John Key. Pic: NZPA

Wellington, April 6 NZPA - The amount of foreshore and seabed Maori will be able to secure customary title for would be "reasonably small", Prime Minister John Key said this morning.

National opposed Labour's Foreshore and Seabed Act, which put the areas in Crown ownership, and ordered a ministerial review which found the law was unfair because it removed property rights available to Maori.

Labour argued the law guaranteed Maori customary rights.

Last week the Government said its preferred option was to repeal the Act and instead declare the areas a public domain, which no one can own, while reasserting the right of Maori to seek customary -- but not freehold -- title through the courts.

Speaking on TV One's Breakfast programme this morning Mr Key said public domain would hold the areas for everyone.

"Of one thing you can be sure it's not going to be vested 100 percent in Maori ownership, that wouldn't be appropriate," he said.

"Actually, in my view the amount of customary title that...Maori will be able to claim will actually be reasonably small. And that's because they have to meet quite stringent tests."

The previous government enacted the Foreshore and Seabed Act following a 2003 Court of Appeal ruling in the Ngati Apa case that raised the possibility, in some narrow instances, for Maori customary title to convert into freehold title.

That had the potential to put parts of the coastline under Maori control, and Labour legislated against it.

Widespread Maori opposition followed, and Tariana Turia quit Labour to form the Maori Party.

"I think the Maori Party can get a real win here, and actually Maori New Zealanders can get a real win and that is repeal the law, a movement away from full Crown ownership into public domain, and the ability to test their rights if they want to in the courts," Mr Key said.

"And that's a big win but we're not giving up the foreshore and seabed exclusively to Maori on some whimsical notion that's what the Court of Appeal would have allowed the Maori Land Court to do because that would never have happened."

The Prime Minister did not think that Maori were being given a different message to Pakeha.

"I think you've already seen reaction from iwi leaders and Maori around the country who are saying `this isn't enough' and therefore you have got to say they understand what's happening here."

At the weekend New Zealand First leader Winston Peters -- whose party supported Labour's legislation -- said the new proposal would cause tension between Maori and Europeans.

He also felt that Maori had been deceived and thought they could get ownership under the new proposal, but they could not.

"Either the Europeans or non-Maori have been lied to, or the Maori are [being lied to]."

Mrs Turia previously said the proposals went some way to settle some of the grievances held by Maori.

"The main concern is around repeal, access to justice and about our people's ability to take it to court," Mrs Turia said.

Mrs Turia said customary title and rights were a property right, but agreed it did not mean freehold title.

The definition of what is meant by customary title, the rights that come with it and what hurdles would have to be met to get such title will be a crucial part of the month-long consultation period.

Mr Key said today he wanted to reach an outcome that would be permanent.

"I don't think it will be contentious being in public domain, in other words it's held on the account of all New Zealanders irrelevant of their ethnicity, you can't sell it, you can't do a lot of things with it, it's just held there."

He stood by the Government's position that if they could not get agreement on a way forward the status quo would remain.

"It's not meant as an aggressive threat, it's just a statement of reality."