Anderton Jim: Maori Purposes Bill — First Reading 
Anderton Jim: Maori Purposes Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:632;Page:3955] 
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Minister of Fisheries) 
: 
 If we wanted an example of all intelligent thought disappearing we have just heard it. I speak in support of the Maori Purposes Bill tabled by my colleague the Hon Parekura Horomia. The bill includes three technical amendments to two Acts that fall within my portfolio responsibility in fisheries. Those two Acts are the Maori Fisheries Act 2004 and the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004. Both of those Acts were major milestones in the recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi. Those Acts are important because they provide for Maori to participate fully in fisheries and marine farming in New Zealand. They make it possible for Maori to create new jobs and generate incomes in the regions where they live. 
Two of the three proposed technical amendments are to the Maori Fisheries Act. Both amendments are technical in nature though through their enactment the original policy intentions of the Maori Fisheries Act and the Fisheries Act 1996 will be able to be realised. The amendments are intended to ensure that the distribution of fisheries settlement benefits by Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Ltd to iwi can proceed without impediment. The first amendment affects changes to quota shares held by Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Ltd as a result of preferential allocation rights under the Fisheries Act 1996. The amendment allows the changes in those quota shares to be accurately reflected in eventual quota share allocations to individual iwi. 
I think that it is worth giving a brief outline of preferential allocation rights to the House. Preferential allocation rights apply to those fish stocks that were introduced into the quota management system in 1986. At that time quota allocations were made based on catch history and quota was allocated as a specific tonnage. If the combined catch history in a fish stock exceeded the proposed commercial catch limit for that stock then all fishers’ provisional quota tonnage entitlements needed to be reduced. If a fisher did not choose cash compensation for that reduction in his or her provisional quota tonnage entitlement the Fisheries Act 1983 included some special provisions. Those provisions ensured that if the total commercial catch limit for a stock was ever increased again then the fisher would have a right to preferentially receive quota for the same tonnage he or she had had reduced without compensation in 1986—tonnage the fisher had essentially lost access to when the catch limit was cut. The ongoing right to reclaim back-up quota to the fisher’s original tonnage entitlement based on catch history is what is called a preferential allocation right under the current Fisheries Act 1996. 
Today things are done differently. Owners hold a set number of quota shares rather than a specific number of tonnes of quota. So an increase in the commercial catch limit for a fish stock means there will be changes in quota shareholdings if there are preferential allocation rights. If someone has preferential allocation rights he or she receives more shares. Everyone else with quota in that stock has their shares reduced although the total tonnage of annual catch entitlement produced by the new shareholdings is not actually reduced. That is because each share generates a higher tonnage of catch entitlement due to the new higher catch limit. 
Changes to quota shareholdings as a result of those preferential allocation rights are not dealt with effectively under the Maori Fisheries Act at the moment. Quota shares that are held by Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee are listed in a schedule to the Act. When the number of shares held changes because of a redistribution under preferential allocation rights the schedule no longer accurately reflects the holdings of Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee. This bill provides a technical amendment to ensure that changes are reflected in the distribution of shares by Te Ohau Kai Moana Trustee. As a result no one will be unfairly disadvantaged by the way preferential allocation rights work. 
The second amendment to the Maori Fisheries Act is about iwi entitlement to harbour quota. For some stocks there is commercial catch history in a particular harbour. The Maori Fisheries Act provides for a special allocation of part of the available settlement quota to iwi whose rohe abuts the harbour. However harbour coastline cannot be measured in the same way that general coastline is measured so the allocation of harbour quota is based on agreement. An omission from the Maori Fisheries Act means that the different procedure for harbour quota is not accurately reflected in the schedule to that Act. The amendment will accurately reflect the policy relating to harbour quota and ensure that allocation procedures are clearly set out. 
The third technical amendment is to the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act of 2004. The settlement Act provides a full and final settlement of all Maori claims on commercial aquaculture arising on or after 21 September 1992. It provides Maori with 20 percent of any new marine farming space developed in the future. It also requires that the Crown provide Maori with the equivalent of 20 percent of any marine farming space approved since 21 September 1992. This existing marine farming space is referred to as pre-commencement space in the settlement Act. The technical amendment is to the definition of pre-commencement space. The technical amendment ensures that any space included in the definition of pre-commencement space is space that is actually used for aquacultural activities. Without the proposed clarification there is concern that the space used for other types of activities could be captured by the current definition. Since the settlement is about coastal space used for aquaculture it is obvious that the Act should capture only space used for aquaculture activities. 
Maori economic development is New Zealand economic development and aquaculture is a growing part of our economy. The Treaty settlements for fisheries and aquaculture were major milestones in making sure that Maori have their share of and involvement in the business of fishing and aquaculture. They provide a platform for investment to build productive businesses based on one of New Zealand’s premier natural resources. The Government and the industry are committed to maximising the economic potential of our marine resources. In the 10 years to 2001 aquaculture exports increased by 230 percent. It is crucial to make sure that growth is sustainable. 
The new aquaculture reforms have brought marine farming development under the Resource Management Act. Regional councils have the job of planning where development is possible. That requires iwi and the wider aquaculture sector to work together alongside regional councils. That is a substantial and an important change. It is not without its difficulties but we are trying hard to resolve those. It has taken time for both councils and the industry to adjust to change and to work through the new requirements. That is true but one would expect that. 
Central government is committed to playing its role. Officials from the Ministry for the Environment the Ministry ofthe Department of Conservation New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and regional councils and the industry are working together constructively. They are providing practical help to develop some initial aquacultural management areas and in the next stage the implementation team will help councils to progress their aquaculture planning into the development of aquacultural management areas. In particular four regional councils—Northland Auckland Waikato and the Bay of Plenty—have been identified as priorities for assistance. The implementation team is working with those four councils to identify barriers to aquacultural development and ways to overcome them. Maori are central to all of those elements of growth and I welcome the opportunity that that offers for Maori and for New Zealand. 
The Maori Fisheries Act 2004 and the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004 are key pieces of legislation in ensuring that Maori have the assets they need in order to take their place in the circle of economic development success. We need that legislation to operate in the way that was intended so it can provide a fair and an equitable distribution of assets. The three technical amendments to the settlement legislation contained in the Maori Purposes Bill before the House tonight will help to ensure that happens. I commend the bill to the House and to the Maori Affairs Committee for consideration.