Prebble Richard: Maori Fisheries Bill — In Committee 
Prebble Richard: Maori Fisheries Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:620;Page:15602] 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE (ACT) 
: 
 I rise on behalf of the ACT party to speak to Part 2 which puts together an incredibly bureaucratic process whereby the fishing rights that have been granted to Maori must be administered. The ACT party says that if we are passing a law to give Maori fishing rights then why are we placing upon Maori restrictions that non-Maori would not tolerate for one minute? We are a party of property rights and I say that a property right that has these sorts of restrictions means that one does not actually own the property at all. But I go further than that. We all know—or those of us who are economically literate in this Committee know—that we are setting up here a system that is designed to fail. Now it may not have been the purpose of those designing it but it is a system designed to fail because it is a system whereby people administering their own property will have to go through a process of politics. Political decisions will be made as to how to administer the fishing rights. 
If members think I am being overly pessimistic in my predictions I just point out that I think on the front page of the  
New Zealand Herald  
today there is reference to a sub-tribe up north where it is claimed that there are millions of dollars already unaccountable for a settlement that was made it seems to me just yesterday—but then I think I came into the Parliament just yesterday! But it was certainly a settlement that was made very recently. 
I make this prediction: because of this bureaucratic process we will see similar economic failures. People will come along later and say that Maori cannot administer these matters. That is rubbish. I do not care whether one is Maori European or Chinese. If one is given a feudal system to administer one will get feudal results. That is what this Committee is setting up today and that decision has been made so let us not relitigate it. If we are to grant substantial fishing stock to Maori then we ought to do it the whole way and allow those people to administer it as they choose. 
 I would include in that the right to sell. If one cannot sell something one does not own it. Maori should be able to do that. Just because there are Maori bureaucrats who want us to set up this bureaucratic system that is no reason for us to set up a system that will allow them in economic terms to what is called “rent seek” and they most certainly will. In plain language that will mean that various Maori up and down New Zealand will be able to charge very large fees for being middlemen and middlewomen standing in between the people who actually own it Maori and the State handing it over. 
I am not in the business of trying to enrich people who would like to sit in the middle as bureaucrats as sort of quasi-political business people. We already see them within Maoridom. They wear a better style of suit and they give great pleasure to people who sell Mercedes cars and the like. 
How are they able to do that? It is only because this Parliament is not supporting property rights. If Maori are to be given fish then they ought to be given fish. That would mean that they could administer it and yes it would mean that they could make mistakes. They would also be able to succeed whereas under the bureaucratic system we have set up we are enslaving part of the population into a feudal system. The Minister’s economic advisers all know that the system he is setting up will be a failure. The reason the world has moved away from the feudal system is that it did not deliver and why should it deliver to Maori? We will have a situation that will enable Mr Peters to get up as he does and say to ordinary Maori audiences: “And how many of you have received the snapper?”. Of course the answer to that question will be “None.” and under this legislation the vast majority of Maori will never see a snapper. A few Maori will become very wealthy.