Horomia Parekura: Maori Fisheries Bill Te Ture Whenua Maori Amendment Bill (No 2) / Maori Land Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
Horomia Parekura: Maori Fisheries Bill Te Ture Whenua Maori Amendment Bill (No 2) / Maori Land Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
[Volume:620;Page:15758] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 E tikaakeano ki te mihi akeano ki a koutou o te komihana i a koutou mai i te motui tae akeano ki te rongoakeano ki te whakaotinga o teneipire. I a koruaano e Doug me a koe Koro e mihi kauanai a korua e tae kaha akeanoikonei. 
[ 
It is apt that I acknowledge you the commission and those from the land who have arrived to listen to the completion of this bill. I especially acknowledge your presence too Doug and Koro and your efforts to be here as well 
.] 
I give my greetings to the people from the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission and other people who have arrived here today and especially those two old stalwarts of this House the Hon Koro Wetere and the Hon Doug Kidd. 
If that member is the Opposition spokesperson on Maori Affairs I am certainly mystified at his pontification about what is good for Maori and what is not good for Maori after the Orewa speech and three or four of the questions that were asked in this House today purporting that Maori are being over-fairly given interests. It has been a long journey as Mr Brownlee well knows since the treaty was signed in this country. That this process is being brought to finality today with the enactment of this bill which this Government has pushed along after that long period of time is certainly something Maori should celebrate. 
 The Maori Fisheries Bill is the final step in an extensive and very carefully considered process undertaken to transfer then allocate assets from the Crown to Maori in settlement of treaty claims to commercial fishing. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: It doesn’t do that. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: It certainly does that. I would ask about Fonterra. Maori are chastised at times about turning assets into confetti. Fonterra seems to be well established in the fundamentals of commerciality and keeping things together—and it is no different from Zespri. 
We started many years ago with the Maori Fisheries Act 1989 and now we will have the Maori Fisheries Act 2004 and this Government needs to be commended for bringing that about. Our people have a saying: “Ka pu te ruha ka hao te rangatahi.” which is translated as: “The old net is cast aside”—and old politicians—“and the new net goes fishing.” Once this legislative process is completed the casting of the new net will begin. The third reading of the Maori Fisheries Bill along with Te Ture Whenua Maori Amendment Bill (No 2) finishes the process that most recently included major recommendations from the Fisheries and Other Sea-related Legislation Committee. Subsequent changes to the initial legislative proposals make them better reflect what is needed for Maori to be active and long-term participants in the fishing industry. 
I extend my sincere appreciation to my pakeke in Parliament Winston Peters and his party for supporting us and to the select committee for the energy and time it has invested in progressing this important legislation. Its work has not been an easy task. I especially thank the chairman Russell Fairbrother and also Peter Paraone and Georgina te Heuheu and especially my hard-working colleagues the Hon Dover Samuels Mahara Okeroa and Nanaia Mahuta. They have been beset with challenges but they have stood strong and they have got to this point. They have read and listened to various submissions from industry players and have considered advice and submissions from several ministries and interested parties including Te Ohu Kai Moana in order to get us here today. That the committee took its task very seriously is demonstrated by the number of significant amendments that it recommended be made by this House. 
The new legislation will really help propel Maori forward into the fishing sector. There will be allocation of significant fishery assets to iwi organisations in the form of settlement quota income shares and cash. Other fisheries’ assets will be managed centrally on behalf of iwi and ultimately all Maori people generally. After the legislation is passed a new trust called Te Ohu Kai Moana will be established with the accompanying Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Ltd. It will be responsible for allocating settlement assets to iwi and for overseeing the operations of the new Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd. I will make the initial appointment of directors to that body but then the task will be taken up in an orderly fashion by Te Kawai Taumata a group of 11 people appointed by 10 regional groupings of iwi and one other member appointed by a group of representative Maori organisations. 
The way forward is now clear for our people to manage the fisheries’ assets which the trust will allocate on behalf of the ultimate beneficiaries. At that level clear distinctions will be drawn between the governance and management of the assets with mandated iwi organisations and asset-holding companies. A new company called Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd will administer major assets including shares in companies received from the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission. That company will be under legislative instruction to distribute large chunks of the net profits to income shareholders. Two further trusts called Te PuteaWhakatupu Trust and Te Wai Maori Trust will be established to assist with research and education grants and other activities. Te PuteaWhakatupu Trust will promote education training and research on fishing matters and other activities. Te Wai Maori Trust will advance Maori interest in freshwater fisheries. 
We have waited a long time for this day. Many of our kaumatua kuia and people who have had an input into this matter are not here today and I want to remember them as Maori celebrate the beginning of the end of this long journey. People like the Hon Matiu Rata and Sir Robert Mahuta have taken the long journey back over the great ocean of Kiwa. We are still here to carry on their wishes and those of the leaders who settled the treaty-based commercial fishing claims in 1992. That was many years ago. For more than 10 years there has been much discussion and debate mostly rigorous—often very rigorous—on how to move forward. The paternalism and the patronising of Maori people are something we want to move out of the road. We do not need to be told how to do it. We do not need to be told how to run things. We need to be recognised for the statesmanship that we can certainly imbue in this process. 
Rodney Hide 
: What about the foreshore and seabed? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: That member promised that he would behave himself and become that not the outdated rabble-rousing— 
Rodney Hide 
: You pushed me beyond the limit. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I am not pushing anybody beyond the limit. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I salute the efforts of numerous commissioners—people like Sir Tipene O’Regan and Shane Jones the commissioners who brought the old net into shore. Their journey has been arduous and at times frustrating. Hope and determination to see the job done are certainly why we are here today. I acknowledge the Rt Hon Jim Bolger and the Hon Doug Graham for their input along the way. Most of all I pay due respect to my colleague the Minister of Fisheries David Benson-Pope for his outstanding work in getting this process done and to Minister Pete Hodgson before him for his work. I also thank myself along with Winston Peters because we have got to here—just in case people forget that. 
But let us be as courageous as Maori people are today. Let us as a great nation accept this measure and ensure that we recognise that this legislation is good for Maori good for this nation and should be celebrated. Wake up!