Friday, March 25, 2011



Foreshore and seabed: This isn't over II

Yesterday, I pointed out that the passing of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act by Parliament did not mean that the matter was settled, no matter how many times Chris Finlayson stamped his foot and said "over!" In that post, I'd focused on those groups pushing for a better deal for Māori - Hone Harawira, the Iwi leadership Group, and to some extent Labour. But of course there's the racists as well, and they don't seem to be willing to let the matter go either. The redneck Coastal Coalition has announced they will be campaigning for a Citizen's Initiated Referendum on the issue. Meanwhile, Winston Peters is promising repeal and a restoration of crown ownership (i.e. further raupatu). The former will be good for a laugh, and is another reminder (alongside last year's pro child-beating referendum) of the problems with referenda unchecked by protections for fundamental human rights. Winston, OTOH, is more interesting. If he makes it back into Parliament, then it could be a very interesting coalition formation process. And if a multi-party coalition is required, then the result will likely be three years of stasis, keeping the issue live for the next election...