Maori Party to get right of veto on seabed law

File photo / Sarah Ivey

The Government is close to finalising its foreshore and seabed law repeal proposal, but the Maori Party will have the power to veto it, Prime Minister John Key indicated yesterday.

Mr Key also said that it would not proceed unless the Maori Party supported it - effectively a veto - even if there were enough support from other parties to pass it.

He said again that meant the status quo would remain, namely the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 passed by Labour.

National's proposal would take the foreshore and seabed from Crown ownership to a new legal concept of "public domain" in which nobody owns it.

While the Foreshore and Seabed Act would be repealed it would be replaced by a similar regime in which iwi could claim customary title, and gain veto rights over coastal developments.

National's proposal makes it easier for iwi to claim customary rights and title, though public access to beaches remains guaranteed.

The final recommendations might be only a week away from being signed off.

Speaking at his post-Cabinet press conference, Mr Key rejected as "unacceptable to the Government" a call by the influential iwi leaders group to include the 12,500 parcels of foreshore and seabed that is in private freehold title into the concept of "public domain".

"They are freehold, fee simple titles," Mr Key said. "That is not what we are debating in terms of the foreshore and seabed. That is customary title and that is quite a different issue."

He also said about 3000 of the parcels of land were Maori land.

The coastline in private parcels amounts to 6032km or 30.4 per cent of the total 19,883km.

The Maori Party has not yet decided what process it will use to come to a final position but options include just the caucus deciding, taking it to the national council; or to membership hui.