Tom Bennion: Lawyer and former Waitangi Tribunal Registrar challenges Government's changes to seabed laws

A Māori rights lawyer is not buying the Government's explanation for a change to foreshore and seabed laws. 

It says amendments to the Marine and Coastal Areas Act restore the legislation to its original intent - an argument criticised by the Act's original author former Attorney General Chris Finlayson.  

It's expected to make getting Māori customary marine titles more difficult. 

Lawyer and former Waitangi Tribunal Registrar Tom Bennion told Ryan Bridge the Government's won't admit they're trying to eradicate coastal rights. 

He says people just about have to have been standing on the shore since 1840 with a taiaha telling everyone to go away - or they won't get anything. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The maccabill This is Mulori customary Title passes its third
reading in the House last night.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
The bill seeks to restore the clarity to the Marine
and Corsal Area Acts. It seeks to protect property rates
and pass through legal clarity. He should be ashamed of
the bill, and he should be ashamed of himself, and
he thinks it's a big joke.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
This bill is not, as the Government insists, a tidy
clarification of an old law. It is an incredibly blunt
instrument that tears at the very foundations of justice, uppines
our court processes, and undermines a hard fought relationship between
Taiwi Maldy and the Crown.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Tom Bennion is a marti wrights lawyer, former Registrar for
the White Thing He Tribunal. Joins me this morning, Tom,
good morning, good morning, Good to have you on the show.
Does this not just restore the original intent of the
law than twenty eleven?

Speaker 4 (00:55):
No, doesn't net that's the act of self actually see
is listen, please put aside the purpose of the twenty
eleven Act when you're when you're interpreting this new edition,
which is a sure giveaway.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
What exactly is changing that. You know, the general line
is that there will be stronger proof required for you
to prove that you had uninterrupted exclusive use of a
foreshore sea bed since eighteen forty Is that basically it?

Speaker 4 (01:28):
Yeah, Well, the way it was worded before was listen,
everybody go to court. Here's some words, argue it out.
See under the purpose of the Act, et cetera. Where
you think, you know these rights ended up, And this
new one says no, we'll listen. That that was the
Court of said interpreted it to say that you might

(01:49):
get these customer rights along most of the coasts. Don't
like that, so listen, we'll just change it to say basically, yeah,
you've got to Basically it looks like I mean that
the lawyers will argue it out, but it looks like
they're trying to say, you're just about to have to
stand there with a tire on the water's edge and
tell everybody to bugger off since eighteen forty three to

(02:10):
the current day, and if you didn't do that, you're
not getting anything. That seems to be the test now.
But it'll always argue whether that really is the case,
and that we'll we'll we'll try cleverly to try and say,
you know, Parliament still hasn't actually entirely said we're going
to eradicate Mali wrights right up and down the coast.
Because these guys are making these changes are too coy

(02:32):
to say that out front, and we'll see, we'll see
what we get to.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Does this mean that people like you, lawyers are going
to make a lot of money out of us?

Speaker 4 (02:41):
This is a lawyer's payday. Thank you very much to
this government. They've turned a problem that was pretty much
solved into I think not only will lawyers make money
out of this now, but I think you've you've basically
turned something that was essentially solved into a multi million
dollar problem for probably hundreds of million dollars for a
subsequent set of taxpayers. Well this will come back, I mean,

(03:05):
I mean, I do legal history. This will come back people.
The last words of this act that was pasted us
I'm looking at it now says a person is not
entitled compensation of any kind on account of the operation
of this amendment, which lets you know they're taking something
away and that will cost some future taxpayers of New

(03:28):
Zealand quite a lot of money.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
I appreciate your time this morning, Tom bennyon Who's a
mighty rights lawyer? Former registrar for the White Thing and Tribunal.

Speaker 4 (03:35):
For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
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