I'm still trying to get a handle on this foreshore and seabed business, but it still seems to me that it was a good idea that it was owned by the Crown; and not so much 'owned' as 'administered'; it was owned by everyone and no one. I still think of the beach as a kind of "no man's land" that isn't sea and it isn't quite land, but something in-between that no one should be able to own.
Belonging to the Crown it was like the front passenger seat of a family car that kids have to take turns in using – the parent wisely oversees that it is shared. Getting rid of Crown ownership now opens up that seat to squabbling.
I think Key has made a grave error. Now that there is no one to oversee, let the squabbling begin for sure... Perhaps I am mistaken, but this is my initial thought.
“It’s mine”“No, it’s mine”“But I was here first!”“That doesn’t matter – you went away!”“I used to sit in that seat driving with Dad before you were born”“So? I’m here now. How does that make it fair? We’re both here now.”
I think Key has made a grave error. Now that there is no one to oversee, let the squabbling begin for sure... Perhaps I am mistaken, but this is my initial thought.