The Government’s introduction of its interventions in the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act threatens to throw relations between Māori and Crown into deeper disharmony.

“This legislation is not fit for Parliament and represents an outright assault on the rights of iwi and hapū, disregarding the founding agreement Aotearoa was built upon,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Steve Abel.

“Te Tiriti is foundational, governments are temporary and do not have the right to disregard or trample on the binding contract between Māori and Crown on which our nation is built. Iwi and hapū rights to their customary waters are part of tino rangatiratanga, and are core to the sovereignty tangata whenua never ceded.

“The Government’s Takutai Moana re-write legislation robs Māori of customary rights to the marine and coastal area without moral justification or evidential basis. It is a regression to raupatu.

“The disingenuous narrative of ‘restoring parliamentary intent’ that the Government is using to justify this attack on Te Tiriti is a complete misrepresentation of our history that overrides Māori rights in favour of corporations who want to exploit our oceans for private profit.

“The Waitangi Tribunal was damning in its evaluation of this legislation, stating that it was a clear breach of tino rangatiratanga, antithetical to good government, and sidelined Māori rights and interests in te takutai moana without providing evidence for its claim that the public’s rights and interests require further protection.

“Time and time again, Christopher Luxon has talked about the importance of Te Tiriti, praising it as our past, present and future. But these words are hollow in the context of his assaults on the taonga guaranteed to iwi in our founding agreement.

“The Green Party will stand alongside Te iwi Māori in opposing the Government’s confiscation of their customary rights to the marine and coastal environment,” says Steve Abel.

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