SpeechJENNY MARCROFT (NZ First): Tēnā koe Madam Speaker. It's an absolute pleasure to stand on behalf of New Zealand First and take my call on this the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill now in its second reading. I'd just like to begin talking about our taonga our native fish species that we have taken for granted for so long. On this side of the House we understand that they need protecting. They desperately need our protection and this is what this bill will ensure—that these little fish are protected. There are 57 known native freshwater fish species and you know actually some of them are really incredibly interesting: tiny fish that migrate enormous distances between fresh water and out to the ocean; some of them can survive out of water for a period of time as well but they can actually end up carelessly killed when we drain our wetlands when we clear our drains. An example of an incredibly interesting slippery creature—and not from that side of the House—is the long-finned eel that's been swimming up and down New Zealand's waterways for around 23 million years. It's not unheard of too that eels can climb around 20 metres up waterfalls so they're pretty interesting creatures indeed. Something is happening—actually it's just been announced today—and it's something that a lot of New Zealanders have embraced and that's Bird of the Year. Now we love our birds. We see them in our backyards we see them as we drive to work and New Zealanders have an affinity for them because we see them regularly. But our freshwater fish they're in our rivers and our wetlands—we don't tend to see them so we don't tend to have that compassion or understanding that they actually need protecting. So instead of just Bird of the Year I think it's time to turn to our fish of the day—not about our puku but our protection of these species. So something that has been leaching a whole bunch of misinformation from that side of the House we really need to spell out clearly—that sedimentation that's oozing from the Opposition. In fact let's get the facts here: there are no plans for a blanket ban on whitebaiting—it's as simple as that. Three-quarters of our native fish species are threatened; they are at risk of extinction. There is very strong support—these are the facts—for improving our whitebait fisheries. There is a review underway. There will be a chance for the public to have their say on any changes to the whitebait regulations but that is not inside this bill. So perhaps the Opposition would like to stop their campaign of misinformation and confusing the public.Something that they do need is educating—our young people when maybe a teacher takes their class down to the local river. One of the things that the Environment Committee has recommended after listening to the submissions during the committee stage is that to temporarily take maybe a bully from the river enabling the kids to have a little nature science time to learn about these little fish is a good way to educate them but they need to be actually not taken from that area; so too if there's going to be a temporary take to make sure that they stay there and that they're returned back to a close proximity to where those fish were taken. So that's one way we can educate our young people on species we don't get to see like we see the birds in our backyards to ensure that future generations have an understanding of the importance of these freshwater indigenous species that do need our protection.The Environment Committee had quite a number of submissions and I do note Sir Geoffrey Palmer QC and the work he did on behalf of Fish & Game.You know our freshwater sports fishing is an exciting thing for many to do—150000-odd New Zealanders along with international visitors who come to New Zealand specifically to fish trout browns rainbows and in some parts of the South Island there are salmon as well. They spend a lot of money coming to New Zealand for a chance to catch one of these fish.I spent a period of time a wee while ago now living in Taupō and one of the things I did every day is listen to—as part of the programme on the very first radio station that I worked on Hits and Memories Radio Lakeland—the fishing report with Chris Jolly and his boat Prime Time and every morning he would ring up and talk about what rivers to fish where the trout were running at that time or what parts of the lake to fish in. So this is something that we know a lot of New Zealanders are very interested in. So for Fish & Game obviously with their work in managing our sports fish we acknowledged their concerns around clause 5(3) and that was then removed from this bill allaying their concerns.I did mention earlier these fish that travel draining of the wetlands how these small fish do get munched whether it's through these hydro dams that are no longer actually fixable—they are old and unfixable—so that we have made some recommendations to change the bill so the requirements of any new regulations relating to fish passage do not apply to existing hydroelectricity dams. And I think that is a good change and a very sensible recommendation from the committee.So just in closing I think that fish are highly important in terms of being a part of our whole ecosystem and our rivers and you know not just something that we just want to eat. So all of these little species—of smelt there's galaxiids and little eels as well—do need our protection they do need to ensure that they are able to have spawning sites and that must be at the forefront of our conservation to ensure that these species are not only surviving now but actually thrive into the future.So I am pleased with the changes that the Environment Committee has made. I acknowledge those in the committee who worked hard on this alongside the officials. I acknowledge the Minister Eugenie Sage as well for her work in this space. And I commend the bill to the House.