John Key

Wellington, June 9 NZPA - Negotiations on a replacement for the foreshore and seabed legislation may have already reached a stalemate.

Prime Minister John Key told media yesterday if the Maori Party did not agree with the Government's choice of public domain they would revert to the 2004 Act which places the foreshore and seabed in Crown ownership.

The Government's preferred option is to remove the foreshore and seabed from Crown ownership and make it a public domain, which no one owns, while reasserting the right of Maori to seek customary but not freehold title through the courts.

The Green Party told Radio New Zealand the Government was threatening the Maori Party after entering a relationship with them knowing customary title of the foreshore and seabed was a key issue.

Co-leader Metiria Turei said National agreed to work through the issue with the Maori Party and was now failing to do so.

"It's difficult to see any compromise if John Key is prepared to threaten the Maori Party in this way.

"It's up to John Key if there's going to be a compromise and clearly he is not interested in treating Maori fairly and reasonably," she said.

Iwi Leaders Group chairman Mark Solomon has questioned why 12,500 private titles to the foreshore, including some owned by Maori, would not be included in the public domain when iwi were forgoing their rights.

The group would be happy for the foreshore and seabed to be put equally under Treaty partners, he told Radio New Zealand.

If the Government would not accept that, Mr Solomon said, "then we've got a problem".

Labour MP Shane Jones said there was no significant difference between the Act and the Government's preferred replacement legislation.

"This issue is the Maori Party's reason for being. If they can't deliver on the foreshore and seabed their days are numbered," he said.

The Maori Party said it wanted negotiations to continue in private.