Sharples Pita: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Sharples Pita: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:646;Page:15629] 
7.  
Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
 to the  
Minister of Fisheries 
: What did he mean in the reported comments made on  
Waatea News 
 that chartered vessels hired by Maori plunder the fish until there are none left; and what penalties will be imposed on these people for plundering the fish stocks? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Minister of Fisheries) 
: 
 My reported comments on  
Waatea News 
 were taken from the Treaty Tribes Coalition conference on Maori fishing interests held in Napier last week. At the conference I was asked by the Maori owner of a fishing company why the Government allowed large chartered vessels to come into our waters and in his words “vacuum-clean up all the fish”. In my response to the fisher I pointed out that Maori quota owners were significant users of large chartered vessels to catch their quota. I further pointed out that my attempts to bring amendments before this House to ensure that we have a more precautionary approach to fisheries management have been blocked by commercial Maori fisheries interests whose position has been supported in this House by the Maori Party. 
Dr Pita Sharples 
: Which Maori can the Minister identify as the commercial plunderers of their resource; and what role does his ministry have in ensuring that plundering does not occur? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: Maori interests have 40 percent of the fisheries in New Zealand. The commercial fisheries interests in this country know that many of our stocks—hoki and orange roughy in particular—have been fished down so that quota has had to be reduced. I am now in the position of not being able to make decisions in a precautionary way because commercial interests including Maori and the Maori Party will not support precautionary principles being put into the legislation. 
Dr Pita Sharples 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I specifically asked which Maori the Minister could identify. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: The Standing Orders do not require Ministers to answer in a specific way the questions that are put. The Minister I thought did address the question at some length but if he wishes to add anything else he is perfectly entitled to do so. 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: As an example for the member I advise him that last year I closed the orange roughy 7B fishery because the stock biomass was estimated to have dropped to 17 percent of its original state. That was in addition to earlier closures of the Challenger Area and Puysegur Bank orange roughy fisheries. The Maori fishing interests along with Pakeha interests have been fishing in those waters. They have been overfishing to the point where I have implemented precautionary principles in terms of the total allowable commercial catch and the Maori Party has opposed those measures in this House. 
Pita Paraone 
: Given the view of most New Zealanders including Maori on the importance of the need to ensure the sustainability of our country’s fish stocks would the concern he expressed on Radio New Zealand National pertaining to Maori commercial fishers and the plundering of fish by their chartered vessels be addressed if the same vessels and all other similar vessels were to be crewed by crews that were at least 75 percent comprised of New Zealanders? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: That is an interesting proposition and some people in the commercial industry in New Zealand would support that. In truth of course it would have severe practical implications for Maori fishers as well as for other commercial fishers. But if the member wants to pursue that and get support for it from the industry then my door is open for talks about it. 
Dr Pita Sharples 
: Does the Minister agree with the Te Runanga a Iwi o Ngapuhi chairperson Sonny Tau—that is the chairperson of the runanga of the largest tribe in New Zealand—that the Minister’s comments smack of election-year Maori bashing; if not why not? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: I do not think that anyone in this House thinks that I am seriously after the Maori seats or that I am seriously concerned about what anyone might think about the principles I have adopted in terms of the fisheries. What I am saying to the member very clearly is that the Maori interests in commercial fishing should emulate some of their people among the recreational and customary fishers who are just as concerned about Maori plundering the fishing stocks as they are about Pakeha plundering them.