E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.3 page 14 51. There remains no guarantee of equitable redress for Maori groups for loss of customary title or criteria to guide compensation calculations and given that the Act is in its early stages of implementation, the nature of the negotiated redress is yet to be determined. In addition, the establishment of potential foreshore and seabed reserves, which is a positive development, must also be negotiated and in essence fails to provide Maori groups with an appropriate recompense for loss of customary title. By excluding existing freehold interests in the foreshore and seabed from the vesting of the foreshore and seabed in Crown ownership, the Commission considers that the Act limits the right to freedom from discrimination. The Commission also considers that parts of the legislation may also infringe the right not to be arbitrarily deprived of property, and the right to development. In fact, New Zealand’s Attorney General recognizes that the Act provides differential treatment and that this might entail prima facie breach of New Zealand’s Bill of Rights Act, yet she still considers this differential treatment justified. 52. The Treaty Tribes Coalition considers that the Act exacerbates the prejudice that Maori have historically experienced, particularly in that redress for rights expropriated by the Act are not susceptible to judicial review; and that the Act extinguishes customary Maori property rights (as protected under the Treaty of Waitangi) and replaces them with the possibility to apply for “orders” from the courts to protect customary uses and practices if the claimant fulfils a number of difficult and potentially costly requirements. According to information received by the Special Rapporteur, six groups have applied to the Maori Land Court for customary rights orders. 53. The publication of the Foreshore and Seabed Bill triggered a controversial public debate in the country and the almost unanimous rejection of a vast majority of Maori organizations, which culminated in the autumn of 2004 with a protest march (hikoi) on the country’s capital, Wellington, by an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people. The debate was taken up by the media and became a political issue during the 2005 elections. It polarized public opinion and brought to the surface a number of underlying racial tensions in the country. CERD felt compelled to state that “the Committee remains concerned about the political atmosphere that developed in New Zealand” (ibid.) and expressed its hope “that all actors in New Zealand will refrain from exploiting racial tensions.” The Government of New Zealand rejects the view that the ongoing debate involves “escalating racial hatred and violence” and finds no factual basis for such a claim. 54. The “struggle without end” for Maori rights, as one author calls it, has found its latest expression in the human rights implications of the Foreshore and Seabed Act. On the other hand, some New Zealanders appear to approve of the view of “One law for all” (that is, no more special laws on Maori rights, understood as meaning Government should stop the alleged “pampering” of Maori). The political media have taken up these arguments and have reflected the view of those who would like to see an end to the alleged “privileges” accorded by the Government to Maori. The Special Rapporteur was asked several times whether he agreed that Maori had received special privileges. He answered that he had not been presented with any evidence to that effect, but that, on the contrary, he had received plenty of evidence concerning the historical and institutional discrimination suffered by the Maori people, evidence that he is concerned with in the present report. 55. Many Maori consider that through the Foreshore and Seabed Act the Crown, while arguing in favour of the interests of the general public in New Zealand, has breached the Treaty of Waitangi once again. Even as it includes certain mechanisms for a declaration of existing “customary rights”, the Act clearly extinguishes the inherent property rights of Maori to the