Nakhle RimaRIMA NAKHLE (National—Takanini): Madam Speaker.DEPUTY SPEAKER: A little bit faster next time please.RIMA NAKHLE: Ha ha! Sorry. Using every single second! I rise to speak in support of the Māori Fisheries Amendment Bill. We're in the second reading stage right now and I intend to take the whole 10 minutes.But I'd like to reiterate because it's been a while since we've continued the discussion of this bill. The purpose of the bill is to seek to amend the principal Act which is the Maori Fisheries Act 2004. So in essence the amendments seek to ensure that iwi have more control over their fisheries assets as well as meaningful involvement in important decision-making when it comes to their fisheries assets and also that there is improved efficiency and a reduction of costs leading to benefits for all Māori.Now there's quite a history behind this bill as touched upon by previous speakers. As we said there's the principal Act of the Maori Fisheries Act 2004. That Act implemented a full and final settlement under the Treaty of Waitangi of all Māori claims to commercial fishing rights. What the Act also did was set out a governance framework to manage and administer settlement assets on behalf of and for the benefit of iwi and Māori. So this was formed by establishing several statutory entities for this purpose including Te Ohu Kai Moana Trust Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Ltd to act as a corporate trustee in which iwi are shareholders; Te Putea Whakatupu Trustee Ltd to represent the urban Māori interests—shout-out to the urban marae Papakura Marae and Manurewa Marae—and Te Wai Māori Trustee Ltd to advance Māori freshwater fisheries interests. I'll get there Minister.So the principal Act also required an independent review which was to be conducted by the 11th year after passing that Act—that principal Act. And this review was undertaken by an independent reviewer and completed in March 2015. The review recommended major changes to the governance structures of these settlement entities and simplified processes for trading assets. So Te Ohu Kai Moana then further engaged with iwi in 2016 and 2017 in light of the 2015 review recommendations before iwi voted on a suite of resolutions a number of which were passed at general meetings of Te Ohu Kai Moana shareholders. And this is what brings us to the here and now—that this amendment bill before the House continuing seeks to implement these resolutions voted on and passed by those iwi representatives.Continuing on for the benefit of my husband watching at home and our listeners what will this amendment bill change? The changes are quite detailed but I'll try and summarise them as best I can. Firstly it will give Māori direct control and governance over their fisheries assets by restructuring the governance framework. That's the first major change that these amendments will create.Second these amendments will make significant changes to the asset distribution and management of shares in Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd converting them to ordinary shares. Now of course there's more detail involved with that but that's just the basic principle of this second change. This shift will aim to align the control and beneficiaries of fisheries assets more closely with iwi. So the potential is that it will increase their economic benefits from these assets—very important as well.Thirdly the bill simplifies the process of trading settlement quota assets within the pool of fisheries settlement commercial entities thus reducing bureaucratic hurdles and making trading processes more efficient for our iwi.Fourthly it will enhance the distribution of surplus funds.Fifth the changes will make changes to the governance and capability building so that the Te Putea Whakatupu Trust and Te Wai Māori Trust thereby potentially increase their effectiveness in managing resources and providing benefits for our Māori.Finally the main change with these amendments to this bill is that it will introduce a framework for a compulsory levy model for Te Ohu Kai Moana to secure adequate funding for future financial stability.Our beautiful Māori economy it's estimated at about $68.7 billion. It's again beautifully staggering and rightly so. The fisheries make up a huge portion of this. Māori own about 50 percent of the fishing quota. Our deep wish our hope and our aim is that this bill will boost our Māori fishing sector to grow the wider economy.Speaking of fisheries recently being part of the Māori Affairs Committee we were very blessed to make a visit to Ōpōtiki. And during that visit with this great chair of the select committee here Dan Bidois from Northcote we visited Whakatōhea Mussels. Now with the manaakitanga that our Māori always show we were told that there was going to be a lunch. And I don't really eat mussels but that's OK there was a lot of other things.But the beauty of it was one always the generosity we're met with but beyond that the story behind Whakatōhea Mussels—that's the real beauty. It's a dream that was years in the making but the dream was materialised in 2014 when the first 10 mussel lines were established. But as I said the dream began much longer before that. This entity Whakatōhea Mussels it's a result of first and foremost community funding from grandparents to their grandchildren pooling in some of their savings whether it be a few dollars here and there—the grandchildren if you recall Dan Bidois us being told about that. This was done before they happened to acquire some Government funding where the Crown presently owns about 38 percent of the business as a result. But the overarching kaupapa the underpinning kaupapa of this establishment is the people of Whakatōhea—the people of Ōpōtiki.As the chief executive of Whakatōhea Mussels shared with us when we were having that very generous lunch and visit there he said that the people are at the heart of the creation. That business employs hundreds of locals it's now the biggest mussel factory in New Zealand and someone mentioned at that lovely visit that it's perhaps the largest in the world but I don't know for sure. We need to look that up but it's definitely the largest in New Zealand and surrounding.From a National Party perspective we support this bill for many reasons but including that we'd love to get our primary industries and our fishing sector back on track and it's all part of the Government's plan to rebuild the economy and get it working for all Kiwis. Furthermore following from that it's only through a strong economy that we can solve the cost of living we can lift incomes we can improve public services whether it be health education and more. And this is something that all of us deserve. I commend this bill to the House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you. Just before I call the next speaker just a reminder to all of the House that as Speakers we need you to call for your call. So we have a list of who we think may but it's really important that you call. And particularly on the second and third readings if someone else calls and whoever is intending to speak is still sitting then the person who makes the call is likely to get the speech. So just letting you know for future occurrences. Thank you.