Clendon David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Clendon David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:665;Page:12611] 
10. 
DAVID CLENDON (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Energy and Resources 
: Does he agree with Crown Minerals’ testimony to the Waitangi Tribunal’s inquiry into the management of the petroleum resource which confirmed that the Crown has an obligation under international law and the Treaty of Waitangi to investigate claims of customary rights? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister of Energy and Resources) 
: 
 I understand that the comments referred to by the member came at the end of a very long cross-examination in front of the Waitangi Tribunal and I do not want to make any comment on that matter at all. But I say that New Zealand is a sovereign coastal State and the Crown is therefore the only legal person that has any right to explore exploit conserve and manage natural resources on the continental shelf as recognised by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and ratified by the Continental Shelf Act 1964. I suggest that if the member wants to argue that the United Nations has it wrong he needs to take that argument to a different forum. He may also like to consult with his colleague Dr Kennedy Graham who is an expert on the effect that United Nations declarations such as this one can have. 
David Clendon 
: Does the Minister agree with Crown Minerals’ testimony that the ownership of oil in the exclusive economic zone is “a live issue”? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: No I do not. Section 10 of the Crown Minerals Act reserves all petroleum including that in the foreshore and seabed and the outer limits of the territorial sea. Section 5A of the Continental Shelf Act refers back to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which I spoke of before and makes it clear that all rights that are exercisable by New Zealand in respect of the continental shelf and its natural resources for the purposes of exploring the shelf and exploiting its resources are vested in the Crown. 
Rahui Katene 
: Is the Minister aware that in its 2003 report the Waitangi Tribunal found that the expropriation of the pre-existing Maori rights to petroleum arose from a context that was riddled with breaches of the Treaty; and what will he do to assure iwi that further breaches will not be created either through his actions or those of Crown Minerals? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Firstly there is no intention to overturn the 1937 Act that nationalised the particular minerals that the member mentions. As for ongoing participation I have given in verbal form my commitment to the aggrieved parties in the most recent case that we would do better in the future. 
David Clendon 
: Does the Minister agree with Crown Minerals’ testimony to the Waitangi Tribunal that the Crown does not own the oil in our exclusive economic zone? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: No. I refer the member to the answer I gave just a few minutes ago. 
David Garrett 
: How can he possibly disagree with the contention that the Crown has an obligation under international law to investigate Maori claims to petroleum when he is part of a Government that has signed up to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Quite simply because I do not entangle the requirements of both declarations. 
David Clendon 
: Is the Minister saying Crown Minerals was wrong when it said the Crown does not own the oil in our exclusive economic zone? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: The questioner asks me to agree with the proposition he set out in his primary question. I made the point that I will not make a comment on that and I will not do so now. 
David Garrett 
: Can he rule out granting compensation to iwi for the confiscation of petroleum resources as required by articles 10 26 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; if not why not? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Quite apart from the fact that domestic law takes precedence over United Nations law although United Nations declarations can clearly give credence to domestic law I am afraid that I am not able to bind any future Government. 
David Clendon 
: Does the Minister believe he acted appropriately when he disregarded a claim raised by Te Aupouri iwi about ownership of oil off the Reinga coast? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: No. 
Hon Nanaia Mahuta 
: How does the Minister reconcile his answers with the requirement to engagement effectively with iwi and with the Government’s expressed support of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and why is the Minister ignoring comments of support party MP Hone Harawira with regard to deep-sea mining in Northland? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: The Government is currently engaged in a very very constructive dialogue with our support partner the Maori Party about the future of the foreshore and seabed. Quite clearly customary rights and territorial rights will be better recognised under the new arrangements than the previous Government was prepared to allow. 
David Clendon 
: Will the Minister commit to undertake a thorough investigation of Te Aupouri’s claim to ownership of the oil in the Reinga Basin and will he commit to reporting back promptly to them the findings of that investigation? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: No.