Most of coast locked up says Tamihere

By RUTH BERRY political reporter

More than half of New Zealand's beaches are effectively held in private ownership because they are landlocked and therefore difficult to access, says Land Information Minister John Tamihere.

He said his department was undertaking a comprehensive analysis of privately owned foreshore.

Preliminary work had revealed that aside from privately owned land, "easily more than half" of the coastline was essentially blocked to the public because people could not get through the private properties bordering it.

"For all intents and purposes, the majority of foreshore that the public does not have the ability to access is in the hands of Pakeha landowners."

Mr Tamihere said the revelation shed a different light on fears about Maori seeking ownership of the foreshore and seabed.

National leader Bill English said yesterday that a petition calling on the Government to confirm exclusive Crown ownership of beaches and the seabed had passed the 10,000-signature mark.

Mr Tamihere's assertion may spell bad news for iwi and hapu hoping the Maori Land Court will recognise customary rights along extensive pieces of coastline.

It follows a week of Government warnings to iwi and hapu that any high expectations should be dampened.

At least most of the Government committee working on the issue hold the view that the groups will have to prove continuous, or ongoing, customary use of foreshore and seabed for common-law rights to be upheld in the court.

If Maori have had difficulty accessing vast tracts of the coastline, they would have trouble claiming they exercise customary rights in those areas.

Just what the court will be able to offer iwi and hapu found to have rights is still unclear, although the Government this week adopted a new phrase: "private exclusive title".

"The Government is working on a statutory framework that will ensure that private exclusive title is not created over what has always been regarded as the public domain," said Prime Minister Helen Clark.

Sources said the Government's plan to resolve the issue would have been signed off by the Cabinet on Monday if Helen Clark was not in Korea. It was now expected to be signed off the following week.

The Government will then start negotiating with iwi.

Te Tau Ihu, the group of iwi that took the Court of Appeal case, Hauraki and several other iwi will meeting in Wellington tomorrow to map out a way forward.

An official iwi negotiation group has yet to be established and disputes over its composition are likely.

Iwi leaders at the Paeroa hui two weeks ago issued strong calls for unity.

Sources say Fisheries Minister Pete Hodgson is set to offer Maori at least 20 per cent of the marine farming industry.

It is unclear whether this means a fifth of all marine farms, or all new ones created