Lying under 100,000 square kilometres of seabed off the west coast of Northland is an estimated one trillion barrels of oil equivalent.
This is the seabed that shortly no one will own because under the repeal of the Foreshore and Seabed Act it will become “public domain”.
Bids are being sought for “petroleum exploration permits.” (Closing date 18 August)
Maori should have been involved in the process to determine who wins these permits. They haven’t.
This means the Crown alone gets to decide which third party over the next five years, can poke around on the Seabed, looking for oil.
1. The Treaty of Waitangi was a partnership between the Crown and Maori. Maori should be sitting at the table with the Crown participating in the process of making decisions in regards to anything to do with this resource.
They aren’t. The Treaty is still being dishonoured.
2. Under the repeal the F&S no one owns the seabed but the Crown still reserves the right to decide who does what to the Seabed, when its done and where its done.
Sounds like ownership to me.
The Crown will still have the final say therefore the repeal is a joke.
3. Article 19 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People says:
“States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them.”
Free, prior and informed consent has not been obtained.
The United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Rights has been treated with contempt by the Government who endorsed it on the world stage just a couple of months back.
This is a perfect example of why Maori appear to be in a constant state of grievance.
The Treaty has again been dishonoured. The Foreshore and Seabed repeal is a farce . The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is being treated with contempt.
A contemporary case of Maori being shafted.
Solution?
Involve Maori in the process of allocating oil exploration bids.
Simple.
My guess is that Maori are only too willing to make sure all New Zealanders benefit from the extraction of this resource.