This is why Pakeha need to get behind Maori battles for rights. To me, any secured rights for Maori, are secured rights for all New Zealanders.

But we have bought into the myth that Maori rights means a diminishing of rights to non-Maori New Zealanders. That myth comes from another myth that non-Maori New Zealanders have ownership and access rights period. We don't. Any so called assets in this country are either in the hands of international capital, or held with the Crown pending a scrap with Maori to get them back.

We saw that with the Seabed and Foreshore legislation where some Pakeha groups that didn't get involved at the time of the Hikoi, found themselves one of the first victims of the legislation in the way of iron sands mining and the potential of gas exploration in the 12 mile limit area.

Maori lost the battle for their rights to the fish resulting in a compensation styled blood money payout for a percentage stake is a failing business venture. Now non-commercial fishing is feeling the loss (and so are of course, the fish).

The biggest one is the right to self-determination which is at the very least the basis of the Treaty irregardless of which version you believe is the legal one. This right was taken through the process of colonisation, and because colonisation is current and tenacious in maintaining the states perception of its own power, those rights will never be allowed to be regained.

Water is the last of the big ones. Right now the Crown assumes it has the right to sell water off to countries that need fresh water, China is one of our biggest consumers and to charge people for its use. It believes it can restrict access to water, force you to use town supply, ban you from collecting water in a rain catchment reservoir and sell water to you at X amount of dollars per litre.

No doubt a case will enter the courts at some stage where an Iwi will stake its claim to the ownership rights of water and the State will be forced to intervene again with special legislation removing Maori rights to water.