. | john |
| Repeal it and cut off the head of the snake! | Laura |
| National under Luxon is continuing the damage started by Key…. being voted out and replaced by a truly conservative government is the only hope. | Giles |
| Repealing the Act is the only equitable way forward, and it has to be done ASAP for the security of New Zealanders and all who call this land “home”. To allow the rich tribal corporations to “own” the coastline could enable them to sell it off to the highest bidder and so make themselves even more wealthy – for doing nothing except collect revenue. | Laurence |
| In my opinion, Findlayson opened a can of worms by his actions. A total lack of foresight bordering on stupidity . The MACA should unquestionably be repealed. The coalition needs to to give this urgent attention. | chris |
| Such a repel cannot be delayed any further for the good of this nation. Are we to be taken over by a minority of self seeking disrupters who have taken the benefits of democracy and our way of life to now wish to use them against the majority of the country. Parliament is our elected governing body and must exert its authority for the good of all. Get it done. | john |
| No one will be holding their breath waiting for the National lead government to act. They are MIA (missing in action) on matters maori. | Martin |
| it all happened in 2004 | RICHard |
| Yes it time to go right back to where the seabed and foreshore belongs to ALL citizens. National were stupid to trust Chris Finlayson with anything at all. | Roger |
| urgently otherwise NZ as we know it will be gone and Democracy will no longer exist here and then in come the Chinese… | Linda |
| John Key, at the behest of Pita Sharples, sold us down the river by allowing Sharples to sign NZ up to the UN Charter for Indigenous Peoples, a fiction in its own right, just so Key could use the Maori party to form a government. This needs to be undone/nullified along with the repeal of the MACA and the Foreshore and Seabed Act restored. | John |
| Revert it. | Carl |
| The Seabed & foreshore Act was the only good outcome of Helen Clarks government. Should have been left as it was. | Dave |
| Everyone is entitled to enjoy the whole foreshore within the common fishing limits. | Raymond |
| Fix this mess now! | Greg |
| Repeal or the future for NZ IS DIRE | Dave |
| New Zealand is in a very dangerous position at present. If the status quo remains, or is further weakened by radical decline, we are in danger of losing our right to live here freely and without right to any recourse. | Malcolm |
| URGENT ACTION REQUIRED | Ronald |
| Urgent | Don |
| I’ve said all along that what’s happening with the seabed and foreshore debacle will cause the ruination of New Zealand. Those rapacious maori, who think that they have some kind of elite status, should be sidelined. Even if they get their own way, is “Joe Average” maori going to be better off? i doubt it. Just another Zimbabwe in the making | Trevor |
| How on earth did we get into such a dangerous situation? For goodness sake, Luxon, Peters,Seymour sort out this bloody mess. Do your job and protect our foreshore and seabed. | Claire |
| Start again with a clean slate to set things back as they were … as New Zealanders always assumed they were, The Government owns the seabed and foreshore on behalf of all New Zealand. | Robbie |
| According to Minister Goldsmith’s office ” The Minister is currently considering next steps on the Bill, in light of the Supreme Court’s judgement on this matter in December last year. Next steps and potential timeframes will be announced in due course. ” Gross procrastination = confirmation of more “bugger all action by National” aka sheer bloody incompetence. Of course it must revert to the 2004 Act and be completely retrospective. | Doug |
| This is a national security issue of the highest order. | Gregg |
| The legislation has been highjacked by woke judgements. We need to protect long-term ownership for all New Zealanders | Jim |
| The matter is beyond question. End of story. | Logan |
| Should have been done a long time ago. The Foreshore and seabed belong to all of us and should never be just handed over to these tribal claimants who are just after control and power and money. | Lee |
| The MACA Act should definitely be repealed. Our coastal areas and ocean control areas should all be under the ownership / direct control of the Crown for the benefit of all citizens . The same should apply to all lakes , lakebeds , rivers – all water resources. Water is a perpetually renewable resource which should be unquestionably owned and controlled only by the Crown for the benefit of all . Hugh Perrett | Hugh |
| The people own the right to ownership | RAY |
| more judicially inspired feeding at the trough if this Act is not repealed, NOW. Parliament has to take control and legislate accordingly. Judges….. beware | martyn |
| Repeal is the only option | peter |
| It must be repealed | Jan |
| It is way past time and may already be too late to Repeal. | Kevin |
| This is a no Brainerd. Restore the foreshore and seabed to crown ownership in its entirety. | David |
| Urgency is needed | Christine |
| Finlayson was in the pay of maori, whatever they asked for they got, before going into parliament he worked for the maori claims and once he got elected it was a land slide, his Knight hood should be taken of him as he is against the majority of NZers | Colin |
| MACA is a dog, take it out the back & put it out of our misery. | john |
| Findlayson has proven to be a traitor and is lining his pockets with Maori bribes. Kill the bill. | Gerry |
| the coast is public land belonging to all N Z ers | mark |
| All essential assets and infrastructure including Foreshore and Seabed should be under ownership and control of the Crown. No separate entity should have control over these items of national importance. | Martin |
| The danger of the collapse of a truly democratic society is more and more real with this alarming separatist agenda. It must be stopped. | Gina |
| At the same time dismiss the activist judges | Mick |
| Difficult decision but I must vote yes | Derek |
| If the coalition government doesn’t repeal MACA, then NZ is doomed. It’s a no brainer. How stupid are they? Time will tell. | Koreen |
| Woke activist judges appointed by Adern during her ‘back-room’ discussions with MP Mahuta have seriously eroded NZ’ers rights and circumvented democracy. It is exactly how she expected this to play out. Findlayson is the other guilty party in this act of treason. | John |
| Repeal the act with urgency! | Vern |
| Repeal..repeal..repeal. | Des |
| Too much time and money has been wasted on this. The foreshore and seabed belong to all New Zealanders. | Chris |
| To do otherwise is to invite perpetual litigation beyond the public interests. | Chris |
| ENOUGH | mike |
| Before it is too late | Ian |
| Repeal. If Goldsmith is involved nothing will happen. He is useless. | Robert |
| Repeal repeal repeal | Evans |
| Time to correct some of the serious issues created for Kiwis by soft liberally leaning preceding governments. | Andrew |
| We are heading for the rocks unless this government stands up which is looking doubtful | john |
| absolute nonsense that something no one can own causes such division | john |
| We have been duped for far to long there should never been a claim on the foreshore and seabed how could the government aloud this to happen. Who’s actually running this country do we the taxpayers not have any say ? We seem to have a bunch of idiots trying not to upset the Maori to timid to actually do anything | Peter |
| NZers are too ignorant to understand the full implicatioms | Jodi |
| This internal fighting is so unproductive and causing increased division and anger. NZ has totally lost its innocence. | Hilary |
| Repeal MACA without delay. | John |
| New Zealand is comprised of one people in so far as Parliament is concered | John |
| Immediately if not sooner | Rosa |
| We need to organise a national march on this issue. New Zealanders are being betrayed by an incompetent government and We the People need to act before it is too late. | John |
| I’m afraid National is too spineless to do this. They simply roll over to maori wishes. Chirs Finlayson was never on our side. | jan |
| Govt needs to retain control of foreshore and seabed for all New Zealanders | Kathy |
| Maori do NOT own the seabed and foreshore. This needs to be STOPPED. | Helen |
| The seas, rivers and foreshore should belong to EVERY Kiwi whatever their race and therefore bring back the ‘Crown”. | Graham |
| This must be repealedvurgently. Get into gear Coalition and domwhat you promised. The Supreme Court need to be hauled back into line and made to do their job , not impose their own ideas. This cannot be allowed to happen. | Gail |
| The Government must act now. | Michael |
| Action is needed now by Parliament | Brenda |
| I disagree with most of what Helen Clark did but not in this case. SHE WAS TOTALLY CORRECT. The seabed etc .must be protected for ALL New Zealanders. | COOKIE |
| Without doubt or delay.. | Robyn |
| Back to basics! | Ian |
| As soon as reasonably possible, this is a battle that must be won | Roy |
| When we lazy New Zealnders wake up to this garbage there will be hell to pay. Wake up now. | Graham |
| God help New Zealand | Anthony |
| The end of this nonsense. | mary |
| I do not care about all the tiny bits of legislation from the coalition agreement. Only the repeal of the seabed and foreshore matters this term | Basil |
| Let’s go back to Helen Clark’s solution. At least it worked. Luxon, Finlayson, Key, Bolger, Graham are all treasonous liars and should be prosecuted. | Juliet |
| Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith said on the 17/6/25; The Government will not agree to Treaty settlements that dispute whether the Crown is now sovereign. The Crown’s position is clear; the Crown is sovereign. The Crown is simply the representation of the democratic will of the people of New Zealand. Problem solved. Message to Crown. The will of the people is for you to repeal the Marine and Coastal Area Act and restore the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act, asap. It is time for the people to rise up in anger, make the government fear its people and act in accordance with the will of the people. | neil |
| Parliamentarians who are elected to REPRESENT us, the people of NZ and the Judiciary which is required to interpret and apply the law as parliament intended, have both sold the majority of the people of NZ short. Clearly, the executive ignores the wishes of the majority. So what do we, the people do?? As I see it, ultimately we will need to take matters into our into our own hands and that won’t be pretty! | Alan |
| Don’t play on words that can be manipulated. Make it plain and simple. | Noel |
| The foreshore and seabed laws should never have been tampered with. The whole thing was an outrage. And to think National would agree with the Maori Party to give away our coast defies logic! Let’s hope they come to their senses before it’s too late! | Dave |
| As you say, New Zealanders never agreed to repeal Crown ownership, so it should be restored ASAP so the area belongs to everyone. | Murray |
| The Marine and Coastal Area Act is toxic. The coast belongs to all New Zealanders. It is shameful that National was prepared to give it away. They should restore the Foreshore and Seabed Act without delay. | Pauline |
| Thank you for the clear summary. David Round was spot on with his advice. I intend writing to all government MPs urging them to repeal MACA and restore the F&S Act ASAP. | Colin |
| When will the Coalition bring the judiciary back into line. They are acting like dictators and they should not be allowed to carry on in such a high handed manner. Repealing the Marine and Coastal Area law will restore the sovereignty of Parliament and pull them down a peg or two! | Hugh |