Eckhoff Gerrard: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Eckhoff Gerrard: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:617;Page:12843] 
6.  
GERRARD ECKHOFF (ACT) 
 to the  
Minister of Fisheries 
: What has he achieved since becoming Minister of Fisheries? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Minister of Fisheries) 
: 
 Since becoming Minister of Fisheries on 26 February 2004 I have continued where my colleague the Hon Pete Hodgson left off to make progress on the Government’s objectives for the sustainable utilisation of New Zealand’s fisheries. 
Gerrard Eckhoff 
: Why is he sponsoring a bill that gives Maori 20 percent of migratory species such as tuna caught in the South China Sea up to 6000 kilometres away from New Zealand and what ancestral connection and customary use justifies a Maori entitlement to fish caught in Kiribati north of the equator? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: The fisheries deed of settlement negotiated by the parties currently in Opposition. 
Janet Mackey 
: What does the Minister consider are the key achievements of the Ministry of Fisheries since his appointment in February? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Since that time the ministry has amongst other things initiated a review of regulation 27 of the Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations that control customary take announced a new Budget initiative for recreational fishing—a 4-year $4 million research plan—approved a national plan of action for seabirds introduced two bills into Parliament to improve the legal framework for the sustainable utilisation of fisheries and made sustainable utilisation decisions in respect of the squid and southern blue whiting fisheries. 
Phil Heatley 
: Will he extend his aquaculture moratorium again since the foreshore and seabed legislation is yet to run its long course and his aquaculture reform legislation has yet to be introduced; if not how will he avoid extending it? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I hope not and I can confirm for the member’s benefit that on Monday Cabinet issued drafting instructions to the Parliamentary Counsel Office with regard to the aquaculture bill in areas where decisions have been made. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Despite what he said to Mr Eckhoff in his second answer—that it was a National Party that botched this issue up with regard to the wider dispersement or the 20 percent rule— 
Hon David Carter 
: You voted for it. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: No I did not vote for it and the member knows I did not. So don’t go and tell the public what is not true! 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member does get himself into real trouble. Would Mr Peters please begin the question again. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Despite what the Minister said in his second answer to Mr Eckhoff—that the National Party was responsible for this botch-up which finds a dispersement way beyond our territorial sea to other parts of the world where other fishers may have discovered the resource and acquired the resource—how can that be justified and fair with regard to the whole industry? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I apologise to the member for tarring him with the same brush. The consequences of the settlement are nonetheless quite clear. 
Ian Ewen-Street 
: Does the Minister support the introduction of scampi into the quota management scheme despite the fact that the High Court and the Court of Appeal found that the allocation model is “unfair unreasonable and unlawful” and the fact that the State Services Commission inquiry has not yet reported back; if so why? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Yes. 
Ian Ewen-Street 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I specifically asked the Minister that if his response was “Yes” to explain why. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Yes I think the member has made a fair point. Perhaps the Minister can add to that question. 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: That is the substance of the bill currently before the select committee and given that circumstance I would consider it most inappropriate to make further comment on the matter. 
Larry Baldock 
: Does the Minister stand by his statements on The Radio Network show on Saturday 1 May hosted by Tim Dower that he had been listening hard to the concerns of recreational fishermen with regard to their concerns about the apparent depletion of kahawai fish stocks; if so what plans does he have to address those concerns when kahawai is introduced to the quota management system? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Yes. Submissions have recently closed—in fact on 16 April—and officials are currently preparing final advice for me. I expect to have that in June. I can confirm the statement I made on that radio programme that a robust decision on this matter can be expected. 
Gerrard Eckhoff 
: As the deed of settlement for Maori covers the quota management area in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone only what principle of any kind gives Maori a right to a fishing resource north of the equator they have never even claimed for or fished for yet have their right to New Zealand courts denied to justify their claim to New Zealand’s foreshore and seabed? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I will be happy to provide a copy of the 1992 deed of settlement for the member’s edification.