Government Working to Resolve Issues

The Minister of Maori Affairs, the Hon Tau Henare, has called on the West Coast Lessees Association to rethink its position on militant action over proposed new land laws that aim to give Maori land owners the same commercial return that other land owners enjoy.

"If the chairman of the West Coast Lessees is quoted correctly in this morning's paper then not only Maori, but the rest of the country should be concerned if this is how people believe it's the only way to get justice," said Mr Henare.

"It's a classic case of the pipi calling the mussel fat and now we're really starting to see just how redneck these people can be."

Mr Henare said a lot of hard work had gone into developing a resolution to the problem surrounding perpetual leases for everyone.

"The fact of the matter is that for years successive governments have put the question of perpetual leases in the too hard basket - let someone else deal with it - which is what this Government is doing.

"The farmers say they're losing out; Maori say they've lost out. What we've come up with is reasonable considering that Maori haven't been able to make a commercial return on their own land because of the law.

The Minister said the lessees association is seriously misguided if it believed taking up arms would solve anything.

"The people of this country, of which Maori are a part, can't keep going on saying yes it was wrong, but hey, what are we going to do about it," he said.