National ‘won’t be tied’ to fish deal

Press, 6 April 1989, Page 2

National ‘won’t be tied’ to fish deal

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

. in Wellington

The National Party refuses to be bound by any deal the Government might reach on Maori fishing rights.

Both the Government and Maoris should realise that any deal they reached might well be

overturned by the next National Government, said the Opposition spokesman on justice, Mr Paul East. The expectations of Maoridom on their fishing rights had been raised to an unreasonable degree and it was only fair that they receive early warning that any agreement reached would not be binding. National believed that the Maori fishing issue

should be resolved by the Government rather than be handed over to the Courts, he said. If the determination of the Courts led to “an excessively generous settlement” then the next National government would have no hesitation resolving the matter by legislation. “I stated several months ago that the Opposition was in no way bound by the present Government negotiations,” Mr East said.

Maori people should be well aware that the public opinion polls indicated a change of Government was extremely likely at the next election.

Any settlement reached as a result of the Government ducking off to the Courts would be reviewed

on the basis that it had to be fair to all New Zealanders regardless of their racial origin, he said.

The Minister of Justice, Mr Palmer, denied that the Government had been “ducking off to the courts.” The Crown had not taken legal actions; the actions had been brought against the Crown. The reason the lawyers were arguing was that the 1983 Fisheries Act passed by the then National Government made fishing law subject to “Maori fishing rights,” he said.

Nobody knew what those rights were, which was why Maoris and the fishing industry were taking court action. When the Courts had spoken there would probably need to be further discussions, negotiations and perhaps even legislation, Mr Palmer said. The final settlement would be political, but it was impossible to adjust property rights when noone knew what they were in law.

“Some people are worried that the Maori fishing question is giving special privileges to Maoris,” he said. The recent Law Commission

paper on the Treaty of Waitangi and Maori fisheries showed that that was not so.