Mooney JosephJOSEPH MOONEY (National—Southland): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a privilege to rise as National's Treaty of Waitangi negotiations spokesperson and the member of Parliament for Southland to take a call on the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill. The National Party supports this bill. The objective of this bill is to improve the allocation and transfer process provided for in the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004 to better enable the allocation and transfer of aquaculture settlement assets to iwi. According to the bill's general policy statement currently iwi in some regions are facing indefinite delays in receiving their aquaculture assets from the trustee Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Ltd. This is due to the inability of iwi in those regions at times to reach agreement in accordance with the provisions of the settlement Act about how regional aquaculture settlement assets should be allocated amongst them. The dispute resolution process provided in the settlement Act has been unable to address these issues and there's a risk that similar situations will arise in future regional settlement processes. If no changes are made settlement assets for iwi in those regions will remain held in trust by Te Ohu Kai Moana indefinitely causing further frustration for those iwi who will be unable to realise their aquaculture aspirations and contribute to the broader aquaculture industry. The New Zealand aquaculture industry contributes significantly to regional development and the national economy generating in 2008 $600 million in revenue and employing 3000 people largely based in the regions. Māori have a significant presence in the aquaculture industry and have significant aspirations to increase that. This bill will ensure that iwi can access their aquaculture assets within an appropriate time frame. It will improve the delivery of the Crown's aquaculture settlement obligations it will protect the interests of iwi who do not wish to claim their aquaculture settlement assets at this time and it will support iwi aquaculture aspirations as well as further support the growth of the aquaculture industry. Southland has a long-established fishing industry and is particularly well-known for the famous delicacy the Bluff oyster. Southland's coastline covers approximately 3150 kilometres. The deep cool southern waters of New Zealand's exclusive economic zone contain a wide variety of species including blue cod and crayfish or the spiny rock lobster which is Southland's most common commercial fishing species as well as Southland's pāua or abalone fishery which is the second-largest in New Zealand. The main fishing methods in Southland are crayfishing and cod-potting oyster-dredging trawling set-netting hand lines and diving. Seafood exports account for around 90 percent of the seafood industry revenue and it consistently ranks as the country's fourth- or fifth-largest export earner so it's very significant. I am pleased to note that Ngāi Tahu the largest iwi in Southland and in fact in the South Island signed an aquaculture settlement with the Crown last year. This is a positive development for Southland and the Māori economy. Representatives of the Hokonui Waihopai Awarua and Ōraka-Aparima Papatipu Rūnaka signed the agreement which provides Ngāi Tahu marine space to develop their aquaculture industry. This will help get te Murihiku kaimoana to the world and help their aspirations so as to diversify the Southland economy leading to new jobs and new opportunities. Southland I'm proud to say is growing into a centre for aquacultural excellence. In fact the CRA8 fishery is the largest Mainland rock lobster fishery geographically. The region extends from Long Point south to Stewart Island and it goes up to the coastline of Foveaux Strait and then northwards along the Fiordland coastline—much of which is in my electorate—to Bruce Bay. While the area is large almost all of the fishing occurs within 8 kilometres of the shore. And it's a significant fishery that we don't hear a lot about but a lot of brave men and women spend their time off the sometimes wild waters of Fiordland catching crayfish and sending them to the world.The value of aquaculture in Southland extends beyond the contribution it makes to the local and national economies. A 2015 study on the social effects of aquaculture in Southland found that aquaculture had a highly positive impact on the Bluff and Stewart Island communities. The creation of employment as well as the contribution the companies and the employees are making means that Stewart Island and Bluff are significantly socially richer due to the presence of aquaculture. Something that's probably not well known is that the town of Te Ānau in my electorate is also the base of possibly the biggest crayfishing operation in New Zealand and one of the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere. They have their international headquarters so to speak in the town of Te Ānau providing great local employment and it's a fantastic story for regional New Zealand and for my electorate. And I see opposite me a local who knows well the value that this adds to the Te Ānau community.Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: And a lover of the produce too.JOSEPH MOONEY: Yes. A fantastic local company.Although it's a little dated a 2014 Colmar Brunton survey of the public perceptions of aquaculture in New Zealand showed that Southlanders had a very positive attitude towards the aquaculture industry: 91 percent of Southlanders agreed that New Zealand should look for opportunities to sustainably grow the aquaculture industry 84 percent of Southlanders had positive views of the industry and 74 percent of Southlanders said that aquaculture has not had an impact on their personal use of New Zealand's coastline. And I know having spoken to players in the industry that there's been really careful work over many years to balance the interests of commercial fisheries with those who like to go fishing for personal use. They are very carefully managing the stocks in the wild fisheries but this move towards aquaculture will help to sustainably grow our seafood industry in New Zealand and sustainably grow our economy.National supports this legislation because it helps to unleash Māori potential and Māori prosperity in the Māori economy. And I note that in 2018 a study noted that the Māori economy at that time was already worth $68 billion which is an incredible story of aspiration and success that I don't think we hear enough about and it shows the genuine efforts and the incredible things that are happening in the Māori economy and is a story that I think New Zealand could do well to tell more of.Most Māori fisheries are based out of regions that are crying out for new opportunities jobs and a reason for Māori to return to their whenua and papakāinga. This reform has the potential to help make a real difference to the Māori fishing industry and to the future prosperity of rural iwi. Under the current law when there is disagreement between regional iwi groups over how aquaculture assets from a Treaty settlement can be shared it can mean iwi are left unable to receive their assets and to use them indefinitely. The intent of this amendment bill is to better facilitate the timely distribution of iwi aquacultural settlement assets where disputes arise regarding the proposed allocation. Submitters have stated that aquaculture presents significant opportunities for iwi and Māori. For example in the Bay of Plenty there has been significant investments in aquaculture to support regional development creating jobs for hapū whānau and iwi. Many other regions are keen to take advantage of this opportunity when settlements are released.So this bill solves an important issue which the primary legislation cannot. It has a potential to make a real difference to the Māori fishing industry and as I said to the future prosperity of rural iwi and the growth of new opportunities that we do not yet have. I'm proud to be the member of Parliament for Southland and have an opportunity to speak about Southland's world-leading aquaculture sector the exciting growth that is happening there and I look forward to seeing the growth of this sector particularly the contributions of iwi and Māori to that growth. So with that I commend this bill to the House.