BREAKING NEWS:
The Supreme Court of New Zealand has made an incredibly important judgement today – and one in line with Hobson’s Pledge's advocacy and position.
It has essentially stated that the creative interpretation that allows such a broad application of the law - and so opened up most of New Zealand’s coastline to iwi claims - was wrong.
The Supreme Court has been reviewing the Court of Appeal decision around what is colloquially known as "the Edwards case". The Court of Appeal effectively reinterpreted the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (MACA), which in turn meant that iwi could effectively claim all of New Zealand’s coastline.
Today, the Supreme Court has said that interpretation by the Court of Appeal is wrong. They said the lower court ‘erred’ in its decision making.
We can hardly believe it!
As you know, Hobson’s Pledge has been fighting hard for the right of all New Zealanders to share and enjoy our coastline. We even put out a full front page advertisement in the New Zealand Herald to point out what the earlier court ruling meant. Despite lots of vocal opposition to what we were saying, we feel vindicated by today’s ruling.
We have consistently stated that if the Court of Appeal ruling went ahead, then all the coastline was open to being claimed. Parliament recognised this and has put together a Marine and Coastal Area Amendment Bill to ensure the original interpretation was kept. This Bill is currently going through Parliament and is due to become law in a few weeks. The Supreme Court’s decision today also confirms that the law was not being followed if iwi could claim everything.
You are owed an apology, Graham. Hobson's Pledge supporters, like you, stood up for what was right and true and were attacked by Te Pāti Māori, Labour, the Greens, the media, activists, and all sorts of characters on the internet!
As you will recall, a change of law in 2011 was made to remove Helen Clark’s Foreshore and Seabed Act. This 2011 law meant iwi could seek rights over coastal areas if they could prove continuous and exclusive use of the area since 1840. The Minister in charge at the time, Chris Finlayson, suggested only around 10% of the coastline might be claimable. The Court of Appeal however took a very creative approach and "interpreted" the law to mean what it thought it should read, and not what Parliament had explicitly written. This meant most of the coastline could plausibly be claimed!
With today’s judgement by the Supreme Court, this radical and activist interpretation of Treaty related issues has been dealt a blow.
We have supported the Government’s move to update the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 to ensure the original intention is honoured. It is good that the Supreme Court effectively agrees. We are also grateful to all of you as supporters for the hard work preparing submissions to the select committee. Your voice and words have made a difference.
We still have much more work to do though. Hobson’s Pledge advocates for a law change to return our seabed and foreshore to Crown ownership for the benefit of all New Zealanders. While we will continue to push for this change, we still see the current Bill going through Parliament as a major step forward.
Finally, there are still many other battles to fight to ensure the legal equality of all New Zealanders. We win battles when we all take action so please take a few minutes to use our submission tool to have your say on the Treaty Principles Bill.
Have your say
Please remember that written submissions for the Treaty Principles Bill are only open until the 7th of January 2025.
Sincerely,
📷
Don Brash
Trustee
Hobson’s Pledge
The Supreme Court of New Zealand has made an incredibly important judgement today – and one in line with Hobson’s Pledge's advocacy and position.
It has essentially stated that the creative interpretation that allows such a broad application of the law - and so opened up most of New Zealand’s coastline to iwi claims - was wrong.
The Supreme Court has been reviewing the Court of Appeal decision around what is colloquially known as "the Edwards case". The Court of Appeal effectively reinterpreted the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (MACA), which in turn meant that iwi could effectively claim all of New Zealand’s coastline.
Today, the Supreme Court has said that interpretation by the Court of Appeal is wrong. They said the lower court ‘erred’ in its decision making.
We can hardly believe it!
As you know, Hobson’s Pledge has been fighting hard for the right of all New Zealanders to share and enjoy our coastline. We even put out a full front page advertisement in the New Zealand Herald to point out what the earlier court ruling meant. Despite lots of vocal opposition to what we were saying, we feel vindicated by today’s ruling.
We have consistently stated that if the Court of Appeal ruling went ahead, then all the coastline was open to being claimed. Parliament recognised this and has put together a Marine and Coastal Area Amendment Bill to ensure the original interpretation was kept. This Bill is currently going through Parliament and is due to become law in a few weeks. The Supreme Court’s decision today also confirms that the law was not being followed if iwi could claim everything.
You are owed an apology, Graham. Hobson's Pledge supporters, like you, stood up for what was right and true and were attacked by Te Pāti Māori, Labour, the Greens, the media, activists, and all sorts of characters on the internet!
As you will recall, a change of law in 2011 was made to remove Helen Clark’s Foreshore and Seabed Act. This 2011 law meant iwi could seek rights over coastal areas if they could prove continuous and exclusive use of the area since 1840. The Minister in charge at the time, Chris Finlayson, suggested only around 10% of the coastline might be claimable. The Court of Appeal however took a very creative approach and "interpreted" the law to mean what it thought it should read, and not what Parliament had explicitly written. This meant most of the coastline could plausibly be claimed!
With today’s judgement by the Supreme Court, this radical and activist interpretation of Treaty related issues has been dealt a blow.
We have supported the Government’s move to update the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 to ensure the original intention is honoured. It is good that the Supreme Court effectively agrees. We are also grateful to all of you as supporters for the hard work preparing submissions to the select committee. Your voice and words have made a difference.
We still have much more work to do though. Hobson’s Pledge advocates for a law change to return our seabed and foreshore to Crown ownership for the benefit of all New Zealanders. While we will continue to push for this change, we still see the current Bill going through Parliament as a major step forward.
Finally, there are still many other battles to fight to ensure the legal equality of all New Zealanders. We win battles when we all take action so please take a few minutes to use our submission tool to have your say on the Treaty Principles Bill.
Have your say
Please remember that written submissions for the Treaty Principles Bill are only open until the 7th of January 2025.
Sincerely,
📷
Don Brash
Trustee
Hobson’s Pledge