KEY POINTS:
Ngati Porou leader Dr Apirana Mahuika talks to James Ihaka about the law ringing alarm bells over access to East Coast beaches.
What do the changes mean?
First of all, it returns to Ngati Porou its mana (authority) as kaitiaki (guardian) of the foreshore and seabed.
Previous to that we did not have the endorsement of law.
It also means that whanau and hapu will have greater say in the protection of their wahi tapu (sacred areas) and foreshore and seabed, because they will sit down with us and with others to create bylaws which will have impact on everyone, be they Ngati Porou or non-Ngati Porou.
In that sense it does not discriminate that if you are Ngati Porou it does not let you off the leash so to speak.
Will the legislation mean sections of beaches will be cordoned off?
We will not be cordoning off any parts of the beach at all - that's a misrepresentation.
What we are saying is that there are many areas that are wahi tapu and many of these pre-date the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Our people who are there respect these places, they do not interfere with them or abuse them at all.
All we are asking other people is to provide the same accord to these places and to respect them as well.
What we would like to do is to create signage indicating this is a wahi tapu area. It does not say to people you cannot sit juxtaposed to the wahi tapu but, for God's sake, just respect it as we do.
What effect will the legislation have on commercial fishing interests?
The impact of marine reserves and mataitai impact on us as well. Not only does it impact on Ngati Porou people but everyone else as well.
We need to look after our own interests as commercial fishing people. It's not in our interest to harass commercial fishermen or recreational fishermen.
It's like these guys are crying out about things that are unlikely to happen.
How many wahi tapu are there?
There are many. Some are burial caves, some are sites that have eroded away but a lot of them we won't be revealing because of the relationship the people have with them. We will be signaging some of those juxtaposed to the land of the foreshore and seabed.
Iwi Maori and not least Ngati Porou respect wahi tapu, all we ask is non-Maori accord the same respect.Ngati Porou wants to revert to some of the traditional place names around the East Coast - what are some of these?
In terms of the deed so far we are saying if Ngati Porou people want to make a change, the opportunity is there for them to make the change.
For example, one of the changes we'd like to make is Wharekahika (Hick's Bay). This is not new, it's happening all over the place.
