Government set to ditch customary title concept

Associate Justice Minister Margaret Wilson told Parliament yesterday the term "title" had different meanings in law and lore, and its inclusion in the Government's foreshore and seabed proposals had caused confusion.

Customary title is the third significant component of the foreshore and seabed package to be reviewed since National Party leader Don Brash attacked special rights for Maori.

The Government has signalled its intention to vest the foreshore and seabed in the Crown rather than put it in the "public domain", as proposed before Christmas.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen has also indicated that the Government is reviewing its plans to have the Maori Land Court determine customary right claims, saying it takes away the "inherent jurisdiction" of the High Court.

As initially proposed by the Government, customary title would have recognised Maori "ancestral connection" to the foreshore and seabed and would have applied to virtually the entire coastline.

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