Post by Kiwi Frontline on Apr 6, 2024 10:19:52 GMT 12
ACTIVIST CAPTURE
However, specifically excluded from the fast-tracking process is any activity “that would occur in a customary marine title area under the Marine and Coastal Area Act 2011.”
The implication of this is significant. As a result of the Marine and Coastal Area Act being interpreted more liberally by Judges than Parliament intended, Customary Marine Titles are likely to cover the entire coastline of New Zealand. That means future Governments will no longer have the right to consider coastal projects for fast-tracking, but will instead need to go cap in hand to the multiple iwi groups that will end up sharing title to our coast.
And while the Coalition has signalled it plans to “fix” the law and return it to what Parliament intended – namely only a minority of claims in remote areas of the coast would qualify for Customary Marine Title – this reform was not included in their 100-day plan, nor is it in their recently announced 36-point plan.
With multiple High Court claims expected to be decided this year, this matter is urgent.
Right now, for example, a hearing is underway for control of the Whangarei Harbour. In spite of the area being one of the country’s oldest operational ports, with, over the years, an oil refinery and even a power station, that hasn’t stopped the fifteen applicant groups who are seeking Customary Marine Title from claiming they have each used the area exclusively and continuously since 1840.
These applications are indicative of the opportunism that underpins the vast majority of the 585 claims for the coast that are waiting to be resolved.
Back in 2004, there was a great deal of controversy when the iwi ‘owners’ of Lake Taupo announced their plan “to charge a licence fee to commercial operators using the water and airspace above it.”
While the Government stepped in with a deal, since the Marine and Coastal Area Act includes in the definition of the marine and coastal area, the seabed, the water space and the airspace above, and with Customary Marine Title holders having the right to ‘derive a commercial benefit’ from their area, there are growing concerns over the direction in which successful claimants may wish to take their new found power.
With the right to veto resource consent application in their area, without any shadow of a doubt, Customary Marine Titles are a license to print money.
In the case of the Whangarei Harbour, the awarding of Customary Title to multiple iwi would also have a major impact on plans to re-commission the Marsden Point Oil Refinery, to expand Northport, as well as any thoughts of relocating the Devonport Naval Base to Whangarei.
Given such uncertainties, it is essential that the claims process is halted until the Marine and Coastal Area Act changes have been introduced, to prevent Customary Marine Titles being awarded to opportunistic claimants that do not meet the high standards intended by Parliament.
In his statement, Sir Russell Coutts alluded to the influence of iwi: “I find it astonishing the amount of influence iwi have over the authorities here in New Zealand. The Department of Conservation would not allow racing in Lyttleton unless SailGP had approval from the iwi.”
He also said, “I suspect most New Zealanders don’t realise the full implications of such a stance.”
He’s right.
If the public really understood the extent to which iwi have manoeuvred themselves into positions of influence, where they can not only dictate what goes on, but also make serious self-interested demands from both public and private interests, they would be shocked.
It has to stop.
To ensure future coastal projects in New Zealand are not condemned to the endless delays, on-going litigation, and serious demands for bribes that are likely to occur if the Marine and Coastal Area Act is not changed, the Coalition needs to immediately suspend the claims process while the legal and bureaucratic nightmare that’s being created by activist Judges is sorted out.....
Read the full article here > www.nzcpr.com/activist-capture/
However, specifically excluded from the fast-tracking process is any activity “that would occur in a customary marine title area under the Marine and Coastal Area Act 2011.”
The implication of this is significant. As a result of the Marine and Coastal Area Act being interpreted more liberally by Judges than Parliament intended, Customary Marine Titles are likely to cover the entire coastline of New Zealand. That means future Governments will no longer have the right to consider coastal projects for fast-tracking, but will instead need to go cap in hand to the multiple iwi groups that will end up sharing title to our coast.
And while the Coalition has signalled it plans to “fix” the law and return it to what Parliament intended – namely only a minority of claims in remote areas of the coast would qualify for Customary Marine Title – this reform was not included in their 100-day plan, nor is it in their recently announced 36-point plan.
With multiple High Court claims expected to be decided this year, this matter is urgent.
Right now, for example, a hearing is underway for control of the Whangarei Harbour. In spite of the area being one of the country’s oldest operational ports, with, over the years, an oil refinery and even a power station, that hasn’t stopped the fifteen applicant groups who are seeking Customary Marine Title from claiming they have each used the area exclusively and continuously since 1840.
These applications are indicative of the opportunism that underpins the vast majority of the 585 claims for the coast that are waiting to be resolved.
Back in 2004, there was a great deal of controversy when the iwi ‘owners’ of Lake Taupo announced their plan “to charge a licence fee to commercial operators using the water and airspace above it.”
While the Government stepped in with a deal, since the Marine and Coastal Area Act includes in the definition of the marine and coastal area, the seabed, the water space and the airspace above, and with Customary Marine Title holders having the right to ‘derive a commercial benefit’ from their area, there are growing concerns over the direction in which successful claimants may wish to take their new found power.
With the right to veto resource consent application in their area, without any shadow of a doubt, Customary Marine Titles are a license to print money.
In the case of the Whangarei Harbour, the awarding of Customary Title to multiple iwi would also have a major impact on plans to re-commission the Marsden Point Oil Refinery, to expand Northport, as well as any thoughts of relocating the Devonport Naval Base to Whangarei.
Given such uncertainties, it is essential that the claims process is halted until the Marine and Coastal Area Act changes have been introduced, to prevent Customary Marine Titles being awarded to opportunistic claimants that do not meet the high standards intended by Parliament.
In his statement, Sir Russell Coutts alluded to the influence of iwi: “I find it astonishing the amount of influence iwi have over the authorities here in New Zealand. The Department of Conservation would not allow racing in Lyttleton unless SailGP had approval from the iwi.”
He also said, “I suspect most New Zealanders don’t realise the full implications of such a stance.”
He’s right.
If the public really understood the extent to which iwi have manoeuvred themselves into positions of influence, where they can not only dictate what goes on, but also make serious self-interested demands from both public and private interests, they would be shocked.
It has to stop.
To ensure future coastal projects in New Zealand are not condemned to the endless delays, on-going litigation, and serious demands for bribes that are likely to occur if the Marine and Coastal Area Act is not changed, the Coalition needs to immediately suspend the claims process while the legal and bureaucratic nightmare that’s being created by activist Judges is sorted out.....
Read the full article here > www.nzcpr.com/activist-capture/