SpeechMĀORI FISHERIES AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingDebate resumed from 7 March.HARETE HIPANGO (National): Thank you Madam Speaker. Before I speak to the bill it's appropriate as a person who comes from Whanganui and a former member of Parliament for the Whanganui electorate to acknowledge deceased member of Parliament now but also former member of Parliament and friend and colleague of many here the Hon Chester Borrows.In taking this brief call speaking to the Māori Fisheries Amendment Bill—noting that the member in charge is the Hon Stuart Nash Minister for Oceans and Fisheries—it's not yet known which select committee for the first reading of this bill it will go to. Potentially it could go to the Primary Production Committee which the fisheries amendment bill that was before the House last year went to. Or potentially it could go to the Māori Affairs Committee. It's unknown. But in speaking to that—I turn to the bill—there have been a number of members who spoke to this last evening in that the purpose of the bill is that under the 1992 fisheries deed of settlement the Crown and Māori agreed to a full and final settlement of all Māori claims to commercial fishing rights.The Maori Fisheries Act of 2004 set out a framework for the allocation and transfer of fisheries settlement assets to iwi institutional arrangements and a governance framework for managing fisheries assets for current and future generations of Māori. So this bill—the amendment bill—is to update and modernise the governance and administrative framework for managing iwi fisheries settlement assets that are administered by Te Ohu Kai Moana; the Māori Fisheries Commission as it was formerly known.I've often shared in the House that I relate back to lived experience personal experience and professional experience. Back on 11 September 1992 my son was born here in Wellington and I returned home shortly after that. Within two weeks of his birth I received a phone call from the then chief executive of as it was known the Māori Fisheries Commission offering me a job as a legal adviser to that. Robin Hapi was then the chief executive of the Māori Fisheries Commission now known as Te Ohu Kai Moana. I didn't take the role because as I say I had returned home to Whanganui. The priority was returning to the support of whānau with two young children. It just happens to be that I correlate the timing of the establishment of the Māori Fisheries Commission some almost 32 years ago now. And here we are addressing before the House the Māori Fisheries Amendment Bill.As I've outlined what the purpose is—and in the two minutes that I have left remaining—this bill will come before whichever select committee it does for due consideration and then reporting back to the House for the second reading. Standing as a National Party member of Parliament it's known that National supports this bill at first reading taking a keen interest for it to go before the select committee to open it up for public submission. As has been outlined it's to look at modernising and streamlining iwi governance of the asset-holding entities.National is very keen to hear from submitters because just a little bit of reading that I've done in relation to this it seems that—and again Māori are as diverse as every other New Zealander in this country. Just because we're Māori doesn't mean to say that we all think and have the same mind-set in terms of how business is done. It's known from some articles that have been read that there have been High Court proceedings filed and those have been initiated by Ngāi Tahu who are not aligned with what the whakaaro the thinking of Te Ohu Kai Moana is—in terms of the distribution of funds particularly that are collected. That is also supported by Ngā Puhi. There are some news articles there. There are likely to be submissions that come through from the members of our public community and those particularly tribal entities that have an interest here in Te Ohu Kai Moana and the distribution of those funds.So in the 38 seconds that I have left my colleague to follow later in addressing this will do so somewhat more fully but the bill is comprised of in two parts 100 clauses three schedules. It's going to require some prudent scrutiny importantly listening to the submitters and then looking further at whether this needs to be improved. The National Party supports this bill at first reading and very much looks forward to the submissions from members of the public and those particularly the iwi entities affected by the management of Māori fisheries. Kia ora.