Whakatohea claim may be too wide, says PM

The Bay of Plenty coastline claim by Whakatohea under the Foreshore and Seabed Act appears to be wider than the law allows, Prime Minister Helen Clark says.

Chief Maori Land Court Judge Joe Williams has agreed to hear the claim for kaitiakitanga -- authority and guardianship -- over 50km of coastline running east of Whakatane.

Whether the court has the jurisdiction to hear the claim is already under dispute, and Miss Clark said today the issue was debateable.

"The Act is quite clear -- claimants have to show specific use and continual use since 1840," she said on TV One's Breakfast programme.

"At this point one would have to say the claim looks rather wider than the law would allow for.'

Miss Clark said some reports of the claim were "quite a beat-up" and implied that Whakatohea would somehow be able to walk away with private title.

"That's not true. The Maori Land Court cannot give private ownership, it cannot give exclusive use," she said.

"The Maori Land Court cannot award freehold title. That is absolutely ruled out."

Judge Williams was reported at the weekend to have said there was nothing in the Foreshore and Seabed Act to prevent claims for guardianship over entire coastlines.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen, who was in charge of the legislation, is reported to be unhappy that the wide-ranging application was accepted at all.

Officials spoken to by NZPA said problems could arise if judges took a wider interpretation of the Act than Parliament had intended.

- NZPA