The Labour Government's botched Treaty settlement process has resulted in it caving in to pressure from land protesters, says National Party Leader John Key.

”The move today by Trevor Mallard to halt Landcorp's sale of Whenuakite Station on the Coromandel Peninsula shows the Government has buckled under pressure.

”The precedent set by this should be of concern to all. Combine that with the totally inappropriate call today by the Maori Party for 'direct action' over land disputes, and you have a recipe for chaos.

”Whatever the merits of the protesters' claims, processes such as the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal are in place to deal with these issues.

”But the whole debacle shows that the Government has botched the Treaty settlement process and lurched from one stuffup to another.

”Weak political leadership from the Minister of Treaty Settlements resulted in that offer not being taken up.

”Now we have a situation where the Government is sending all the wrong messages and having to cover up the inadequacies of a Minister clearly out of his depth.”