Press Release
Hone Harawira
Te Reo Motuhake o Te Tai Tokerau
Monday, 4 April 2011

The True Intent of the Marine and Coastal Area Bill

“The true intent of why National suckered the Māori Party into supporting the Marine and Coastal Area Bill is now out there for everyone to see” states the MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Hone Harawira. Commenting on the leaked Government Energy Strategy Report Harawira says “All of Maoridom knew that the bill was all about access to oil and gas resources that lie underneath the seabed It’s bad enough that the Government deny Māori the right to own such resources, let alone set a test that makes Māori rights null and void when it comes to the foreshore and seabed. Oil and gas companies should have to deal with hapu and iwi when drilling – the MCA makes that an impossibility”.

“Māori from all over the country are supporting the stance of Te Whanau a Apanui and Ngati Porou. The closet pact struck between Petrobras and our Government has meant that hapu and iwi concerns are ignored. Not only are they worried about the denial of their rights, they are also concerned about a repeat of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster happening on their own backdoor, the Raukumara Basin. The final kick in the guts for Māori from that region is that the Government have used one of their own against them - Hekia Parata.”

“Mineral extraction seems to be the only path the Government are interested in following when it comes to restoring the economy. I suspect that with economic forecasters predicting that this country’s economy spiralling downwards, the Petrobras deal will be the first of many whereby hapu and iwi rights are deprived. We are already hearing that another multi-national company (TranTasman Resources) are lining up for their share of 102 million tonnes of ironsand of the Whanganui Coast. What is worse is that a party founded to be “an independent Māori voice” are allowing this to happen by giving their votes to the MCA. Wake up Māori Party – are you still heralding the MCA as a major victory? Support our people before it’s too late!”

ENDS

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