Treaty negotations at logjam

The treaty claims settlement process is chugging along at differing speeds, say different politicians, but one thing is clear - under National the process would change.

To meet its ambitious 2010 settlement deadline, it would have to.

It is 10 years ahead of Labour's target and the latter is not even an absolute deadline.

Critics label National's plan impossible and on present progress and trends it is, unless there is a big shake-up.

National deputy leader Gerry Brownlee says this is what the party will do.

The "how" will be unveiled when National's detailed treaty policy - a pre-election Orewa 1 perk-up - comes out soon.

He flags tougher mandate requirements - requiring more members of a group to agree to negotiation terms - as one aspect.

Opponents, generally sceptical, chuckle and say this would increase delays.

He also appears to be backing away from earlier pledges to increase funding. It may be the process should simply be working better, he says.

Maori Party candidate and former Waitangi Tribunal director Morrie Love says it's an "impossible formula" as sector funding would have to be quadrupled for any chance of full settlement by 2010.

His party also wants faster settlements and Mr Love admits in some cases it is lawyers clogging up the tribunal hearings.

He wants less legal aid money going to lawyers fronting the smaller, sometimes frivolous claims - and more sunk into the weighty ones.

The Crown could also speed up the hearings process, if it were more willing to forgo long evidential hearings on issues where considerable consensus existed, he says.

With the Green Party, his party says better tribunal and claimant funding would hasten settlements.

Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia says Labour will ensure the claims are "more than adequately resourced" but won't say by how much.

Yet as Mr Brownlee points out the tribunal has unsuccessfully sought $2.7 million in each of the last two Budgets. This year it got only $659,000.

Mr Horomia also wants a faster process, but believes fine-tuning and perhaps a changing Maori attitude has already sped things up.

Labour claims success in reaching agreement with groups National couldn't, while National says it initiated deals Labour claims kudos for. Both lines are valid.

But if it leads the next government, National will take a harder line than previously - involving an about-face on some of its earlier positions - which could see other negotiations derailed.

The Crown has agreed to vest ownership of the Rotorua Lakes with Te Arawa, paying $10 million in compensation for underpayment of an annuity.

It has yet to be legislated and while National will unwillingly pay the annuity, it won't vest ownership and is unlikely to do so with other lakes.

This is despite the fact the party initiated the reopening of the Te Arawa negotiations and was the first to vest lakebed ownership in iwi.

Labour is also prone to policy u-turns, as its claim filing deadline revealed.

National has pledged to "return the foreshore and seabed to Crown ownership".

As these were apparently vested in the Crown via the Foreshore and Seabed Act, this has created some confusion.

Mr Brownlee points to the negotiations underway between several East Coast tribes and the Government.

They have some of the strongest territorial customary rights claims to the foreshore and seabed and the law promises redress to such groups under some circumstances.

The terms of negotiation state the groups want their "interests" recognised and accept the Crown's "legal ownership interests".

Devolved governance and management arrangements are the likely outcome.

But Mr Brownlee says National will not recognise territorial right claims - hence those negotiations would be dissolved.

But there is one big catch for National and that's New Zealand First, which supported the Te Arawa deal and helped produce the foreshore law.

While leader Winston Peters won't talk bottom lines, he would not easily tolerate the undoing of legislation he has so strongly championed.