Seabed issue to be considered by UN body

8.15am

Mana Motuhake says it has received an assurance that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights will investigate the New Zealand Government's seabed and foreshore legislation.

Mana Motuhake party president Vern Winitana has just returned from Geneva where he had been invited to meet commission officials.

Mr Winitana told Newstalk ZB the issue had galvanised Maori.

He said the commission had undertaken to investigate the seabed proposal and was awaiting a report from Mana Motuhake.

Mr Winitana also said Mana Motuhake had been working behind the scenes on forming a new Maori political party and he believed the momentum for it would gather following the by-election in Tariana Turia's electorate.

He said Mana Motuhake would be part of that new party and he saw the sacked minister as an obvious leader.

Mr Winitana said the expertise and resources needed to set up the new party were already in place.