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The foreshore and seabed controversy was sparked when, on 19 June 2003, New Zealand's Court of Appeal ruled that Maori were entitled to "seek exclusive title" over the foreshore and seabed in the Maori Land Court. The ruling granted only the right to pursue ownership, not ownership itself, but the prospect of a successful claim created considerable hostility in many sectors of society. The Prime Minister, Helen Clark of the Labour Party, announced that the government would legislate to ensure public ownership of the foreshore and seabed.
This move received an angry reaction by many, particularly Maori, who saw it as a "land grab" or confiscation of Maori property. The Treaty of Waitangi guaranteed Maori tribes "full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess", which many interpret as including the foreshore and seabed. The government's traditional viewpoint, that the foreshore and seabed were either unowned or owned by the state, was deemed an incorrect assumption by the Court of Appeal, which also found that no government legislation had ever "extinguished customary rights". A pressure group, Te Ope Mana a Tai , was formed to challenge the government's proposals.
At the same time, however, the government was strongly attacked by the opposition National Party, led by Don Brash. In sharp contrast to Te Ope Mana a Tai, the National Party claimed that the government's proposals were too favourable towards Maori. While the government's plan did indeed vest ownership in the state, they also incorporated provision for Maori to be consulted over matters relating to the foreshore and seabed. The National Party claimed that Maori were to be given too much control, and that the government was giving rights to Maori over and above those possessed by other New Zealanders.
Although under attack from both sides, the government chose to press forward with its legislation, believing that its "middle way" was the only means of satisfactorily resolving the controversy. Criticism of the government, both from Maori and from opposition parties, continued to intensify, and the government began to lose ground in opinion pollOpinion polls are surveys of opinion using sampling. They are designed to represent the opinions of a population by asking a small number of people a series of questions and then extrapolating the answers to the larger group. History of opinion polls Thes.
On January 27January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 338 days remaining (339 in leap years). Events 1606 Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begin and later ends in their execution on January 31. 1785 The 2004, National Party leader Don Brash delivered a speech at OrewaThe Orewa speech was a controversial speech delivered by Dr. Don Brash in the New Zealand town of Orewa on 27 January 2004. It addressed themes of race relations in New Zealand. Some liberal and social democrats consider the speech to be racist against th that was highly critical of the government's policy towards Maori. Brash said that the government was showing strong favouritism to Maori, both in the foreshore and seabed debate and in many other areas of government policy. Brash's speech was condemned both by the government and by many Maori groups, but met with widespread approval from many other sectors of New Zealand society. Shortly afterwards, an opinion poll put the National Party ahead of the Labour Party for the first time in years.
The government was also facing serious internal debate over its proposed legislation. Many of the party's Maori MPs were deeply unhappy with the government's plans, and raised the possibility of breaking ranks to oppose the legislation in Parliament. This left the government unsure of whether it had a sufficient number of votes to pass its legislation through Parliament. In theory, the government had a narrow majority willing to support its proposed bill, with Labour, the ProgressivesCurrent Progressive Party logo The Progressive Party (initially the Progressive Coalition is a political party in the New Zealand Parliament. It is presently the junior partner in the governing coalition, being somewhat to the left of its ally the Labour, and United FutureCurrent United Future logo United Future New Zealand is a political party in the New Zealand parliament with eight MPs seven list MPs, and one electorate MP, leader Peter Dunne (see MMP for the difference). It currently has an agreement to support the Lab all prepared to vote in favour. If two of Labour's Maori MPs were to vote against the bill, however, it would fail. Moreover, any attempt to make the bill more favourable to these MPs would risk losing the support of United Future.
On 8 April 2004, it was announced that the centrist-nationalist New Zealand First party would give its support to the legislation. New Zealand First's price for this support was that ownership of the seabed and foreshore would be vested solely in the Crown, ending the concept of " public domain" (vesting ownership in the public at large rather than in the state) that United Future had promoted. United Future withdrew its support for the legislation, but New Zealand First provided sufficient votes to make this irrelevant. It is believed that Helen Clark preferred United Future's "public domain", and this was acknowledged by United Future leader Peter Dunne, but United Future could not provide enough votes to guarantee the bill's passage, forcing Labour to seek support elsewhere.
One of the strongest critics of the bill within the Labour Party was Tariana Turia, a junior minister. Turia indicated on a number of occasions that she might vote against the government's bill, but for a considerable time refused to give a final decision. It was made clear that voting against a government bill was "incompatible" with serving as a minister, and that doing so would result in Turia's dismissal from that role. Turia was encouraged to either abstain or simply be absent when the vote was taken. On 30 April 2004, however, Turia announced that she would vote against the legislation, and would resign (effective May 17 2004) from the Labour Party to contest a by-election in her electorate. She was dismissed from her ministerial post by the Prime Minister the same day. Another Labour MP, Nanaia Mahuta, eventually decided that she would also vote against the bill, but chose not to leave the Labour Party. Mahuta had no ministerial post to be dismissed from.
On 5 May 2004, a hikoi (a long walk or march, often in protest) arrived in Wellington. It had begun in Northland thirteen days earlier, picking up supporters as it marched towards the capital. The hikoi, which some estimated to contain fifteen thousand people by the time it reached Parliament, strongly opposed the government's plans, and was highly supportive of Tariana Turia's decision. Turia and her allies, believing that the time is right for an independent Maori political vehicle, have now established a new Maori Party. Many of Turia's supporters, such as Mana Motuhake leader Willie Jackson and Maori academic Pita Sharples, claim that Maori who formerly supported Labour will flock to the new party en masse. On the other hand, other commentators point to a poor track record for Maori parties in the past, and say that it will be difficult to unite diverse Maori opinion into a single group.