Ferris TākutaTĀKUTA FERRIS (Te Pāti Māori —Te Tai Tonga): Tēnā koe e te Pīka.[Authorised te reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.][Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]Whilst we acknowledge the commercial imperative we also acknowledge and would like to remind the House of the mana moana mana tangata and tangata whenua imperative. When it comes to rights and fishing Māori are the principal rights holders; the principal rights holders in the customary rights—the rights that existed before the emergence of any commercial rights the rights that existed before the emergence of any recreational rights—and they must be respected. They must be respected and endure. And for sure the precedent was set in 1992 at the conclusion of the first Treaty of Waitangi settlement process and the conclusion of the fisheries settlement.[Authorised te reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.][Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]So whilst Te Pāti Māori stands in support of the broad intention of the bill to enable Aotearoa to better meet its international fisheries management and compliance obligations in relation to illegal unreported and unregulated fishing and although this bill is largely focused on activities that occur out on the high sea I am reminded of a whakataukī from te Iwi Māori [Authorised te reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.][Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]And inasmuch as that relates to things that happen out on the open ocean eventually have an impact on the inshore waters and indeed the people who reside in the coastal areas.We acknowledge that the amendments will improve our capacity and ability to protect our fish stocks and we understand that these fish stocks are important and that international fishing is a danger to our people. Also to be cognisant of owning our own place in behaving and conducting ourselves well in fishing practice as well we are not above or beyond the laws.Te Pāti Māori also sees that there is some alignment with our own policies our mana motuhake policy [Authorised te reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.][Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]And consider that all changes—all and any changes—to fisheries legislation should have the active consent of tangata whenua given our customary proprietary governance and Tiriti-based rights. Mana ōrite in negotiation and mana whakahaere must be maintained and the protection of our whakapapa connections with the fisheries should be respected and upheld in fisheries legislation.We acknowledge that Te Ohu Kaimoana was extensively involved in the drafting of the bill and we urge this Government to continue that open and clear dialogue with Te Ohu Kaimoana moving forward and more importantly so that the iwi hapū marae and whānau who reside in those coastal locations—those coastal hapū those coastal marae—are afforded the same opportunity to participate[Authorised te reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.][Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]We also support this proposal that will enable greater powers to the fisheries officers and indeed our enforcement agencies in the protection of our fish stocks be they international or domestic threats.[Authorised te reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.][Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]And inasmuch as the concerns of Te Ohu Kaimoana have been addressed through the drafting process we do proceed with some level of caution.[Authorised te reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.][Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]Recent actions by the Government would lead us to believe that a pattern of behaviour of not bothering to be concerned with what the ramifications for the Treaty partner may contain so we move forward with caution to the Government to actively and continually respect Māori rights Māori Tiriti rights in fishing be they on the high sea or in the inshore waters.[Authorised te reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.][Authorised translation to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]