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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Monday, February 19, 2007

National urged to support seabed property principle

A leader constitutional scholar is calling on the National Party to back the introduction of Tariana Turia's Foreshore and Seabed Act Repeal Bill, so the issue can be discussed at select committee.

Auckland University emeritus law professor Jock Brookfield says the Foreshore and Seabed Act is bad low which will have to be changed eventually.

Professor Brookfield says Labour clearly panicked after the 2003 Marlborough Sounds case, when the Court of Appeal said it was possible under common law for Maori to have customary title to areas of sea.

He says its response was to override common law rights and property rights, and that needs to be addressed.

“The conservative element in the National Party, which is said to be strongly against this, in doing so are inconsistent really with the defence of property rights that would otherwise be expected from them,” Professor Brookfield says.

He says it should be relatively simple for the Crown to uphold Maori customary rights while also allowing for recreational or commercial use of marine spaces.

FIELD COULD STOP LABOUR HOLDING MANGERE

Former Alliance president Matt McCarten says ousted Labour MP Taito Phillip Field could stop Labour from holding Mangere at the next election.

Mr Field has resigned from Labour while waiting to see whether the police will charge him over allegations of bribery and corruption, but he is still voting with the Government.

Mr McCarten says Mr Field could stand as an independent, and the recent by-election in Mangere to fill the Manukau City Council seat of James Papali'i illustrated the danger in that for Labour.

“I mean you had the local body by-election recently when James had to step down and of course a blue rinse Nat sort of came through the middle so I think that Philip potentially could ensure that Labour lost the seat, but if he’s charged, I don’t think he’s got a prayer,” Mr McCarten says.

He says suggestions the former trade union organiser has received overtures to join the Maori Party are off the mark and misrepresent the personal support that party is offering Mr Field at a time of great stress.

DOMESTIC MARKET IMPORTANT FOR MAORI TOURISM

A Kapiti tourism operator says Maori businesses overlook the demand from their domestic market for quality experiences.

Damian Parata from Lindale at Paraparaumu says repeat visitors to the centre are more likely to be New Zealanders.

Mr Parata says although overseas visitors are important for any tourist venture, operators shouldn't underestimate the value of the domestic market in keeping them afloat.

“We'd actually started out with an el grando plan of poi dance and a hangi and an overnight marae stay and things like that. We quickly learnt though that as we looked at the market there was a strong domestic presence in our visitor profile. We decided on some of the basics of serving kai and telling our stories were some of those things people would repeatedly do,” Mr Parata says.

He says Maori tourism operators need to spend more time on research.

ORGAN DONATION CHANGES SOUGHT

National MP Jacqui Blue hopes her private members bill will address Maori concerns over organ donation.

New Zealand has the lowest organ donation rate, with only 25 recorded for 2006, and Maori are the least likely of New Zealanders to donate organs.

Dr Blue says the low rate of organ donation in this country needs to be addressed, and Maori are least likely to donate organs.

She says feedback so far from the Maori Party indicates while Maori may be prepared to consider donations from live donors, they resist harvest from the dead.

“The people were very concerned about donation from dead donors, tissue typing matters, ethnicity matters, when you need an organ it’s better you get it from your own race rather than a different race, simply because of genetic material matches and so forth,” Dr Blue says.

The process for deciding to be an organ donor should be more thorough than ticking a box on a driving licence application.

MAUAO DEAL KEEPS WAITAHA AT ARMS LENGTH

Te Puke iwi Waitaha has been left out of the ownership of the Mauao at Mount Maunganui, but it will have a say in the mountain's management.

Three Tauranga iwi, Ngati Ranginui, Ngai Te Rangi and Ngati Pikiao, have signed off on the trust deed, the last step before the Crown returns title.

Colin Bidois, the chair of Te Runanga o Tauranga Moana says the deed recognises Waitaha's historical relationship to the mountain, without giving it ownership.

“Waitaha will be there on the governance side of the management of Mauao. Their historical association will be catered for in that manner,” Mr Bidois says.

Tauranga City Council will also have a say in the mountain's management.

CELLPHONE CAMERAS MAKE COPY PROTECTION TOO HARD

Technology may have overtaken the efforts of kapa haka festival organisers to protect performers' images.

Te Matatini chairperson Tama Huata says the media will be under strict controls at the national Maori performing arts competitions starting in Palmerston North at the end of the week.

Mr Huata say several international film crews are expected, and to gain accreditation they will need to say how they will use the material.

But he says the digital age means there is no way to regulate the number of digital cameras at the event or where images end up.

“I mean there's a reality because anyone with a cellphone can just walk in there and click away. It’s fairly open and we don’t know where they could end up and I don’t have enough hours in the day to walk around and see who’s clicking what,” Mr Huata says.

One team took legal action after last year's Tairawhiti regional competitions to stop a bootleg film of their performance being sold.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your experience

5:51 am  

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