Hone Harawira, the Member of Parliament from the Maori Party, raised some of the objections his party finds with the bill.

The Mories said that 12,500 foreshore and marine portions and around 30% of the land area joined with the foreshore are under private ownership which is absolutely out of the reach of the Maoris.

During the review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act, Kai Tahu educator Hana O'Regan, said that this issue of private land ownership is mismanaged and is therefore leading to the misuse of rights.

She is of the view that the people living in the coastal communities have lesser information on their rights and the bill will enable the authorities to find out the reasons behind the non-Maori private lands escaping the analysis of the lawmakers.

The Mories have also asked for the proper definition of the words that are used in defining issue that in public interest.

However, they said that they will not oppose the bill outright, so that they can put their questions in a better way and get justifiable answers, once the bill undergoes the first reading.