National on the Maori seats

National Party Leader John Key says National remains committed to abolishing the Maori seats once the historical Treaty process has been concluded.

"Shortly after I became Leader I made it clear that our policy on the seats would be linked to the durable conclusion of historic Treaty claims.

"National's policy at the 2005 election was to have all claims lodged by 2006, and settled fully and finally by 2010.

"As a result of the poor progress being made by the current Government, the National Party, at its three-day Caucus in February 2007, announced its policy on the Maori seats, saying the move to abolish them would be tied to the conclusion of historic settlements, expected to be achieved by 2014.

"This morning, in attempting to distinguish between our current position and the formal policy document that will follow later this year, I gave the impression that National did not have a date for the settlement of historic Treaty claims. This was wrong.

"Our goal is to settle all historic treaty claims by 2014. Obviously, this will be reflected in our formal policy when it is released in due course. National remains committed to accelerating and settling historic Treaty claims."