SpeechMĀORI FISHERIES AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon STUART NASH (Minister for Oceans and Fisheries): I present a legislative statement on the Māori Fisheries Amendment Bill.ASSISTANT SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon STUART NASH: I move That the Māori Fisheries Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill is reported to the House by 13 July 2023. I seek the House's agreement for the select committee to report back to the House within three months of the bill being referred to it. Cabinet considers a compressed select committee time frame is appropriate. Iwi are generally comfortable with the bill and given the passage of time since we voted for these changes passing these amendments into law relatively quickly will help Crown-Māori relations.The Māori Fisheries Amendment Bill or the bill will ensure iwi have a greater degree of rangatiratanga over their fisheries assets and improved benefits for all Māori. The introduction of this bill on the Fisheries Amendment Act passed late last year which represented a significant step towards strengthening and modernising New Zealand's fisheries management system. Māori have extensive rights and interests in Aotearoa fisheries which are given effect to in the fisheries legislation.During the 1980s and particularly following the introduction of the quota management system in 1986 Māori expressed growing concerns that their Treaty fishing rights were being breached. This prompted the Crown to enter negotiations with Māori to resolve Treaty fishing rights over commercial fisheries. In 1992 the Crown and Māori agreed to a full and final settlement of any claims by Māori to fisheries managed under the Fisheries Act 1996. This was widely known as the Sealord deal". The Maori Fisheries Act 2004 or the Act sets out a framework for the allocation and transfer of fisheries settlement assets to iwi institutional arrangements and a governance framework for managing fishery assets for current and future generations of Māori. Māori now hold about 40 percent of the annual catch entitlement for New Zealand's fish stocks and the quota management system and Māori commercial fishing entities also provide annual catch entitlement to their whanaunga fishers. Under the Act four governance entities were established to manage settlement assets on behalf of iwi and Māori. The entities include Te Ohu Kai Moana which allocates and transfers fisheries settlement assets to iwi and advances the interests of Māori through the development of fishery-related activities; Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd which manages the centrally held commercial fishery settlement assets of Māori; Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust which is funded from allocated trust income to promote Māori education training and research; and Te Wai Māori Trust who are also funded from allocated trust income to advance Māori freshwater fishing interests.The Act sets out a framework for the allocation and transfer of fisheries settlement assets to iwi institutional arrangements and a governance framework for managing fisheries assets for current and future generations of Māori. The Act requires an independent review of these governance entities to be carried out no later than the 11th year following the commencement of the Act. This review happened in March 2015. The review recommended significant changes to the governance structures of the four governance entities and more simplified processes for trading assets. Following the review Te Ohu Kai Moana undertook extensive iwi engagement in 2015 and 2016. They established an iwi working group to develop a set of proposals from the review consulted widely with iwi on the proposed changes and held a series of hui to pass resolutions. In 2017 Te Ohu Kai Moana presented a report to the then Minister of Fisheries recommending a suite of changes to the Act to give iwi a greater degree of rangatiratanga over their assets.In 2021 subject to consultation with iwi Cabinet agreed to a set of policies that would give effect to Te Ohu Kai Moana's recommendations. The Ministry for Primary Industries then worked with Te Ohu Kai Moana to develop the Māori Fisheries Amendment Bill or the bill. In August last year the then Minister for Oceans and Fisheries consulted on an exposure draft of the bill with mandated iwi organisations recognised iwi organisations and representative Māori organisations. Of the feedback received iwi generally supported the bill. The vast majority of feedback related to Resolution 3 a proposal about the distribution of Te Ohu Kai Moana's surplus funds. The draft bill was subsequently amended to address this feedback.As I previously said the proposed changes in the bill are intended to give iwi greater control over their assets and more direct influence over decisions made. By making changes to the settlement governance structures transferring certain settlement assets to iwi and simplifying the trading processes we believe the bill can achieve this goal.Proposals in the bill give iwi more direct control by changing the governance appointment framework for appointing Te Ohu Kai Moana directors. This is done by removing the current electoral college system and enabling iwi to directly appoint and remove the directors of Te Ohu Kai Moana on a one-vote-per-iwi basis. This shortens the distance between iwi and key decision-makers empowering iwi to influence the appointment processes more directly. The bill also proposes to increase Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust and Te Wai Māori Trust maximum director limit from three to five with a majority quorum. It also changes the appointment term of directors from four years to three years and removes restrictions on the number of terms a director can serve. These proposals will make the governance arrangements consistent with the settlement entities and align with the standard corporate governance practice. Another measure to give iwi greater rangatiratanga over their assets and deliver benefits to Māori is through the distribution of certain settlement shares to iwi. Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd (AFL) was established as part of the fisheries settlement. AFL was established with voting shares and income shares. A hundred percent of the voting and redeemable preference shares and 20 percent of the income shares were allocated to Te Ohu Kai Moana; the other 80 percent of the income shares were allocated directly to iwi. Under this change all of AFL income shares as well as redeemable preference shares that are currently held by Te Ohu Kai Moana will become ordinary shares and be transferred to iwi. The voting shares will be cancelled. These changes will transfer benefits that Te Ohu Kai Moana receive from AFL into iwi control and provide iwi with direct control over the appointment and removal of AFL directors. Consultation with iwi on these proposed changes was met with strong support. At the time of the review iwi were split on the resolution relating to equal distribution of Te Ohu Kai Moana surplus funds to mandated iwi organisations (MIOs); 28 iwi voted in favour of equal distribution of funds versus 23 against. The exposure draft released in August 2022 included a proposal to distribute funds equally amongst iwi regardless of iwi population size. This proposal is also known as Resolution 3. Almost all of the feedback received during this consultation related to Resolution 3 with a number of iwi submitting their strong opposition to the proposal. My officials only heard from one iwi who supported Resolution 3. Iwi who opposed Resolution 3 consider that equal distribution of funds would undermine the fisheries settlement and create inconsistencies with how funds are dealt with elsewhere in the Act. Following this feedback and further analysis and advice Cabinet decided to remove the proposal to distribute surplus funds on an equal basis and instead distribute funds on a population basis. Minister Parker on behalf of the Crown communicated this decision to all iwi and to Te Ohu Kai Moana. The bill also proposes to implement a compulsory levy model for Te Ohu Kai Moana that can be triggered in the future if required. MIOs can request a levy for any reason or Te Ohu Kai Moana can request a levy if they are satisfied it is needed for them to carry out their duties. MIOs would need to approve a levy request by a simple majority vote. A levy would be charged proportionately and any surplus levy funding would be returned proportionately. The proposed amendments will also simplify trading processes for iwi wishing to sell quota assets within the Māori pool. Currently iwi may only sell quota shares to other iwi or Te Ohu Kai Moana or its companies known as the Māori pool. If iwi wish to sell quota assets to willing buyers within the Māori pool they must meet a number of criteria under the Act including gaining the approval of at least a 75 percent majority of those members of their iwi who are eligible to vote and offering the shares to other iwi who may wish to purchase them. These processes have the potential to be lengthy and onerous. The bill proposes to remove the current provisions relating to asset sales and replace it with a "willing buyer willing seller" model while retaining these assets within the Māori pool. In conclusion it is great to see progress on this important kaupapa. I note that it has been quite some time since iwi developed and voted on these proposals and it is important to iwi that these changes are implemented reasonably quickly. The proposals in the bill acknowledge Māori and iwi as kaitiakitanga and guardians of our oceans and will help ensure iwi have a greater degree of rangatiratanga over their fisheries assets and improved benefits for all Māori. The select committee process is very important and I urge all New Zealanders with an interest in fisheries to have their say on the bill to ensure we get it right and protect our vast and diverse ocean ecosystems for generations to come. On that note I commend the bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is the motion be agreed to."