‘The Government has bowed to pressure over the foreshore and seabed repeal bill and ditched a provision that would have allowed secret deals to be done with iwi to award customary title.
…..Attorney-General Chris Finlayson said yesterday that recognising title through legislation rather than regulation “will dispel any concerns about future Governments doing shoddy deals”.
Never mind future governments, you weasel–deals don’t get much shoddier than this one by your party.
……Yesterday, the the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill was reported back two weeks early from the select committee studying it, amid an outcry by opposing parties over the speed it was being processed.
……..Act deputy leader John Boscawen said the select committee had had only one sitting day to consider a 500-page report by officials – “a massive abuse of parliamentary scrutiny”.
“I believe the Government wants to pass this legislation as quickly as possible, as far away from the election date as possible.”
Labour MP David Parker said the process had been farcical. After receiving 4455 submissions and hearing submissions all over the country, “consideration of all of the issues raised was done in less than two hours”. source
And:
‘National and Maori Party MPs have used their majority on a parliamentary committee to ram through legislation that replaces the Foreshore and Seabed Act in a way that opposition parties say is an outrage.
After receiving nearly 6000 submissions on the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill, most of them opposing it, the Maori affairs select committee has decided on a majority vote to send the bill back to Parliament with no changes and a recommendation that it be passed into law without amendment.’ source
John Key’s cavalier dismissal of the smacking referendum results was no isolated case. This slimeball has as much respect for the voters as his predecessor showed. Arrogance with sugar topping–and Kiwis bought the topping.
