Marcroft JennyJENNY MARCROFT (NZ First): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. But first I'd actually like to begin with saying Hari Huritau". I believe it is your birthday—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): We all have them.JENNY MARCROFT: —so best wishes to you and I'm sure there's going to be cake after.It's a pleasure to take a call on this bill the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill on behalf of New Zealand First and I'd just like to acknowledge beginning with the committee the Environment Committee the great way that we have all worked very hard and diligently on this bill. A little bit of panel beating—yes we did a little bit of panel beating—but we certainly got there in the end and I think have delivered what is going to be very important protection for our native indigenous freshwater fish because actually that is the focus of this bill. It is about ensuring that this taonga will survive into the future. Now I'd just like to talk about whitebait in terms of the Mahurangi Technical Institute which is based in Warkworth and I haven't had the opportunity through any of these calls in previous readings of this bill to talk about this institute. Mahurangi are basically breeding whitebait in captivity. They are farming whitebait and this is evident every Saturday morning at the Matakana market. You can pop down and have a Mānaki Whitebait fritter. What they're also doing in conjunction with iwi Ngāti Tahu Ngāti Whāoa is they are endeavouring to—because kōkopu were part of their staple diet they're very keen to reintroduce the kōkopu to the Upper Waikato catchment. So alongside Mahurangi Technical Institute they are hoping to release into the wild habitat again and also into Tāwharanui which is probably one of the best areas on the whole planet—in paradise take a left at Matakana and head over the hill. To release into the wild habitat—the Mānaki fish scientist Paul Decker he's been working on this for a number of years so that when the whitebait become extinct from a specific habitat they're able to reintroduce these farmed whitebait.Now this is a really interesting feature about whitebait and you might like to consider this the next time you happen to eat a whitebait patty—because they won't be banned. Whitebait if they can't smell the pheromones of their own kind then they'll never go back to that particular habitat; they will never go back to that freshwater environment. So how do we repopulate these areas that have lost the whitebait? We introduce farmed whitebait which will then release the pheromones which will draw back the natural indigenous native whitebait to that habitat. So that's a very interesting thing. So fear not the whitebait patty eater because we have the technology and it is coming to you from Mahurangi Technical Institute thanks very much to Dr Paul Decker. Maybe I've just given him a new title but anyway Paul Decker the—certainly the grandfather of the whitebait. So that's interesting I think in terms of whitebait. It brings another dimension to the conversation that we are having—so farmed fish bringing them back into the habitat to regenerate the stock of whitebait. Just through the course of listening to the submissions through the Environment Committee I did note that Fish & Game played a very important role in terms of helping us to find a way forward for ensuring that the particular focus that they have in terms of trout and the trout hatcheries and the role that they play to make sure—so there was a clause in the bill that they weren't particularly keen on and so we did listen to them. And this is you know a direct relationship that we developed through to ensure that that clause 5(3) I believe it was—we managed to get that taken out of the bill. So they ended up being relatively happy with where we landed in fact there were three changes they suggested; we ended up landing with two changes and they felt that they were well listened to. So that was great to be able to work with them and I acknowledge the way that they worked constructively too with members of the committee. You know we have 56-odd known native freshwater fish species. They're really interesting—tiny fish that migrate huge distances from fresh water out into the ocean; we've got some fish well eels that manage to clamber up high heights. Some of these fish have been travelling our waterways for 23 million years and now some of them are getting munched as they go through drained wetlands or through hydro areas and so we really do have to do our bit to ensure that these fish are protected. So this bill literally just gives powers to better manage and protect these species. It will certainly update and clarify the Act and give regulation-making powers to implement the bill's changes. New Zealand First—we were really pleased to be able to work with the Minister of Conservation and through her Supplementary Order Paper 360 enabled that there would be a period of time of two years to enable the status quo to remain because there is a review going to be undertaken. There's actually no consensus at the moment on what regulation changes are needed; everyone does actually knowledge there needs to be some kind of change but not to their particular type of fishing. So it's going to take a period of time; there will need to be consultation with iwi through that review process along with fishers and taking stock of all the views and opinions. That's not something that will be rushed. So enabling those two years before there are any changes I think that is a very sensible approach. We're pleased that the Minister was able to accommodate New Zealand First in making that change so I just acknowledge the Minister there. I have found it generally a really good committee to be on the Environment Committee because we have a focus that is about the environment. So one of the things I know that we do all have in common is a need and an understanding to protect not just our conservation estate but all of those species that are in various habitats around New Zealand. So I find it really interesting that on this side of the House we take an approach that is about the wellbeing of our ecosystems about the wellbeing of the various species that make up these ecosystems and that is an approach that we take perhaps relatively holistically across our peoples across our families across our communities and throughout into our ecosystems as well. Unfortunately the other side of the House—they call it a pragmatic approach but really it's I believe a self-centred approach. But I think humanity can show that we can care for all of the little itty-bitty creatures including our incredibly special indigenous freshwater fish. So in conclusion—very pleased to support this bill proud to be part of the select committee and thank all of submitters to the bill and for their work in helping to shape what I believe is a good piece of legislation that will protect these species. So in conclusion I commend the bill to the House and happy birthday to you."