4. Fisheries—Heron Report on Fish DumpingJAMES SHAW (Co-Leader—Green) to the Minister for Primary IndustriesFisheries—Heron Report on Fish Dumping4. JAMES SHAW (Co-Leader—Green) to the Minister for Primary Industries: Does he stand by his statement that there is no hard evidence" to support the Director of Fisheries Management's claim that fish discarding is a systemic failure of the current system?Hon JO GOODHEW (Associate Minister for Primary Industries) on behalf of the Minister for Primary Industries: What the Minister actually said in the House earlier this week regarding that comment by the Director of Fisheries Management is that "Dumping and discarding is an issue that successive Governments have been trying to deal with and grapple with over a period of time." He added that—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! This is a question that is on notice. It is an important issue and I do not want a continual barrage coming from the Hon David Cunliffe.Hon JO GOODHEW: He added: "The [quota management system] is now 30 years old. We have the operational review under way and I am sure that through that process the necessary changes will be made." James Shaw: Were Ministers aware of the extent and seriousness of fish dumping before the Simmons report which showed that more than double the amount of fish caught are dumped at sea; if not why not?Hon JO GOODHEW: What I can say is that an independent review was commissioned into three fisheries compliance investigations because of concerns. The Heron report has given us a pathway forward and I am unable to speculate as to what was known or not.James Shaw: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was whether Ministers were aware of the extent of fish dumping before the Simmons report and that is quite a specific question. The Minister did not answer that.Mr SPEAKER: Then I might add the member went on and added something else to his question so he actually asked two supplementary questions. But forgiving him for a minute on that the Minister has then answered that there were three reports that were made available so they knew of the issue. She then went on to say that she was unable to specifically answer the question you have asked and I think on an occasion when we acknowledge it is a Minister acting on behalf of another Minister that is satisfactory.Richard Prosser: When will the Government act on a commission of inquiry into fisheries management which was called for by New Zealand First 3 months ago?Hon JO GOODHEW: I am able to report that back in August last year The Future of our Fisheries review was undertaken and we know that that will address many issues in relation to this and the quota management system.Richard Prosser: How can he trust a fisheries monitoring agency that is owned by commercial fishing companies to monitor itself?Hon JO GOODHEW: There is currently a contract out for just 15 vessels under Snapper 1 and in fact the fisheries compliance people look at the evidence taken from the cameras on those vessels.James Shaw: How does the Minister think that the preliminary Operation Achilles report in July 2013 "found its way into the hands of industry" and how many other investigation reports have found their way into the hands of industry?Mr SPEAKER: Again there are two supplementary questions. The Minister can address either one.Hon JO GOODHEW: I personally have no knowledge of the answer to the first question and therefore cannot answer that.James Shaw: Will the Minister commit to an independent review of the quota management system in light of the recommendations of the revelations made in the Heron report?Hon JO GOODHEW: I think it is important that we understand that what we have within the Mike Heron QC report which was an independent report was a look at some compliance investigations to determine whether the processes were heading in the right direction. In fact this report showed that in some cases they were flawed. The Ministry for Primary Industries Director-General Martyn Dunne has said that changes will be happening. It is regrettable that they were flawed but changes will be happening. At the same time our quota management system is now 30 years old. It is time for a review and we will be doing that review in good faith."