Carter David: Aquaculture Reform Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Carter David: Aquaculture Reform Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 14 December 2004. Volume:622;Page:17752. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon DAVID CARTER (National) 
: 
 Madam Chair I thank you for the call because I have been going through the documents presented to the Primary Production Committee and I want to ask the Minister of Fisheries and Labour Party members whether they have respect for Sir Tipene O’Regan and his word. I am not getting an answer to my question so I want to put on the record that I have huge respect for Sir Tipene O’Regan and his word. 
I shall quote Sir Tipene’s answer when he was asked to recall the 1992 settlement and the discussions that occurred at that time and to answer the huge question of whether aquaculture had been on the agenda or off the agenda. The interview was undertaken at the request of Te Puni Kokiri and the result was presented to that ministry in May 2002 by Gardiner and Parata. That firm had asked Sir Tipene O’Regan a question that is fundamental to this gifting of aquaculture space to Maori. The question simply was whether aquaculture had been excluded from the deed of settlement. Sir Tipene responded: “The settlement was about commercial fisheries rights. Such rights include aquaculture.” Nothing could be clearer in the mind of Sir Tipene O’Regan. 
The Minister in the chair David Benson-Pope shakes his head. Let him be assured that I am not misquoting the information in front of me. That is a direct quote of what Sir Tipene said to the interviewing firm Gardiner and Parata so I doubt whether it is incorrect. Nothing could be clearer: the 1992 deed of settlement was full and final for commercial fishing and aquaculture was included. Yet here we are 12 years on debating this bill because the Labour Government is totally embarrassed about the way it has treated Maori over the seabed and foreshore legislation. Helped by United Future and by New Zealand First and knowing that Labour is about to lose votes in every Maori electorate the Government has trumped up this deal which is without principle. It is giving Maori up to 40 percent of new aquaculture space as a means of buying votes. 
The really interesting thing is that Maori find this settlement unacceptable as well. They are prepared to accept the gift—why would they not—but every Maori submitter told us that in his or her view this was not a settlement it had not been negotiated and he or she was not accepting it as full and final settlement. So today we are passing legislation that not only does not settle Treaty of Waitangi grievances but reinvents the grievance industry and gives it a whole new lease of life for generations to come. That is a very sad development for race relations in this country. 
There can be no justification for it at all particularly when we see the words of Sir Tipene O’Regan. He was heavily involved in the discussions with Ngai Tahu. That very good settlement was negotiated by the National Government in 1996 and the House signed up to it. Even Labour voted for it. Because Ngai Tahu wished to be involved in aquaculture as part of that settlement they negotiated the right to 10 percent of space in their area on a pre-emptive tender basis. They did not expect a gift. They were quite happy to pay for it when it was tendered. 
That is absolute proof in my mind that Sir Tipene was absolutely right. He knew that aquaculture had been addressed in the 1992 settlement and nothing will change my mind on that matter. Labour is desperately attempting to justify this measure by referring to “unfinished business”. The “unfinished business” was “finished business”—until this Government opened it up again. I say to David Benson-Pope that he has opened up a can of worms.