The Foreshore and Seabed Act

There is an interesting article in the HoS about how a deal under Labour’s Foreshore & Seabed Act may allow Ngati Porou to close off public access to some beaches.

It’s one thing to have a Court find that title to certain areas of foreshore can be claimed by Iwi and Hapu (something that the Court of Appeal said would be a very high barrier), but quite another when the Government gives it away in private deals.

How to move forward on this issue will be very challenging for the Government. Iwi who have signed agreements under the new law will want those agreements to remain valid.