Paul Goldsmith: Chris Finlayson should follow his own advice and tone down hyperbole on Crown-Māori relations

PremiumOpinionOpinion byPaul GoldsmithNZ Herald·26 Jun, 2026 01:01 AM4 mins to readNational’s Paul Goldsmith is the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations.Current Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Paul Goldsmith, and the former minister under the Key and English Governments, Chris Finlayson, are at odds over the Marine and Coastal Area Act.THE FACTSParliament last year changed the foreshore and seabed law to make it harder for iwi and hapū to have customary title recognised.The Government says it is restoring the law to Parliament’s original intention.Former Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson says it is not, and is a response to Māori having had too many wins.

In Bill English’s final speech to Parliament, referring to a James K Baxter poem, he concluded that he’d taken his turn at the chisel in the great task of shaping this nation we call New Zealand. Then he departed, leaving the next generation of MPs to take their