7. Hon DAVID PARKER (Labour) Link to this
to the Attorney-General
Why has the Government not done more to deal with the occupation of the Taipā Point public reserve by foreshore and seabed protesters?
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General) Link to this
The protest on Taipā Point public reserve is happening on the dry land reserve owned by the Far North District Council. It is for the council to serve a trespass notice on the occupiers. This could then be enforced by the police, or the council could apply to the court for an injunction, as happened recently in the Coromandel region. Ministers cannot direct the police on operational matters. I refer the member to section 16(2) of the Policing Act 2008. It is also not for central government to interfere in the operational affairs of local government.
Given the assurance that the Attorney-General offered to a public meeting at Taipā recently, why has his Government not acted to help the council and the local community enforce the law at Taipā?
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON Link to this
I gave a number of assurances at Taipā. They included my willingness to consult with the people up there, quite apart from the select committee process currently under way, and my assurance to ensure that any legislation restored access to justice and respected property rights—two points that the audience certainly recognised.
Is it true that senior local government representatives have personally asked both him and the Prime Minister for help to enforce the rule of law at Taipā, and why have both of them left the local council to deal with the problem alone?
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON Link to this
A number of people have contacted me. I do not know that they are necessarily senior members of the local council, but certainly people who were in the audience at my public meeting at Taipā have expressed concerns. As to what the Government is doing, I have already said, in my answer to the primary question, exactly what the appropriate course of action is. I am sure the member does not want me to start issuing directions that would contravene the Policing Act or interfere in the affairs of local government.
Does the Attorney-General accept that the false expectation his Government and the Māori Party have created around the foreshore and seabed has fed the aggressive behaviour of the protesters at Taipā?
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON Link to this
No, I think that is an absolutely ridiculous proposition. Both the Māori Party and National are concerned about two things—restoration of the right of access to justice, and property rights—and I would suggest that the actions of a few miscreants should not be allowed to get in the way of a principled debate on those two very important issues. The Foreshore and Seabed Act is disgraceful legislation and needs to be repealed.
Hilary CalvertWhy will the Government not refuse to proceed with Ngāti Kahu’s Treaty settlement until their representatives are prepared to obey the rule of law and cease their trespass and occupation?
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON Link to this
Ngāti Kahu has a longstanding Treaty grievance, and it is my responsibility as Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations to negotiate a just and durable settlement. A very odd proposition, in my view, seems to be implicit in that question—that the actions of a few should condemn an entire iwi.
Has it not all gone too far when, just hours ago, the democratically elected far north mayor was thrown off the Taipā public reserve, and does this not show that the New Zealand Herald was right last year in its editorial dated 8 March, when it stated: “Review of foreshore law opens wound that had begun to heal”?
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON Link to this
Well, I disagree with that editorial—wounds had not begun to heal. The Foreshore and Seabed Act was a real problem. It continues to be a problem. Until fundamental principles of access to justice and respect for property rights are restored for a substantial section of the population, this issue will continue, and I would hope that the Labour Opposition would be prepared to deal with this matter on a principled basis.
I seek leave to table an article. It is a press article, but it is from the Northland Age, which is not in circulation. It is entitled—
Mr SPEAKER