The Marine and Coastal Area (Customary Marine Title) Amendment Bill has now had its first reading in Parliament and has been sent to the Justice Select Committee for deliberation. With almost 600 claims on hold while the law is changed – some 200 in front of the High Court with the balance lodged with the Crown for Direct Negotiation – the timeframe for dealing with the Bill is tight. The closing date for submissions is 15 October, and the Bill is expected to be passed by Christmas.
In his first reading speech, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, reminded Parliament that the original aim of the Marine and Coastal Area Act was to establish a durable regime that balanced the recognition of Maori customary rights in the foreshore and seabed, with the legitimate interests of all New Zealanders in the coast.
He outlined how the law recognised customary interests through the award of a Customary Marine Title with valuable rights including “the ownership of non-Crown minerals, involvement in planning, the ability to permit or decline resource consent applications, the right to be engaged when new significant infrastructure is proposed…”
He explained those rights had been included in the 2011 legislation on the basis that the test was “exacting”: claimants had to not only have held their specified area according to ‘tikanga’ or Maori custom, but they also had to prove they had exclusively used and occupied it continuously from 1840 to the present day without substantial interruption.
The Minister then outlined how the Courts had been incorrectly interpreting the law: “In making decisions on applications over the last five years, the courts have interpreted the test for customary marine title in ways that have diluted some of these strong requirements. The Court of Appeal most recently has interpreted the test in a way that effectively did away with the exclusivity requirement and the need for continuity, and significantly reduced to the scope of what can constitute a substantial interruption.”
By ignoring the exacting tests specified by Parliament, the Courts were, in effect, facilitating tribal control of most of the coastline.
The Minister explained that’s why a law change was needed: “The purpose of these amendments is to restore the exacting nature of the test for customary marine title and to set aside the Court of Appeal and earlier High Court interpretations of the test that strayed from the meaning Parliament intended.”
In order to ensure the Courts interpret the Marine and Coastal Area Act as Parliament intended, the Bill provides guidance to Judges on how they should implement the tests set down in the law.
It specifies the key test of “exclusive use and occupation” not only requires claimants to prove they have had an intention to control their area to the exclusion of others, but that they also had and still have the ability to do so. The meaning of “without substantial interruption” has also been tightened.
The Coalition believes that by reinforcing all aspects of the tests specified in the original law and cancelling all of the erroneous judgements made by the Courts, they have provided sound guidance to Judges hearing Marine and Coastal Area Act claims to deliver the outcomes that Parliament originally intended.
However, in spite of the Coalition’s best efforts to fix the law, National’s 2011 Marine and Coastal Area Act risks becoming an absolute travesty of justice for our country. It stands as one of the worst political decisions ever made by a New Zealand Government.
To put this into context, the question New Zealanders should be asking is how on earth have we gone from a position where the land below the high-water mark to the edge of the Territorial Sea, that was owned by the Crown in the public interest for over 160 years, is on the cusp of being transferred to private tribal groups.
The reality is that Maori demands for the foreshore and seabed have been on-going. The Courts have dealt with the matter many times before. Until recently, however, they have taken the view that the area must be retained in public ownership for the benefit of all New Zealanders – as indicated by the declaration of the Chief Justice in 1870: “I cannot contemplate without uneasiness the evil consequences which might ensue from judicially declaring that the soil of the foreshore of the Colony will be vested absolutely in the natives if they can prove certain acts of ownership.”
Yet here we are today, facing the prospect that Maori will end up controlling the coast.
The intermediate step, of course, was the Court of Appeal ruling in 2003, which overturned Crown ownership of the coast. In her judgement, the Chief Justice suggested that some “pockets” of “discrete” customary title might still exist: “It is generally accepted that few mainland pockets of customary land remain in New Zealand… Whether or not the appellants will succeed in establishing any customary property in the foreshore and seabed lands claimed and the extent of any interest remains conjectural. In the past, claims to property in areas of foreshore and seabed seem to have identified relatively discrete areas comprising shellfish sandbanks, reefs, closely-held harbours or estuaries, and tidal areas or fishing holes where particular fish species were gathered.”
The Court clearly did not contemplate customary title extending over the entire coastline out to the 12 nautical mile edge of the Territorial Sea.
However, as a result of National’s repeal of Crown ownership in 2011, that’s precisely the situation we could face.
What this indicates, of course, is that the criteria for determining customary title, set out in the original law is far too discretionary – not only the tests, but the Court process itself.
In earlier times, when Courts dealt with claims for customary rights to the foreshore and seabed, not only claimants gave evidence to Judges, but opponents as well.
This meant when applicant groups told the Courts they’d had exclusive use of a coastal area and had driven ‘strangers’ away, the community was able to refute their evidence by explaining the coast had been used as a public road for transportation and stock movement, that picnics and races along the beach were regularly held, that locals engaged in widespread fishing and shellfish gathering, that sand was mined and boats loaded and unloaded – all without requiring consent and without access being challenged.
The Judges making their decisions in those days had the full picture.
This is where the Marine and Coastal Area Act falls down badly. While it uses an adversarial court system to make determinations – instead of an inquisitorial process – there is no adversary. This means that at the most fundamental level, justice cannot be done.
Part of the reason for the problem is the design of the Act itself. By offering tribal groups up to $458,000 in taxpayer funding to prepare their cases but providing no assistance to those wanting to oppose the claims, the law not only encouraged hundreds of opportunistic applicants to file claims, but it precluded almost all opposition. This is in spite of local communities being outraged by the knowledge that underserving claimants may gain control of areas where they have exhibited virtually none of the actions required by law to prove ownership.
Going forward, this situation must be corrected if the Coalition’s law change is to have any hope of delivering justice for all New Zealanders.
Until now, the Marine and Coastal Area Act has been so badly manipulated by Judges, that their interrogation of history has been cursory.
Judges in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal rejected any need to assess what they described as “western property concepts” to instead focus almost entirely on the “tikanga” test. This meant that if the so-called ‘tikanga experts’ – appointed by the Courts with the agreement of applicants – declared claimants had held their specified area according to custom since 1840, Judges accepted folklore dressed up as evidence and found in their favour.
That meant the second limb of the test set out in the law, that required proof of those so-called “western property concepts” – namely that applicants had held their claimed area exclusively and continuously since 1840 without substantial interruption – was almost completely ignored.
What’s even worse is that since almost all claims lodged were overlapping, instead of ruling them all out for not meeting the exclusivity test, Judges invented a new law – “shared exclusivity” – to enable all claimants to share the benefits.
Fortunately, through their law change, the Coalition has put an end to this legal nonsense. Whether their amendments will deliver the results intended will depend on whether the Judges follow the new requirements set out in the law.
The amended law will be applied to all claims not yet decided. Those that have been decided and are subject to appeal, will be determined by a case before the Supreme Court. Led by the Attorney General and supported by the Landowners Coalition, we are hoping to convince the Justices that the law has been misinterpreted by the High Court and the Court of Appeal and that all cases should be returned to the High Court to be re-considered under the clarified law.
This case will be an important test for the independence of the Supreme Court. Those concerned about judicial activism will be watching the outcome with interest.
This week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator Frank Newman, convenor of the Landowners Coalition and a former local body councillor, remains worried that the amendments in the Bill still leave too much discretion to activist judges:
“There is growing concern about political activism in the legal fraternity, including within the judiciary. The passing of the Bill will be an important test for the judiciary. How they respond will be watched intensely – the High Court in particular.
“The Supreme Court appeal of the Edwards case will also be carefully scrutinised. A number of high-profile commentators with legal experience have expressed their concerns about the rise of judicial activism and the use of tikanga. If the bench snubs the will of Parliament, then it would add fuel to the calls for ‘corrective’ action by the Government.”
With regards to the Bill in front of Parliament, our submission to the Select Committee, will focus on ensuring the test for exclusive use and occupation is robust, that “wahi tapu” rights to exclude the public – which are too open to manipulation – are removed, and that the need to involve all applicants in resource consent decisions about their claimed area is abandoned as unworkable.
Furthermore, just as the Crown’s Direct Negotiation process includes public submissions to ensure the Minister hears from both claimants and community opponents to inform good decision-making, we will recommend a public submission process be introduced into the High Court to overcome the current debilitating lack of opposition to the claims.
Since it is the role of the Attorney General to represent the public interest in the Court, that Office should be tasked with orchestrating public submissions to ensure Judges are better informed when making their determinations.
There are many other problems with the Marine and Coastal Area Act, including complaints by Judges that the dual approach for dealing with claims – through the High Court and Crown negotiation – is unworkable.
But ultimately, as a result of the law changes, the judiciary is now on trial. Should they continue to prioritise tikanga, then the Marine and Coastal Area Act must be scrapped, and Crown ownership restored under the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act.
New Zealand simply cannot afford to have activist judges effectively privatise our entire coastline to tribal interests to exploit for their own benefit.
In the meantime, we would urge everyone concerned about the future of our coastline to send in a submission before the 15 October deadline – full details can be found HERE.
The NZCPR intends supporting the Bill with suggestions for how it can be improved. You are more than welcome to adapt our recommendations for your own submission – our draft submission can be viewed HERE.
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THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
*Do you believe the judiciary can be trusted to act impartially when assessing tribal claims for the coast?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| They can’t be trusted to apply the law without slipping their own bias into decisions. Unless this mess is sorted and the crown gets “ownership” for ALL New Zealanders, things will not end well for many people. Whoever thought there would be bloodshed on our beaches. Taxpayers are footing the bill for everything to do with claims (not just this one) time to turn off the tap. Not just claims but anything to do with action against or with the crown, is paid for by the NZ taxpayer. Everything ! | Ray S |
| I consider that the whole operation to provide finance to a tribal group is a travisty to our nation. | Brian |
| I would not trust the current judiciary members as far as I could kick them. Totally activist and out of kilter with a what a majority of NZers are thinking. They need to be told to pull their heads in forthwith or leave their jobs and make way for Judges with the correct views. | Allan |
| ‘No’ – based on the evidence!! | Michael |
| The Judiciary have proven bias | Carolyn |
| They hve lost the trust of NZers | Ian |
| And their actions in this and many other cases clearly demonstrate that there are two standards of justice. What is next? That the iwi elite will claim that they never have up the rights to enslave non tribal elite? Or to eat their slaves? | Mike |
| Activist judges prioritise tikanga and tribal rights over the rights of all New Zealanders to access coastal areas from which they can be excluded. Restore Crown ownership to prevent such discrimination based on race. | Virginia |
| colour blind is the only way forward for every New Zealander | Brian |
| NO… they cannot, they are’BOUGHT AND PAID FOR’, time to get the BORAX, out for a good BORAXING, FLUSH OUT, of the so called corrupted JUDICIARY SYSTEM in this country… PRONTO !! I Infected with RACIST MONEY. | David |
| The judiciary act like Maori sympathisers and can’t be trusted to make a judgment which includes all New Zealanders, which is the only proper, fair and right outcome. To allow part- Maori ( a tiny percentage of the population) to have control of the foreshore and seabed is disgusting, despicable, traitorous and simply plain wrong. | Gordon |
| Tribal claims should be scrapped, the foreshore and seabed should belong to us all, Crown ownership should be restored. | Carolyn |
| or anything else | Wayne |
| The judiciary are out of touch with reality and corrupt. Use of neo Marxist weasel words such as ‘Western property concepts’ is proof of the woke infection and infestation of the effete judiciary elites who are as realistic as the dreamers in the court of King Louis the 16th. | John |
| Not at all. Why are we treating Maori as if they are indigenous? They’re not!! | Chris |
| I agree with Frank Newman that the marine and coastal area be returned to Crown ownership managed for the benefit of all New Zealanders with no customary title. National’s nonsense will go on for decades. Why does the taxpayer have to pay for it? More apartheid and mumbo-jumbo. | Monica |
| Judges are a small group of New Zealanders who are at the high end of academia. Their job is to interpret the law which comes down to us from our elected officials that make up our parliament. This being highest court in our land. It is in this institution and only this institution that creates the laws of our land. Parlaiment has to be competent enough so as to have laws passed that are completely clear and concise. Laws that have absolutely no wriggle room as to what any legislation or part legislation means in the best of our pure English language which happens to be our Nation’s primary language. So I believe it requires the law makers to mean what they say and to say what they mean with zero ambiguity. This is the real problem as these high end lawyers will take advantage of any parliamentary sloppiness in the law making to appease their moral and ethical thought process and any negative Pius feelings that may be problematic to them. | Garry. |
| a strong no !!! | norman |
| They have demonstrated they cant be trusted!! | Pamela |
| Somehow politics have entered into our judiciary and in many instances can not be trusted to give impartial decsions | tony |
| Obviously. activist, biased and corrupt – should be dismissed. | mary |
| Hopefully who is appointed on judiciary is able to act accordingly to the law and fairly for all and not of their own interests when assessing tribal claims. Hopefully Monica Matamua and her families can find claim to their rights of freedom to have their land returned back to them from the Maori tribalism and whoever tried to claim ownership over them seems the crowns important roll is to treat them fairly and for all New Zealanders. | Kylie |
| do not trust them. | norman |
| NO. But lets not forget the mainly non-Maori significant land owners who for many years and continue to do so that prevent access to shoreline on or adjacent to their properties. Our Governments have a duty to NZ Citizens to make our coastline legally accessable to them and stop pandering to select interest groups. | Gary |
| They cannot be trusted! They were bought and paid for, by the last GOVT. ADMIN…. ARDERN, BLOOMFIELD,LITTLE, AND DIPKINS. All of these, new exactly what the PLAN WAS….UN/WHO/WEF, DEPOPULATION….Now all of them have FLED…AND ARE BACK IN HIDING…. tlme is however, RUNNING OUT.. The REAPER is at the door!!! | David |
| “Activist judges” have proved that time and time again. | Jim |
| This has not been the case in many judicial cases in the past few years. Seems the system has been taken over by woke leftist activists. | Carol |
| No….were bought and paid for, ages ago, all controlled and owned by the STATE AND THE STATE CONTROLLED, INTER- NATIONAL, INTERLOPERS !! | David |
| When the judiciary does not conduct itself with professional fair minded distinction and neutrality the highest court being parliament must over rule it | Stephen |
| They have already proven that they can’t | Laurie |
| The coast is for all NZ’ers. | Sharee |
| THe culprit is not the courts but those who drafted the law | George |
| We have already seen the results of their decisions. | Denis |
| HELL NO. Some of this current lot can not be trusted to act on behalf of all New Zealaders. Only part maori radicals, tribes and self appointed chiefs are receiving their racist verdicts. All maori have below 50% of maori blood. Pity they dont consider their other heratige as much as their maori side. | Kevan |
| the 6 years has seen the misinterpretation of the law by judges, and this has eroded NZer’s confidence and support for the judiciary to make just decisions | graham |
| Their track record so far is one of racist political activism, ignoring the clear intent of the legislation. | Doug |
| They’ve already proven that they’re racially biased & moaricentric | Glen |
| The Coalition Govt should have cleaned the Judges out when they took over – and the media too… | Simon |
| They have proved otherwise | Beverley |
| The Judiciary’s record on following NZ law to date is abysmal. They have affectively highjacked the intentions of NZ law with their own activist biased ideas. In this case (and others) the law will require to be rewritten to express its orginal intention. | Greg |
| The Judges responsible for ignoring the original intention of Parliament, should be removed..if that is not possible then the law should be changed so they can be. | Peter |
| This proposition should never have evenbeen thought of,the forshore and seabed is owned by all! | Gael |
| Recent racially biased judgements have illustrated the weakness of the judiciary in favour of the Tangata Whenua at the expense of all others. | Marshal |
| The judiciary in NZ recently have been disgraceful. It is not up to activist judges to manipulate the law for their own agendas. It is to interpret laws as parliament intended and that is not happening often enough at present | jeff |
| They have been cavalier in their decisions so far | Stanley |
| Restore Crown ownership of our foreshore and seabed. Put a stop to the activist nonsense dividing our nation and costing taxpayers endless millions that would be far better spent on things like health, housing, education, infrastructure. | Wendy |
| NO room for activist Judges. ALL the people of NZ must decide. | Dewald |
| Control of media, News TV and Universities and now the law courts have already been taken by Tribal factions | Peter |
| Lack of impartiality is clear when exclusivity can become shared exclusivity. Does not bode well for a robust legal system. | Clayton |
| They have been politically corrupted & now act in unison against democracy & therefore our nation. | Geoff |
| Too many activists masquerading as judiciary who cannot be impartial. | Neil |
| Clarity of the intent of the law is needed | Paula |
| Going on what we have seen so far I would have my doubts . The results are a far cry from what parliament intended. The law must be very precise and judges must adhere to what the laws say ,not what they think personally. Maybe it should be a panel of judges make a decision. | Peter |
| I don’t believe in fairies anymore | sheryl |
| They are stooges. | Evans |
| hypocrites the lot of them | gerard |
| Past record speaks for it self. | Norman |
| The intentions of He Pua Pua never seemed impartial and these were never shared with Winston Peter’s either. Iwi, Maraes, schools, Rongoa Health etc are free to practice Tikanga, but implementing polytheism and hegemony into public legislation with health, education policies etc should require democratic debate and Select Committee perusals. | Eileen |
| They have already revealed their bias in other court rulings | Gaye |
| Definitely not all of them. Some have been got at by radical Maori and pushing their own agendas. Perhaps the law needs more clarifying and judges who don’t uphold the law, sacked. Parliament makes the laws. | Sheila |
| Sadly, like so much of NZ currently, these people are imposing their own race-based ideas on the greater good. The judiciary have become woke and separatist. Disgraceful | Mark |
| They are human I think | Garth |
| After what Chris Findlayson has done with the tribal claims, we have a major castrophe on our hands and a hell to clean up | Lawrie |
| they have already proved they cannot be trusted. The whole thing should be scrapped & the 2004 law remain in place. | NIGEL |
| The coast, rivers, etc…all belong to the crown/government, to look after, & protect, for all new zealanders interests. For any judiciary, there should be only one out come. | steve |
| I very much doubt there is any impartial views left in NZ not only with this issue | Colleen |
| Judges and the judiciary have been lent on by the Maori elite and certain politicians to give more control to Maori and confiscate from New Zealanders the right to access to some parts of the country that were fought for. I have made my submission to Government giving my thoughts. | ken |
| Time for the tribes who want control to remember they wrested the ownership of our country and its assets including seabed, foreshore, flora and fauna from the original owners that were decimated. We now have a civilized nation and Judges, x lawyers, should be making decisions, according to good Law for all NZers. Anything less is a FAIL. | Bev |
| They have proven they are biasdd time and time again | Muriel |
| as we have seen on other occasions the judiciary can be biased | Gay |
| Judiciary now replete with activists | Graham |
| The judiciary has been hijacked | Bob |
| We seem to have a very left leaning judiciary in NZ. Also their racial beliefs often come into their decision making ! | Gloria |
| Definetly not,not impatial in any way. | Sreve |
| they are being led by some lawyers that feed them this bullshit that maoris have a priority interest we are all nznders equal on all degrees | John |
| Definitely No | Anthony |
| They may find it hard to believe, but they are NOT the lawmakers! | DICK |
| Trusted NO, Impartially NO and some mp’s like finlayson,key etc and the woke treaty mob NO, because there is too much backhanders going on as corruption is very much alive in this country, this govt needs to make sure that all of NZ belong to all the people all the time and not just for a select gangster group and make sure NO govt can ever change the foreshore and seabed act back in the hands of the corrupted and greasy and greedy tribes and their mates | Richard |
| The only reason these biased and racist laws/ legislation, have any legs is that they align with the UN Agenda 21/ Sustainable Development pact. The National Party signed us up to it in 1992 and both main parties are adhering to it and coercing businesses and institutions to adhere to them as well. | larry |
| I believe our judiciary is corrupted by the treaty industry | Vince |
| They are all in it together, the radical activists, the judiciary, the politicians of all parties.Get racism out of legislation. | larry |
| The foreshore and seabed should be for ALL New Zealand. To have the Judiciary reinterpret the law is a farce and the judiciary has been Hijacked. Can they be trusted to apply the intention of the law – clearly not. There should be no government funding for claims – clearly causing a log jam of spurious claims. and elimination of any criteria of proof of continuous use. | Bill |
| You only have to follow what is happening now to see the courts are saying the treaty is in fact a partnership | Chris |
| Definitely not – based on some of the past decisions – that bear no relationship to common sense. How the hell do these activists, get appointed to the judiciary? Obviously not enough research done into the background of the appointees. | Don |
| They are scared of Maori radicals reaction | Kevin |
| The Judiciary are totally Biased | leo |
| The coalition was elected to sort this rubbish out and to make sure the judiciary understand that Parliament makes the law. | Anon |
| Of course not, as the record shows to date. The ultimate power should rest with Parliament and it should all be returned to Crown ownership. | Scott |
| The coast needs to returned to crown ownership as existed prior to the Court of Appeal ruling in 2003. This would seem to be much simpler than attempting to amend the current marine and coastal area act. | RIchard |
| Their predisposition is the law society, their cronies, not one can be trusted governments must find the courage to put a stop to precedent setting by the courts. | Norman |
| Pompous, self aggrandising puppeta | Sid |
| I have very little faith in the current judiciary ,much like the so called academics who receive huge money and are trying to alleviate their guilt for taking money, extraordinary amounts of taxpayers money ,to appease the greedy maori scum buckets , whilst everyday maori are struggling like the rest of us . Shame on you ,a bunch of half caste rabble . | Ray |
| I would not put any credence in anything roger douglas has to say after the amount of damage his idea’s done to this country was criminal | Les |
| They havent in the past | jim |
| I believe no one associated with Govt has the NZ public at the centre of all this Maori I want stuff. We need to stop all this them and us stuff, I am worried what would happen if theyget their way on this again | Barbara |
| On past performance? | gary |
| It’s very unfortunate but very true they can’t be trusted | robin |
| The bias is there. | Murray |
| Unfortunately under Labour there has been some activist Judges supporting the Maori cause. The entire coastline and seabeds belong to every New Zealander for their enjoyment. | Russell |
| Sadly, a bunch of woke lefties with pretentions | Chris |
| Based on past judgements, they cannot be trusted to act impartially | Kevin |
| He iwi tahitatou. We are one people. Courts should recognize that and ensure the foreshore is freely available to all. | Malcolm |
| Already proven they cannot. No one owns the sky and sea. We must all be one if we have any hope for NZ | Leeanne |
| Once a judge is appointed they become “GOD” and is NOT under any rules that prevent them making up their version of the Law. The classic is “shared exclusivity” and GOVT has not reined in this B__S___ | Noel |
| They have gone way beyond being trusted!! | Sheila |
| no way ! The blatant activism already on display by the judges in promoting so called ” Maori’ views shows they all incapable of any balanced judgement for all New Zealanders benefit. | James |
| Make it easy. Just put the entire coastline of NZ back into Crown ownership. | Tony |
| We have far too many activist Judges. | Brenda |
| They are worse than the woke brigade infesting New Zealand. | Mike |
| Can judges spell woke? | RICHard |
| They haven’t in the past, so what’s to say they will in the future | Ross |
| They have already shown that they favour Maori in their decisions. | Peter |
| Only when the law is un unambiguous. | Gavin |
| Maori,Maori, what about Pakeha,Pakeha | Ian |
| The judiciary has already shown to be biased towards Maori they cant be trusted to do the right thing for all New Zealanders | Owen |
| This is just more activist trying to seize the Coastline for their exclusive use | Ian |
| I feel it has got very murky on the issue and I think impartiality has gone out the window | Laurel |
| No! The judiciary in this country has been captured by socialist trends and is now all but totally corrupt. | Donald |
| I am concerned that the judiciary needs an overhaul before any decisions are made on the foreshore directions. | Terry |
| They have proven that they are not to be trusted, and this makes the law an ass. | Tony |
| The actions of the current judiciary and the actions of the future judiciary, qualifying via the law society, all promoting tikanga is a cause of grave concern for our society. | Rex |
| They cannot be trusted, The Judiciary are just looking after their own interests, Not making decisions in the best interest of all New Zealanders. Its disgraceful! | Peter |
| Not anymore trust has been breached | Richard |
| Law must be returned to the 2004 status | Barras |
| No. They have proven to be biased, many of the judges are activists. | Rose |
| Judges used to be wise and respected people…. | Russ |
| no not even there are to many racial judges out there who are on maori side | Barry |
| Justice is meant to be blind – these so called justice is myopically one sided | Derek |
| The judiciary is failing in its role of unbiased judgement and is not protecting the rights of the law abiding citizens of our country. Problem is, there is no consequence for poor adjudication. They have their own agenda and cannot be trusted. Unless parliament is exacting in its law making, the judiciary will interpret the law as it suits them. | Martin |
| Stop using Tax payers money to fund the undermining of democracy. Slam the door shut on customary title. Defund the mainstream media criminals and bring back the gallows for the treasonist activist judges. | Glyn J |
| Quite clearly our judges have gone woke. Unless they are reigned in the country will go broke. | Tony |
| Another method the Tribal Elite use to circumnavigate Democracy / The will of the people | Glenn |
| No, as the current recent decisions confirm | Donald |
| They are ignoring the law and have turned into racial activists. | Ronmac |
| NO cant be trusted. | Ronald |
| All Judges are supposed to be impartial; it is part of their job. Those who cannot remain impartial should be removed fro the Bench | Bruce |
| In a TRUE DEMOCRACY as was gifted to us by the Greek Elders, in their wisdom, requires Trial by Jury, so the Law the judiciary and the government to be Judged as well as anyone who is alleged to have breeched the law. In this way, laws of malicious deceitful intent can be thrown out and no crime is committed. The judiciary and the governments have gone to great lengths to ensure, Trial by Jury no longer has the power over government and the judiciary it was intended to have. Therefore the judiciary cannot be trusted as it is the puppet arm of whatever woke government is in power! | peter |
| Definitely not. The whole process is just a waste of money | Paul |
| Judicial bias is a disgrace to this country. | Clive |
| This should have not happened to start with, we now have a divided country that should never have got to this unfortunate situation. When I grew up we were all the same regardless of race or colour. | Rod |
| Why cannot we just go back to the 2004 Act ? Between the PC world inventions and the radical maori political and activists, we are spending useless time and wisdom. Deception and truth are opposites, Get wisdom. | Maurice |
| No way! The whole lot feed from the Trough of the Elite who are wprivded for by WEF, UN and others whom wish to see a One World Government based upon Marxist dogma and they are only there to do the bidding of those in those high places that are hell-bent on ensuring the Great Reset, amongst thousands: George Soros and Family, The Rothchild Family, The Clinton Foundation, The Bill Gates Foundation. The day this bunch of corrupt, heartless biased bigots are swinging from the Gibbet post-Nuremberg 2 the better! AND The world is waking up, at long, long last… this includes the Apartheid regimes the UN intended to mandate globally for “Indigenous People’s” to have a greater say than Colonists… Let’s get this straight, once and for all: There is NO “Indigenous” people to have originated on these islands. NONE. Everyone that arrived here over the RECENT millennia were colonists. Hence the sh*t we shouldn’t be arguing about in the first instance, Nothing of Land, Sea or Sky belongs to Anyone, unless Legal Title has existed since the founding of the agreed areas and parcels of land. Why the hell we have paid them anything extra at all as a “settlement” beggars belief! At the time of inter-tribal wars they were more keen to take musket and ball than have land which they didn’t have a clue with what to do with it anyway. And paid them NZ$Billions for what? WHITE MAN’s GUILT. An absolute travesty relative to everything before the nosey UN got commandeering everything that isn’t screwed down. We are conned every day by that same (unneccessary) guilt of actions of our forefathers and history when everything was different. Look around! | Graham |
| The Courts have made many relatively recent foreshore and sea bed ownership judgement decisions based on what can best be described in this 21st century body of knowledge as simply hocus pocus beliefs which do not meet the the standard of logic demanded by our legal system. The NZ children and Grand children of today are NOT liable for the behaviour and standards of society 200 odd years ago such that they will be subjected to their NZ Cultural standards being compromised to a group of people who some Maori claimants having just a few Maori genes make ridiculous claims. The German children of todays youth are NOT liable for the horrific decisions made by some crazy elitists seeking world domination a mere 80 years ago | Stan |
| Definitely cannot be trusted. As in the past…”CREEP” happens & everything gets progressively changed. | Michael |
| You cant trust them with anything | Colin |
| The task of the judiciary is to apply the laws that are made by Parliament, not to “make” new versions of the law. In a democracy the legislature and the judiciary are separate from one another, and the judiciary should not trespass that boundary by creating its own “interpretations” of the law. | Laurence |
| I would not trust any of our judiciary to act impartially. The whole actions are quite ridiculous and all I speak to have “had a gutsful” and if we are not careful we could have a revolution to put NZ back where it used to be prior to the treacherous 1975 Treaty of Waitangi Act which they now rely on and which should be scrapped and replaced by Sir Apirana’s Treaty of 1922. Today it’s lie after lie after lie and our Government has no gut’s to start saying “NO” and to hell with any protests. | Alan |
| Activist courts and judges are one of the biggest threats to stability in this country. | Dave |
| Not impartial enough | Greg |
| the judiciary suffers from a severe case of white guilt bolstered by arrogance | fred |
| They have shown by their actions that they can be swayed. | Dennis |
| facts are facts, hence no | mike |
| Recent history has shown that the law, as intended by govt, has been misinterpreted to suit a particular faction and not all peoples | Noel |
| Declare everything public property | tom |
| Some may but there are too many activists among judges these days. | pdm |
| No way what a joke. They are bending over backwards to help them. .Just who is pulling the strings | ROB |
| Definitely not. It’s been clear for a long time that most of the higher courts have been taken over by activists.difficult to understand as it is. | Lorraine |
| Are they for NZers or just racist Maori.? | Heather |
| Recent decisions made in recent times by the judiciary confirms what we all know. I doubt the legal guardians installed by Ardern are capable individuals when it comes to understanding the concept that New Zealand is a country for all New Zealanders. | Mike |
| They have become activists | Steve |
| too many activist judges | Don |
| The Judiciary, along with other controlling Boards .. like the NZNC and NZMC .. have been thoroughly indoctrinated to feel “colonial guilt” and therefore Maori rights to be as before [plus all the improvements of course]. Every nation controls their off-shore entire economic zone. There may be local private [and iwi and hapu here] , but even then not not to the 12 mile outer boundary of our economic zone | Rochelle |
| They are following different set of rules | steven |
| Evidence Obviously says they cant, based on their actual performance/s. What a travesty this has caused for everyday Kiwis! Lets put it right New Zealand! | M |
| The judiciary have already proved themselves untrustworthy. The Marine Estate must be vested in the “crown”for the benefit of ‘we the people’. There is either’ one law for all’ or there is Anarchy. | Bruce |
| I don’t think changing the words will change the minds of the judiciary. The clearest way to satisfy the likes of me,is to revert ownership to the Crown and make it ill for anybody to own any piece of the coast or seabedfrom high water to 12 miles out to sea.Nothing less! | Peter |
| Glazebrrook introduced tikanga to pardon a non-iwi case posthumously. That inappropriate precedent, needs to be expunged from further consideration. | Nikki |
| They have been influenced by maori lobbyists who have always and will always continue to be unceasing in their demands for control – even though no maori is more than 50% maori eethnicity so their credibility is dubious. They are in it for $$ not principles. | Margaret |
| Evidence to date suggests that the judiciary have failed New Zealand communities at large in favour of the select few | neville |
| Definitely not | Mike |
| Everyone has become woke. | Dianne |
| It was Comrade Helen Clark who closed down the right of New Zealanders to go to the Privy Court in England for final and binding legal decisions. She must have known the direction NZ was going in and shut out all possibilities of appeals to an independent higher court that is concerned with interpreting the law, not myths, lies and ‘tikanga’ etc.. | Gerard |
| Not in a hundred years… | Carl |
| Judicial decisions have been wandering away from impartiality for some years. | Collin |
| I’ve never been a conspiracy theorist UT there seems to be some deep, dark state at work in NZ. How else can the APARTHEID that exists in NZ be explained? | Geoffrey |
| It’s obvious! | Bruce |
| My trust in Government, the Court system and the police is irrevocably destroyed.. | Elizabeth |
| They have demonstrated time & again they cannot be trusted. | Rex |
| Chris Finlayson opened Pandora’s box with the introduction of this law. However that said, I believe that his interpretation and belief was to safeguard the foreshore for all New Zealanders except in exceptional cases. In other words the recent judicial decree is contrary to those intentions and gives ground in my view to clarify those beliefs by changing the law to reflect the original intention. The judicial system seems to be remiss with its recent decision which among others, and seems set in creating the law rather than interpreting the original intention of existing law. | chris |
| On the basis of their current behaviour – No! | Scott |
| There has been to many Judges that have manipulated the law for supposed “Tikanga” and other spurious claims | Russ |
| gutless judiciary, simpering liberals beligerent indigenes who despise both of them. What could go awry? | Mike |
| They havent proven impartiality so far, will they change? if not, they should be sacked | James |
| So many of the judiciary are activists and consider their own opinions to be superior to that of the elected members of parliament. Parliament is paramount and it must fight to retain that superiority. If we had an impartial media we would have a much better chance at repelling these undemocratic ideas. | Roger |
| NO! I have lost all faith in the judiciary and the judicial system as it has now evolved. Formed from lefty/greeny university educated fuzzies who don’t let facts and commonsense influence their decisions. The Country is stuffed. | Bruce |
| We have never been able to trust the Judiciary with any case put before them. them. | William Clive |
| The judiiciary CAN NOT be trusted to act impartially when assessing tribal claims for the coast. Crown ownership must be restored under the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act. | Colin |
| Given the example of how readily the judiciary in the U.S. has been corrupted by a corrupt U.S. Administration, we are reminded that judges are no different from anyone else and may be corrupted themselves, no matter how high-minded they profess to be in principle. Circumstances change and people change, whatever the persuasion/ pressure might be. Times change and people change. I am sick and tired of hearing about the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Not all Maori groups signed the Treaty in the first place but they will use it to suit when they perceive it to be of advantage. It was a means of making peace, not to place Maori above the Law. I am of Maori descent and I am a New Zealand citizen . I expect equal rights along with every other legal citizen. Maori are a small minority but a disproportionately high number are found in our jails. That is not racial prejudice by Police but because they do not obey the laws . That is how much they respect the treaty. Would it not be foolish to give them a disproportionate say in the making of laws or the administration of the same. They are not qualified to do so. It was never intended to give them unfair advantage. It is high time we archived the treaty and behaved as a true democracy, in fairness to all. Incidentally they did not give the Moriori a fair break. They hold no title. They killed, enslaved and ate them and took the land as it suited them . without any thought of principle or fairness . They took it because they were stronger and could. They seek an advantage now because they have been stirred by outside influences to take advantage while they can through weakness of government A referendum should be held now to end the nonsense now! | Harvey |
| The courts have repeatedly demonstrated bias on these issues and must be constrained by clear legislation . | Gary |
| Under the current law there is room for flexibility. There are several other issues like the Maori claimants being funded whilst opponents pay their own costs. The opportunity for direct negotiation with the attorney general should also be removed. Judges can be influenced, especially in the current climate. But if they only get one side of the story what do they do as they are really acting on behalf of opponents to claims. Careful wording is probably a waste of time. A return to Helen Clark’s act would solve a lot of problems but perhaps create new ones. | Mike |
| They’ve proven in the past they cannot be trusted!! | Frank Donald |
| The answer should without question be YES, but regrettably, r4ecent events show it to ne NO | Peter |
| NZ Judges have shown themselves to be reckless and manipulative and pro-maori. | Peter |
| I don’t trust the judiciary, the police, politicians, government departments and corporations. All have no interest in the law, just in lining their pockets at our, the people’s expense. They are all political answering to The New Zealand Corporation – WHO, WEF and UN globalists. In clude maori activists in that. | Elizabeth |
| Definitely not. | Tony |
| The judiciary cannot be trusted. ‘Shared exclusivity” is an oxymoron. The public must be represented for MACA decisions to be democratic. | Mark |
| The judiciary are motivated only by financial opportunities and the privatisation of our coast line is one great big financial opportunity for a predatory legal profession. | David |
| Racially biased judges have long shown they cannot be trusted with NZ’s democracy! Why do they continue to hold their positions? | Paul |
| Activist judges should be held to account and made to follow the law as set down by pRliament or li lose their job. Time for judges to have to reapply for their jobs every five years! | Gail |
| no, not at all, there are too many biased actiivits in the judiciary to trust the outcome will be fair | Erin |
| absolutely no, too many leftys in the system | john |
| Too many tribes confusing them, what about the weekend fisherman using this land and water. | Terry |
| The focus needs to be now and in the futire for all citizens of this country | Cliff |
| Certainly not! | Ian |
| No the judiciary in NZ has been utterly corrupted by the Maori elite and cannot be trusted at all.It is high time we had one simple law passed – that all NZ law must be blind to race, religion, and any other method by which people can be grouped and every one must be treated as equal before the lane NOBODY IS SPECIAL and NOBODY is entitled to SPECIAL TREATMENT period. All judges that cannot uphold that simple concept MUST BE DISBARRED IMMEDIATELY! | Steve |
| I have long lost all faith in the NZ Judiciary. They are out of touch with the vast majority of citizens and inhabit a bubble world along with politicians and academics. | Grant |
| NO, I don’t think they can be trusted at all, they seem to be more inclined to side with Iwi. There is no impartiality as far as I can see. | Heather |
| There are too many judges who are affiliated with Maori tribes and by decent for it to be impartial. | Andrew |
| The original intention of the claim process has been watered down over time by a woke and arrogantly partisan judiciary. | Hugh |
| Some sections of the judiciary have already proved their lack of impartiality. This needs to stop. | Bruce |
| One would suggest in their professional capacity they should but history is showing they have difficulty in achieving that! | Joe |
| Maybe if it is a panel of min 3 | David |
| I believe that some may be influenced by pressure groups to make decisions in their favour. | Peter |
| They have already proved that they cannot be trusted to act impartially and without prejudice. The law must be absolutely clear so that misinterpretation cannot pertain. | Murray |
| This bill will be an absolute disaster if put through. I trust the judiciary about as much as I trust politicians, and I sure as hell don’t trust politicians. M8 | Steve |
| Experience strongly suggests OUR (!) Judiciary belive they have the right to make Law as previous Speaker of the House Kidd and numerous article in NZ and Australian Law zJournals have noted. | Sax |
| Long overdue | Hylton |
| Not to be trusted going by some past decisions | Edward |
| by their actions have proved they cannot be trusted | Michael |
| Lawyers have become leftist activists it seems – hardly surprising when you consider how our universities now operate. | Pam |
| They have already shown they can’t be trusted | David |
| judical activism is a threat to NZ democracy unelected judges acting out their tikanga law focus are undermining centuries of legislative and common law | Geoffrey |
| Why do we have to again object to the grab of our coast;line by maori when it was supposed to be sorted along time ago and made aessible to all NZers | Barry |
| Let us get it right. | JUDITH |
| We now have activist judges who have proven they can’t be trusted to act impartially and uphold the law rather than legislating from the bench. | Robyn |
| Too many leftists | Ray |
| Sadly they think they do | Cliff |
| I would like to think so but past experience says no way. | mike |
| This is too important to entrust to affected parties….. | Carl |
| left leaning and have demonstated they should not be trusted | Peter |
| absolutely NOT!!! | Geoff |
| The Act should be strengthened beyond the opinions of the judiciary. | Sue |
| There is a clear agenda in authority to allow the reinventing of our treaty! | Andy |
| long overdue, input to be no less than 10% of all and any pre-tax income earned by any individual n New Zealand. Employer contribution to be similar and deductible. NO ACCESS at any time until retirement, and then by pension payments only. | murray |
| With Luxflake in charge and one of the biggest Maori Activists, there is no way a judge will go in favour of true New Zealanders! | Neil |
| Our “imperial” judiciary are of the Left. | Trevor |
| Lawfare | Fred |
| Majority of our Judiciary are refusing to see the big picture – Maori are a very small percentage of New Zealand’s population and that the coastal areas are for all New Zealanders – we are one people!! | John |
| The Judiciary are completely out of touch with the majority of the population, not just with the coastal areas but generally as well | Lindsay |
| they are racist | adrian |
| Labour promoted a group of Activist judges, ones that have prior history of taking parliamentary rules & ignoring these to fulfil their radical co-governance agenda, say NO I don’t trust the judges anymore than i trust the bought & paid for mainstream media. | John |
| sadly I have to vote’ no ” based on all the silliness that is now happening in the legal education system and court judgements | Judy |
| I have no trust in the judiciary anymore – they have been bought out. | Meg |
| I have no faith in impartially of the Judiciary | John |
| They have already proved they cannot be trusted. | Mark |
| There are many Lawyers who are ignoring the loyalty and democratic rights of the general public and instead are promoting these adversarial claims to line their own Pockets with the millions of dollars involved and all at us the taxpayers expense. These legal specimens are Hippocrates and traitors to their profession and thier country. | Henry |
| Too many members of the judiciary are observably strongly over-favourably predisposed towards Maori to a point of promoting Maori interests through lacking objectivity, neutrality and balance in exercising judgement in relation to outcomes affecting Maori – creating a situation which is unfair to all non-Maori New Zealanders and is totally intolerable. A comprehensive clean out of the judiciary is required to remove all such members from the judiciary. | Hugh |
| Of course not ,it is populated by members of the legal profession and the new appointees have been indoctrinated by a wet woke acadamia sadly | Phil |
| Too many are biased. | Moyra |
| heads are where the darkness is densest | murray |
| They have already proven this on other matters | Roger |
| And I make my judgement on Judicial impartiality on this matter with some regret as such matters should be above reproach. | Peter |
| We are in a situation that the Courts are biased toward Maori. | David |
| They are just $ hungry scum perpetuating their income | chris |
| NO. | Michael |
| Not when it is filled with woke and Maori judges who do care about the interests of the majority of New Zealand citizens. These judges are usurping the role of Parliament and should be disbarred from the legal profession. | sandy |
| It will have to be spelt out loud and clear what is the intention of the Law. Not what the Judiciary want to interpret | Frank |
| It needs none. | Philip |
| The Judiciary has demonstrated a complete lack of civic responsibility. They have rendered themselves vulnerable to the corruption of bribery. | Geoffrey |
| Once upon a time – yes. Not so sure these days. | Sally |
| They have never really tested/verified the evidence presented as fact by the applicants. | John |
| Activist Judges should face charges of Contempt. | Anon |
| The judiciary has proven that they have become radicalised agents of the left. they are no longer impartial and can not be trusted. | G F |
| I’d like to think so but at present the indications are that they can’t | Terry |
| How come can any of our laws be partially be twisted ? If so, NZ must be a banana republic.The law must be master over any judge who wants to manipulate our laws. | Henk |
| They’ve already proven that they can’t be trusted to interpret law to the benefit of all New Zealanders – it just makes a mockery of our judicial system. These miscreants should be removed from office before any more damage is done | Trevor |
| Replace Judges that think they can rule at a higher level than Parliament. | Greg |
| Consider their failings over recent past years. It cannot be ruled as being impartial and fair to all New Zealanders when left with one race- not being genuine first settlers. | Mike |
| No, I don’t any more, as it now seems the judiciary are now influenced by either external influencers or their own ‘thoughts’ as to what they think the law should ‘promote’ | Stuart |
| Our judiciary do not uphold the law, it’s as simple as that. | Rod |
| Haven’t before, why would they now | Helen |
| We are ALL New Zealanders, to treat one sector of society differently to another is divisive. Should be equal rights for all. | Mel |
| Too many left leaning members of the judiciary- a throwback to an acceleration of infiltration, particularly in the last six years, by a Labour led coalition to destabilise NZ. | Charles |
| Laws need to be unequivocal as farm as possible. Interpretation must be accurately dedeliniated | Charles |
| They have already proved that. | Robert |
| Bias at all levels | Jeff |
| The Judiciary have become biased and racially influenced | David |
| we should never be in this situation ever. so much for impartiality of many judges! | Reg |
| The system we live under has been perverted to a substantial amount. It affects everything we value as Anthony Willy asserts. Superstition is not the way to find truth. Religion on the other had has truth but you have to take time to see what is cliamed in each one. | Ray |
| Sadly the judiciary seem to want to put “their” mark on the decisions, to enable them to be forever linked to the decision, while at the same time shafting the rest of New Zealanders who just want us all to be able to have the same access to our marine and coastal areas. | Margaret |
| Not at present. If need be judges misinterpreting intention of law should be stood down | andrew |
| I wish I could trust them. Only time will tell if we can. | Darag |
| Otherwise anarchy will rule | Karen |
| The fact that they have already been shown to not be impartial but rather to appear to be activists is of concern. All should be making a submission as silience will be seen as acceptance. | Ian |
| The Ardern ‘government’ has really screwed New Zealand & made it a very racially biased country. The Judges have been able to bend the intent of the law & cannot be trusted to be impartial. The whole of the foreshore should belong to the crown & all of the people of NZ with no possibility of restrictions of access & use. | David |
| Have they been paid off/bought over by iwI ? What other explanation is there for their anti- non Maori stance on EVERYTHING in New Zealand??? | Mike |
| No, it has already been shown that they can’t. | Kim |
| Judges have long been captured by Tready Activists… and PLAYED bigtime. | Gill |
| The analysis at NZCPR is founded in fact, logical and persuasive tome | Tony |
| They have demonstrated they can’t. How many have Maori blood? Judges must not be lobbied outside Court | Anthony |
| The judiciary is left leaning pc appointees, parliament makes the laws, it should not be up to the judiciary to interpret them, just enforce them | Alec |
| based on their current interpretation of the law absolutely not | Chris |
| There are too many biased people/staff ‘installed’ into our judicial system I can no longer trust our judiciary? | Karen |
| I no longer trust the judiciary in this country. They’re bought and paid for, I believe. | Grant |
| I don’t trust them to make decisions on behalf of ordinary New Zealanders. My guess is they will kowtow to woke agenda. | Clive |
| JUDICIARY JUDGEMENT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY BIASED TOWARDS MAORI | BRUCE |
| Definitely not, previous actions and decisions by the judiciary have favoured Maori over and above the rights of the rest of the citizens of NZ. This needs to stop!! | Robin |
| Because they now think they can do what they like. So its time to change the law, and in need, change the judges.. | Peter |
| Activists all | Don |
| A law needs to be direct, and stated in absolute clarity. Quasi language can easily be manipulated and this is what’s happening now with Tikanga | Laurine |
| Depends who the judge is. A New Zealander who respects the original intent of the 2011 law, where all claims must prove they have had exclusive rights since 1840 OR a “judge” who has been overly influenced by activist Iwi and an Iwi dominated Treaty tribuneral that has been allowed to interperet the Treaty in the Maori language of activist’s today instead of the Maori language as written/translated at the time of the treaty. Maori in the early 1800’s had no written language, it was constucted by an Iwi ~European blend of the day to produce a document that was signed to help stop the Maori wars and create law and order. Todays written Maori language has been expanded beyond recognition and huge numbers of words have new definitions never even thought of in the 1800’s. Crown land should remain in the hands of THE CROWN. | Rita |
| The judiciary have gone felal in recent years and need to be brought into line. | Gerry |
| Parliamentarians can’t be trusted either. They don’t do the homework that is needed to ensure all NZers are always treated equally. In other words, they are lazy. | John |
| This country is suffering from the effects of scum rising to the top | Owen |
| They have shown that they can’t. | David |
| Definitely not! | Janine |
| Self evident! | Hugh |
| Activist judges cannot be trusted. | john |
| There are many activist judges that will manipulate the law to suit themselves | Gavin |
| They are far too radicalized to see things from both sides, all changed now to everything for the minority, the courts and those in them are now just a joke. | Laurie |
| The track record in the few cases to date is disturbing to say the least. one could easily assume, they were on the take somehow. Or clearly did not plan on living in NZ for much longer. | Steve |
| The entire concept of what is now described as “The Treaty” is farcical. That collection of ,feuding among themselves, tribes became part of the British empire, simple. Since then NZ became an independent country being part of the Commonwealth. I utterly fail to understand why the deranged politicians and bureaucrats have created this diabolical situation. It has absolutely no merrit if you exclude a small band of part maori elitist activists who have added zero at best to NZ’s society. There are no logical leaders or have been for 50 years in charge of our beautiful country. Oh, we have a legal(expensive) system but hardly if any justice. Get back to the basics and build a nation again and ignore race and religion and certainly claims of $ 8 billion etc | Leonard |
| No they will make it up utilising mataurangi Maori to extend the conflict and milk $$$. The NZ judiciary are captured wokeists who are part of the gravy train started by Geoffrey Palmer in 1986, and perpetuated by Palmer’s acolyte Chinese business partner Mai Chen (currently representing Ngati Whatua vs. Kaipara District Council). Lawyers are highest level grifters at Taxpayer and Ratepayer expense. | Mark |
| They have already shown that they can not act impartially. | Norman |
| Not likely !!! | David |
| Get rid of the corrupt judges, that is a starter. | Sven |
| Also the minister Findlayson gave title to ngati kahungunu over foreshore that was once the road to Gisborne. Minister can’t be trusted either. | Hone |
| Absolutely not. Their judgement has been corrupted and their direction is now alarmingly predictable. An investigation is urgently required. | Geoff |
| Just look at how Judges have misinterpreted the law to date. They cannot be trusted to represent the people. Judge Williams is having too much influence on the way laws are being interpreted in New Zealand. | Chris |
| Too many of our judges unfortunately are exceedingly woke. Hopefully the current coalition can sort this mess out before it gets totally out of hand | Dave |
| Firstly cut the funding for claims. If they think they own it then make them pay for proof,then start de funding the judges until they can be neutral, if not sack them for not upholding legislation passed by the crown. | Ken |
| No of course not!! Look at what has been happening in plain sight – agendas not so hidden now. | Margaret |
| The NZ judiciary is a horrible woke joke of socialist activists. They definitely cannot be trusted. A massive clean out of these democracy wrecking wasters is long overdue. | Richard |
| No they can’t be trusted to do that. | Murray |
| NO the judges have gone woke the treaty is well past its use by date | Gareth |
| The Judiciary have proven on repeat occasions that they are only interested in supporting their left wing activist mates. They should , without reservation, support both the letter and intent of the law as it was written. If, as they have demonstated, they lack the competencies required to do this, then the legislation needs to be made very specific and clear so that there is no room for such misinterpretation. | Rob |
| It must be for the common good not for a tribal good | Alan |
| Because they are corrupt like the police | Greg |
| Actions speak louder than works | Peter |
| A most unfortunate situation for our lovely country. | Jim |
| The judges need to have the law tight black and white so no re-interrpretations can be made, treat them like kids | Jeffrey |
| The courts have betrayed us | Jenny |
| The law schools have been completely subverted for years. | Gail |
| They cant be trusted one little bit!!! | Ron |
| no | Wiremu |
| When do the next maori wars start? | paul |
| They have already proven that they are not acting for the good of the New Zealand people and they are interpreting incorrectly and they need to be stopped | Peter |
| No, definitely not. I have no faith what-so-ever in our judiciary. | Trevor |
| The coast should belong to AL NEW ZEALANDERS. Take the law out of it. Helen Clark had it right. Judges?? Lawyers?? | Doug |
| They have been swayed by the woke brainwashed younger legal practitioners. Our Government never intended them to make judgments heavily influenced by Tikitanga Maori beliefs. This is totally unacceptable and all ruling should adhere to the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act. | Robyn |
| follows an inapporpriate ruling some years ago. | Dr Bryan |
| The dreadful National Party should not have repealed the earlier legislation — probably the only law the Clark administration got right. Racist extremists have captured the judiciary and the situation needs rectifying urgently. | Gavin |
| Definitely not. | Graham |
| The judiciary system has already bent the law to accommodate greedy maori in any Treaty negotiations. The new Government need to set new guidelines in concrete so there is one law for all. | Wayne |
| They will undoubtedly act in a manner that is both politically and financially expedient for the individuals involved. | Alan |
| Some current judges appear to be corrupt. Are they receiving bribes from these corrupt evil maori radical tribes? Palliser bay wellington has been claimed, never seen a maori tribe there in my 60 years going there at every opportunity. I have seen a maori group with maori flag staked in the ground at the lake ferry mouth the best fishing spot. A taste of whats to come. | Allan |
| They act under total insanity. | GRAEME |
| They have recently shown that they can make new laws without interruption, that’s unacceptable to me. | Kirke |
| Thanks Muriel for keeping us up to speed! | Marianne |
| Very likely not which is why we need our coalition government to step up and sort this activist judiciary out. Time to show some strong leadership! | Lee |
| Based on recent decisions, no, they are loose cannons, probably bribed. So corruption is afoot. | Neil |
| We know they can’t be trusted it should not even be up to the courts to decide parliament make the laws judiciary are supposed to carry them out | Peter |
| We are going backwards so fast.. Stop the rot. | Donald |
| They have demonstrated thier interpretation of the treaty and the exsing law is biased and as such cannot be trusted ti give an impartial ruling | David |
| There are too many examples of the judiciary basing their decisions on ideology rather than facts. Public trust in the legal profession is rapidly being lost. | Russ |
| ALL OF THEM HAVE BEEN ‘BOUGHT AND PAID FOR’… pray, pray ,pray to GOD if you want Justice….THE WEF/UN/ reset is onits’ way… | David |
| One country/one people however I am still waiting for a Govt. to have the courage to implement this. NOT looking good so far | colin |
| None of the govt, departments can be trusted…..ALL CORRUPTED NOW!!! following the WORLD GLOBAL CORRUPT GOVT… UN/WEF/WHO/FAO. Bought and paid for corrupt politicians.. ALL OF THEM.!! | David |
| Politicians (National) divided New Zealanders for their own power overturning settled law, with little regard for All New Zealanders, is it any wonder we Have Activist Judges. National admit wrong and return the Seabed and Foreshore 2004 ACT back into Crown ownership for all New Zealanders now. Stop wasting taxpayer money and time stirring up division with Bad Law. | Sam |
| The entire process should be scrapped and returned to Crown Ownership. Nothing else will suffice . | Basil |
| None of our ESTABLISHED INSTITUTIONS, whether GOVT, OR JUDICIARY,can be trusted any more, they have ALL been CORRUPTED!! all of them | David |
| Sadly No | David |
| That has been borne out already. The judiciary are so obviously biased to the left it is sickening for this institution which should be above politics | Carolyn |
| If past experience is anything to go by, then NO. | Willy |
| I’ve voted No. Like many MPs ,the public service, woke company executives and many of the public (mainly middle class residents of leafy suburbs) they’re in awe of Maori wonderfulness. There needs to be provision whereby jobs are at stake when there’s such blatant activism applied to statutory law. | Alan |
| we should return to the situation whereby all the foreshore was owned by the Crown unequivocally | Frank |
| Did not say one word about the ‘fake PANDEMIC, WHEN KIWIS WERE MANDATED TO TAKE THE POISON BIO-WEAPON……??? | David |
| I don’t trust any of our instutions and haven’t done for a long time. ACT claim “Treaty Principles”, wrong there are ARTICLES, and why does ACT not publicise the carbon dating under seal fron 1988 till 2063 from Waipoua forest in Northland ? thats an inconvenient truth !! | wayne |
| As Frank pointed out in his article, The RIGHT thing to do would be to shut the door on customary title by returning the marine and coastal area to Crown ownership, managed for the benefit of all New Zealanders. That is the simple and correct solution. The 1852 Constitution Act was superseded by the 1986 Constitution Act, which declares the power of the United Kingdom Parliament to legislate for New Zealand to be at an end. New Zealand, as of 1987, is a free-standing constitutional monarchy whose Parliament has unlimited sovereign power. If this is the case, then there is no reason why the coalition government using parliaments unlimited sovereign power can’t reverse this apartheid customary title scam by lunch time. After all, it was using/abusing this unlimited sovereign power that created the problem in the first place. | neil |
| No l don’t trust these weak and woke judges at all. New Zealanders need to be fully awake now to all these activists claims and the creeping theft of this country. New Zealanders will have no one but themselves to blame for being sound asleep if this country is successfully stolen from right under our noses. | Paul |
| National should never have repealed Crown ownership of the foreshore and seabed. It was a dreadful decision that could well become a disaster for the country if Judges do not pull their heads in and follow the law. | Donald |
| As you say, this is a real test for Judges – if they do what Parliament intended they will be proving their worth, but if they do not, they must be reined in and their powers curtailed. | Murray |
| The disastrous Marine and Coastal Area Act should be repealed. End of story! | Phil |
| Tribal activists have captured the judiciary. Our coastline is no longer safe. The foreshore and seabed should be returned to Crown ownership. | Yvonne |
| What a disaster this has all turned into. Chris Finlayson is to blame. | Fergus |