Post by Kiwi Frontline on Jun 6, 2018 5:36:25 GMT 12
COASTAL CLAIM DEVELOPMENTS
....Furthermore the new Labour-led Government has now compounded the problem by sending that Bill, with its unproven rights, to a Select Committee.
Essentially the Ngati Porou Bill outlines a legislative framework that honours a deal agreed to with Michael Cullen in 2008, and amended by Chris Finlayson in 2017, to transition into the Marine and Coastal Area Act regime.
Part 1 gives effect to the deed of agreement between Ngati Porou and the Crown. Part 2 outlines a range of unique privileges that Ngati Porou will gain across their whole claimed area – as part of their 2008 agreement – covering resource consents, conservation activities, customary fishing, and the introduction of wahi tapu. Part 3 outlines changes that will apply once a Customary Marine Title has been agreed, and Part 4 identifies special conditions including a two-year extension to apply for a Customary Marine Title.
As with all other claimants, Ngati Porou has a choice of negotiating their claim with the Minister through ‘Crown Engagement’, or lodging it with the High Court. The same statutory tests that apply to all other claimants – that the tribal group has exclusively used and occupied the claimed area from 1840 to the present day without substantial interruption – will need to be met for their claim to succeed. If it does not succeed, according to the Bill as it stands, their Part 2 special privileges will continue to apply.
In addition to their Part 2 rights, Ngati Porou will also gain significant financial advantage.
Their original agreement with the Crown shows that Michael Cullen agreed to pay Ngati Porou “to exercise their rights and perform their obligations under the deed and the recognition legislation”. That meant they were not only being given control of the coastline, but they were also being paid for it – to the tune of $7.6 million for the first 5 years, followed by $700,000 a year.
Under Chris Finlayson’s re-negotiated agreement, Ngati Porou will receive $15.3 million tax-free as a full and final settlement. That appropriation has been carried forward into the current 2018 Budget.
As the new Treaty Negotiations Minister, Labour’s Andrew Little had the opportunity to investigate the validity of Ngati Porou’s customary rights claims to the coast. Instead, he rubber stamped the Bill to a Select Committee. Judging by the supportive First Reading speeches in Parliament – see HERE ( www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20180510_20180510_12 ) – unless the public get involved and send in submissions, this Bill is likely to receive very little scrutiny......
Read Dr Muriel Newman’s alarming NZCPR newsletter here > www.nzcpr.com/coastal-claim-developments/
....Furthermore the new Labour-led Government has now compounded the problem by sending that Bill, with its unproven rights, to a Select Committee.
Essentially the Ngati Porou Bill outlines a legislative framework that honours a deal agreed to with Michael Cullen in 2008, and amended by Chris Finlayson in 2017, to transition into the Marine and Coastal Area Act regime.
Part 1 gives effect to the deed of agreement between Ngati Porou and the Crown. Part 2 outlines a range of unique privileges that Ngati Porou will gain across their whole claimed area – as part of their 2008 agreement – covering resource consents, conservation activities, customary fishing, and the introduction of wahi tapu. Part 3 outlines changes that will apply once a Customary Marine Title has been agreed, and Part 4 identifies special conditions including a two-year extension to apply for a Customary Marine Title.
As with all other claimants, Ngati Porou has a choice of negotiating their claim with the Minister through ‘Crown Engagement’, or lodging it with the High Court. The same statutory tests that apply to all other claimants – that the tribal group has exclusively used and occupied the claimed area from 1840 to the present day without substantial interruption – will need to be met for their claim to succeed. If it does not succeed, according to the Bill as it stands, their Part 2 special privileges will continue to apply.
In addition to their Part 2 rights, Ngati Porou will also gain significant financial advantage.
Their original agreement with the Crown shows that Michael Cullen agreed to pay Ngati Porou “to exercise their rights and perform their obligations under the deed and the recognition legislation”. That meant they were not only being given control of the coastline, but they were also being paid for it – to the tune of $7.6 million for the first 5 years, followed by $700,000 a year.
Under Chris Finlayson’s re-negotiated agreement, Ngati Porou will receive $15.3 million tax-free as a full and final settlement. That appropriation has been carried forward into the current 2018 Budget.
As the new Treaty Negotiations Minister, Labour’s Andrew Little had the opportunity to investigate the validity of Ngati Porou’s customary rights claims to the coast. Instead, he rubber stamped the Bill to a Select Committee. Judging by the supportive First Reading speeches in Parliament – see HERE ( www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20180510_20180510_12 ) – unless the public get involved and send in submissions, this Bill is likely to receive very little scrutiny......
Read Dr Muriel Newman’s alarming NZCPR newsletter here > www.nzcpr.com/coastal-claim-developments/