Horomia Parekura: Maori Fisheries Bill — First Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Maori Fisheries Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:614;Page:10471] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
:  
Ki a koe te Kaiwhakahaere o te Whare nei e tika ake ano i runga ano o te tu nei ki te mihi ano i a koe tena koe. Na te mea e mohio anake ano tatou te to roa noa iho o te tae ake o te tuhinga nei o te pire nei ki roto iI te Whare nei e mihi kau ana ki a ratou kare i konei. Ka mihi ano hoki ki a ratou nga kaiwhakahaere o te komihana e mau kaha ake ano mo tenei tino kaupapa tena koutou. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
To you the Speaker of this House it is apt indeed that I extend greetings to you as I rise to speak. Greetings to you. Because we know how long it has taken for this document this bill to arrive in this House I acknowledge those who are not present and those of the commission as well who worked tirelessly on this matter of such significance. Greetings to you 
.] 
Ki ake ano ki te mihi ake ano ki oku hoa mahi i konei o te Kawana me koutou nga kanohi Maori. To tatau pakeke e Winitana koutou katoa mihi ake ano i a koe tena koe. 
[ 
I acknowledge my Government colleagues and those Maori members once again. To all of you and indeed to you Winston our elder statesman thank you 
.] 
I move  
That the Maori Fisheries Bill be now read a first time 
. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by a committee to be established. The bill will give effect to the agreed model for allocating Maori fisheries settlement assets as proposed by the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission in its report  
He Kawai Amokura 
. It is cause for celebration that this bill is finally before the House. It is the culmination of more than 10 years of discussion and debate amongst Maori. Its passage will begin a new era of Maori participation in the fishing industry enabling the beneficiaries of the 1992 fisheries settlement to receive the assets and use them for the economic and social benefit of Maori. This is a settlement worth more than $700 million dollars—more than all the other treaty settlements combined. 
In 1986 the introduction of the quota management system for fisheries prompted a number of claims to the Waitangi Tribunal and the High Court from Maori. Three years later in an interim settlement the Crown agreed to transfer to Maori 10 percent of the existing quota and the Maori Fisheries Commission was established to promote Maori involvement in the business and activity of fishing. I commend the commission for the efforts it put into that. The commission was charged with managing the quota while it developed the method of allocating the settlement assets to iwi. The final Maori fisheries settlement was agreed following the Ngai Tahu sea fisheries report from the Waitangi Tribunal and it was signed on 23 September 1992. The settlement provided Maori with $150 million to purchase 50 percent of Sealord Products Ltd and the Crown undertook to transfer to Maori 20 percent of the quota of all new species brought into the quota management system. As part of this celebration it is important to note how well the commission has brought that forward and increased it and developed the regulations to manage customary non-commercial fishing. 
The Maori Fisheries Commission was reconstituted as the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission and charged with developing proposals for a new Maori Fisheries Act including a procedure to identify beneficiaries and allocate the benefits of the settlement. By 1998 the commission had developed the model for the allocation of the interim settlement assets but a High Court order prevented it from reporting that model to the Minister of Fisheries. In due course the commission concluded that only a combined allocation proposal dealing with both the interim and the final settlement assets would secure enough support from iwi to proceed. The commission presented the Minister of Fisheries with its report  
He Kawai Amokura 
—its proposed model for the allocation of all fisheries settlement assets—on 9 May 2003. The commission has been candid in acknowledging that the model reflects some carefully balanced compromises needed to achieve a high level of agreement and support amongst iwi. The Government formally accepted the proposal in June being satisfied that it is fundamentally sound and provides a just and workable framework for the future. When considering the details of the proposal Cabinet noted that the process to sell inshore settlement quota that is proposed by the commission and contained in the bill would preclude the sale of packages of mixed quota thus potentially reducing the value of the sale to vendors. 
The bill is divided into seven parts and includes eight schedules. Part 1 contains the preliminary provisions covering commencement interpretation and key concepts—including the classification of quota the process to determine and register coastline entitlements the functions and powers of mandated iwi organisations and the criteria for their recognition. Part 2 provides for the establishment and review of a series of new entities. Te Ohu Kai Moana is a trust that will replace the commission and carry forward the allocation of settlement assets and other aspects of the scheme. Te Kawai Taumata is an electoral college created to appoint directors to the corporate trustee of Te Ohu Kai Moana. Te Kawai Taumata will have 11 members. One will be appointed by each of 10 iwi regional groupings and one will be appointed by a group of representatives of Maori organisations. Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd is a commercial company that will manage the settlement assets associated with a number of companies currently owned by the commission. It will have separate income and voting shares. All voting shares and 20 percent of the income shares are to be held in trust for iwi. The remaining 80 percent of income shares are to be distributed to mandated iwi organisations on the basis of their iwi population. Te Putea Whakatupu Trust is a trust to provide funding to Maori for education training and research including that in relation to Maori involvement in the business and activity of fishing and fisheries. Te Wai Maori Trust is a trust to assist with the development of Maori interest in freshwater fisheries. The commission has recognised that an organisation’s structures and processes that are appropriate for today may require changes to meet the evolving requirements of iwi and Maori in the future. Consequently Part 2 also provides for reviews of the performance of the groups that I have named. 
Part 3 provides for the allocation and transfer of settlement assets by Te Ohu Kai Moana. All settlement quota will be transferred to iwi once the iwi has a mandated iwi organisation. The amount each iwi will receive is calculated on the basis of population coastline length and the scheme for classification of quota. Settlement money will be used to provide the capital reserve for Te Ohu Kai Moana Te Putea Whakatupu Trust and Te Wai Maori Trust to fund the transitional functions of Te Ohu Kai Moana and to make payments to iwi in specific circumstances. 
Part 4 provides for restrictions on the sale and exchange of settlement quota. Mandated iwi organisations can sell settlement quota only to other mandated iwi organisations or to Te Ohu Kai Moana. For inshore quota a right of first refusal must be offered to buyers of coastline entitlements for the fish stock. Part 5 provides for dispute resolution processes to deal with disputes within and among iwi and between iwi and Te Ohu Kai Moana trustees. In respect of matters relating to certain decisions made under the bill disputes may be referred to the trustee for a determination or to the Maori Land Court if the trustee is a party or is unable to resolve the dispute. Part 6 provides for transitional and miscellaneous provisions repeals and amendments. Part 7 amends Te Ture Whenua Maori Act to reflect the Maori Land Court’s new role in dispute resolution. 
In summary this bill provides for the allocation of approximately half the settlement assets directly to iwi and for the remaining assets mostly company shares to be centrally managed on behalf of iwi. The model requires the establishment of a series of new entities. The bill has the support of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission and I want to commend it. The commission has an important role now to manage the transition towards the future needs of Maori both in the sense of structure and in the sense of the usage of the benefits for the Maori people. Perhaps inevitably the allocation model does not command universal support amongst Maori. Nevertheless more than 90 percent of iwi agreed that the model should be presented to the Government. Parliament now has the opportunity to bring the 1992 deed of settlement to a conclusion and to usher in a new era of opportunity for Maori in the fishing and seafood industry. 
I a koutou ano o te komihana te tiamana koutou katoa e mihi kau ana ki a koutou. To my colleague Minister Hodgson who is not here today I commend him for his effort and tenacity and certainly I thank my colleagues in Parliament for the support they will bring to this great turn in history for Maori.