Government can 'accommodate' foreshore rebels

By KEVIN TAYLOR, political reporter

Prime Minister Helen Clark has delivered a barb at two Labour Maori MPs preparing to cross the floor to oppose the foreshore and seabed legislation.

She told the Auckland-Northland regional conference on Saturday that people had to work alongside each other and not exclude each other's interests.

The Prime Minister thanked the "vast majority" of the Labour Maori caucus who had been "prepared to work alongside colleagues to resolve what has been a difficult issue in the midst of so much misunderstanding".

Tomorrow Labour's caucus holds an all-day retreat at Premier House in Wellington with the intentions of minister outside Cabinet Tariana Turia and MP Nanaia Mahuta high on the agenda.

Both oppose the foreshore and seabed legislation, due for its first reading when Parliament resumes next week.

Mrs Turia may force a byelection in her Te Tai Hauauru seat over the issue. Such a move is considered less likely in Ms Mahuta's Tainui electorate.

Helen Clark told the Herald the way forward was to move a motion at caucus telling the pair they could cross the floor and vote against the legislation if they wanted to. "We have factored them out of our decision-making," she said.

Asked if she was ready for a byelection, Helen Clark said: "That's not a necessary consequence of it at all, but from the point of view of how to handle Tuesday I'm sure a motion will be moved and carried which says they are free to cross the floor if they want to.

"And we will move on; we've got other things to do."

Helen Clark told the conference the issue had been difficult because the Government was trying to reconcile different interests by respecting the customary rights of Maori and also ensuring open public access.

She said there were two extreme views on the issues - one wanting to ignore Maori interests and the other wanting to sign over the foreshore and seabed to Maori.

"There is no basis for the cries of theft and expropriation," she said.

The conference passed a resolution supporting the region's Maori MPs - John Tamihere, Dover Samuels and Dave Hereora - for their "contribution and leadership" in helping formulate the foreshore and seabed policy.