新西兰英语 294 Maori and the Sea

　　We have heard a lot of talk in the last six years about the foreshore and seabed. The foreshore is the beach up to the high tide mark. The seabed is the ocean as far as New Zealand’s limit, 200 miles out to sea. This is the part of the ocean which New Zealand controls for fishing and for oil and gas. It is ours and any country which wants to fish in our part of the ocean needs our permission and has to pay for the rights.
The Treaty¹ of Waitangi guaranteed Maori their traditional places for fishing, including beaches. However, after 1840, many Maori iwi (tribes) lost these places, mostly because the land was sold to European settlers.
In 2004, the local Maori in Marlborough in the North East of the South Island, wanted to go to court to find out if they had the right to own to the foreshore and seabed in that area. Immediately, the Prime² Minister at that time, Helen Clark, said that all coast and sea belonged to the government, and local Maori could not take a case to court. Maori throughout³ New Zealand were extremely⁴ angry. Soon this led to a new party, the Maori Party, who wanted to make sure that Maori had the right to own the foreshore and seabed in their area or at least to take this matter to court.
The Prime Minister, John Key, needs to keep the Maori Party happy but he also needs to keep his own party members happy. His answer was that all foreshore and seabed would belong to nobody. It would be public. However, John Key said that any local Maori iwi who could show they had customary⁵ rights to own that area, could go to the High Court. They would need to show that their iwi had owned the area, continuously⁶, since the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. At the moment, the Maori Party has accepted this.
Questions
Is it possible for non-Maori to understand how Maori feel about the foreshore and seabed?
What is the importance of the Maori party in the government?

1 treaty   

n.条约；协议，协定

参考例句：

• Hungary has indicated its readiness to sign the treaty.匈牙利已表示愿意签订该条约。
• I believe this treaty will pave the way to peace in Europe. 我相信这个条约将为欧洲的和平铺平道路。

2 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

3 throughout   

adv.到处，自始至终；prep.遍及，贯穿

参考例句：

• These magazines are sold at bookstores throughout the country.这些杂志在全国各地书店均有发售。
• Guilin is known throughout the world for its scenery.桂林以山水著称于世。

4 extremely   

adv.极其，非常，极度

参考例句：

• The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
• The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。

5 customary   

adj.习惯上的，惯常的，合乎习俗的

参考例句：

• He makes his customary visit every week.他每星期都按照惯例造访一次。
• It is customary with me to do so.这样做是我的习惯。

6 continuously   

adv.不断地；持续地

参考例句：

• They are repairing this road continuously.他们一直在修这条路。
• Our foreign trade is continuously expanding.我们的对外贸易不断发展。