Paraone Pita: Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Paraone Pita: Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:649;Page:17726] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. It is a privilege to be able to participate in this the first reading of the Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill. I listened to some of the comments made earlier on in this debate. Although some speakers would like to express the suggestion that they are sympathetic to the Maori cause I would suggest that that sympathy is really just to solicit some support from a particular party in this House and that the sincerity of their concern for that particular part of our community is shall I say not real. 
Our fish stocks at this very time are under threat and it is only proper that we as Parliament should consider other alternatives in terms of providing protection for our existing stocks and look at ways of growing that stock outside of mere reserves. I believe that this legislation which is an omnibus bill that amends a number of pieces of legislation goes towards that end. The bill is of course a result of the Environment Court’s 2006 decision in the  
SMW Consortium Ltd v Tasman District Council 
 which raised issues about the wording of current law. It was all about applying for space as one earlier speaker mentioned. 
I say this in conjunction with the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004. I can recall that some parties in this House were expressing concern about that legislation. The question being asked was where we would get the 20 percent space that was needed to fulfil the requirements of that particular legislation. I suggest that the application in this court case was being made not to be able to farm or to develop that particular space but to hold it in case it was required under the terms of the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act so that the consortium had the space to give up to Maori—that is the first point. 
The second point is that although comment has been made about the fact that there has been no movement in regard to that particular Act in terms of providing aquaculture management areas to Maori I am not sure whether any Maori interests have actually applied for an aquaculture management area under that settlement legislation. However this bill adds clarity to the intent of the Act. 
As I read through the bill I see that it clarifies the intent of the original aquaculture reform legislation which was that applications for aquaculture activities were to be made only in aquaculture management areas in operative regional coastal plans. It cancels any applications made after the court case of 9 May 2006 that do not relate to aquaculture management areas in operative regional coastal plans and it freezes those applications made between 1 January 2005 and 9 May 2006. It allows them to be processed only if the area covered by the application becomes an aquaculture management area in an operative regional coastal plan. 
The bill also provides clarification that aquaculture management areas can be created in a number of ways. They can be created through a regional coastal plan that provides for aquaculture management areas under the Resource Management Act by the interim aquaculture management area process currently in the Aquaculture Reform (Repeals and Transitional Provisions) Act or by approved marine farms being deemed to be aquaculture management areas under the old legislation as provided under section 45 of the Aquaculture Reform (Repeals and Transitional Provisions) Act. The bill also clarifies aquaculture legislation relating to non-aquaculture activities and aquaculture management areas contains an obligation to provide new space to iwi and provides for an assessment of aquaculture management areas that are already subject to an existing marine-farm approval. 
New Zealand First will support this bill going to a select committee. As we always say when we support legislation going to a select committee it is an opportunity to allow the people of New Zealand to have their say on this bill. I hope that those in the industry and particularly Maori interests will avail themselves of that process. New Zealand First will ensure that the aquaculture industry’s legislative needs are met by fisheries and resource management legislation. On behalf of New Zealand First I say again that we will support this bill going to a select committee. Kia ora.