By 3 News online staff
The Maori Party is taking aim at the Government over its attitude towards Iwi claims to the riverbed.
The party's reacting to Prime Minister John Key's statement the Government may ignore any Waitangi Tribunal recommendations, though party leader Dr Pita Sharples refused to be drawn on whether he believes a Maori claim on water in an attempt to block the sale of state-owned assets will succeed.
“I support the right of Maori to go to the tribunal, very definitely,” he told Firstline this morning.
“In one sense Maori own the water because of our whakapapa, our relationship with the environment, the forests, the mountains […] it’s part of our genealogy to be connected and our concept of ownership is not exclusive, it does not cut anyone else of ownership, it’s an obligation to use and look after,” he says.
Dr Sharples says the Government has regulatory ownership of land, “so in some ways the Government acts like the owner” and says disputes about ownership have a wide-ranging definition.
He says Maori leaders and groups are calling on the party to protest against the Prime Minister’s claims the Government can ignore Waitangi Tribunal rulings. The Maori Party co-leader says the Government is in its rights to do this, but he has concerns about the way John Key is explaining this to the public – but he believes it is better to be “at the table” with the Government and able to bring in new legislation to benefit Maori than sever ties and join the opposition.
3 News