Little AndrewFISHERIES AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health) on behalf of the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries: I present a legislative statement on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.DEPUTY SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I move That the Fisheries Amendment Bill be now read a third time.It is a great pleasure to present the Fisheries Amendment Bill in this very important third reading—the last step before these new rules become law; to which I have paid very close attention throughout its passage through the House I might add. It will bring about some of the most significant changes to New Zealand's fisheries management system in 30 years. The bill will strengthen and modernise the system to provide economic opportunities and ensure sustainability of fisheries resources for future generations.I want to thank those who have helped to progress the bill to this stage—I hope that includes members opposite. This includes the submitters on the bill including the fishing industry and I appreciate the time and effort that the Primary Production Committee members have spent to understand the bill and the complexities of the fisheries management system—Todd Muller: Could you just step us through those?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: —as well as to hear from submitters. Ordinarily at this point I would give a detailed account of that system but I am denied sufficient time to do that—but I will continue to give my summary of the bill. I want to also finally thank the officials who worked very hard over several years to develop the policy in this bill and who will continue to ensure its effective implementation. It is good that we have good public servants doing work on difficult policy issues like this and assisting all members of the House to achieve good legislation as a result. The committee of the whole House removed pre-set decision rules from the bill because it remains clear that there is concern over the use of those tools as proposed in the original bill. Those clauses would have enabled more streamlined decisions on sustainability measures including catch limits. Submitters stressed the need to rebuild trust in the fisheries management system first. Previous reports that Minister Parker—the Minister responsible for the bill—referred to such as the Heron report commissioned under the previous National Government showed that discarding and high grading was a longstanding problem in New Zealand. That is what has led to putting cameras on boats and changing rules around discarding fish. While I believe industry practice has improved and is improving there remains a level of distrust in part borne of the fact that outcomes from operations Hippocamp and Achilles were not made public despite the problems shown. We're making progress to rebuild this trust through key changes in this bill alongside increasingly transparent processes and an approach—an open approach—to sustainability rounds. But suspicion remains amongst some people that allowing the Minister to change the total allowable catch and total allowable commercial catch based on a rule agreed by stakeholders but without a requirement to consult the public is from their point of view a backwards step. It is unwise to proceed with that at this stage and it's not the main component of the reform package. There was also some concern raised with the graduated offences and the penalty regime and new rules relating to landing and disposals. Concern was the regime would be too focused on numbers rather than value of fish. Offences would therefore not be proportionate to the consequence of offending. I acknowledge that 50 fish is somewhat arbitrary but we had to draw the line somewhere. It's a vast improvement to the current system which prescribes a maximum penalty of $250000 for any level of offence. So members will see that this is a bill that truly pursues justice.Value is an important consideration. It's not about whether this factor should be considered but how. Primary legislation is not the place to put matters that will need to be changed frequently to ensure they remain effective. Ministry for Primary Industries enforcement officers will have discretion. They will as with other prosecutors consider all factors of the offence. This includes whether the act was intentional or accidental; the nature of the offending including the species and quantities involved; and previous behaviour of the fisher. More specifically the consultation on the infringement regulations is the appropriate place for value to be considered in detail.I want to highlight some of the key features of the bill which have been well traversed. This bill tightens rules around landing and disposal. This means that all fish that are caught whether they are quota management system (QMS) species or not must be reported. And QMS species must be landed except if there is an exemption provided for in the regulation. Mark Cameron: What are those exemptions?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The tightening of—well I would like to assist the member but time prevents me from giving a full account. Hon Member: We'll seek an extension.Hon ANDREW LITTLE: If members wish to move an extension of speaking time I'm sure I can consider it! The tightening of landing and disposal rules are supported by the roll-out of on-board cameras. Cameras provide more accurate information about fishing activity and better evidence for a responsive management system.Through these changes we are tackling the issue of discarding of unwanted fish and improving incentives for better commercial fishing practices. Fishers will be incentivised to target fish more selectively so they can maximise the value of their catch. Cameras also support measures to reduce the bycatch of birds and sea mammals. The broader use of on-board cameras has been tested with industry who broadly support the initiative.The bill also introduces a more graduated offences and penalties regime that can now be implemented because we have cameras on boats. A graduated regime will allow commercial fishers to be penalised more proportionally and appropriately relative to their level of offending.Issues of discarding is a global fisheries problem. Minister Parker was recently in Iceland where they are dealing with similar issues around illegal discarding—exposed using drones. New Zealand is not unique in trying to address these concerns. Fisheries management systems around the world are all looking for innovative ways to address similar issues. We have a solid fisheries system and most importantly a balancing regime which puts us in a better position than some. There will be challenges for some in the industry but they have shown time and time again how innovative they are. There are a range of new technologies available or being developed including the new types of nets alternative methods such as potting or longlining and the use of cameras on nets which will help improve the selectivity of fishing.The bill's four-year implementation period will ensure that fishers have the time to adjust their operations as needed. The bill also enables us to meet the increasing demands of consumers to know where their food comes from and to utilise these technologies in a way that provides consumers in all parts of the supply chain with greater assurances that our fisheries are managed sustainably.Last year the Government established a vision for the ocean which is something along the lines of ensuring the long-term health and resilience of ocean and coastal ecosystems including the role of fisheries. To help us realise this vision the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries along with our colleague the Hon Kiritapu Allan who was then the Minister of Conservation crafted a work programme that included fisheries system reform. This bill represents a significant step forward for this reform a significant step toward realising this vision and will support a strong and modern fisheries management system. And on that note I commend the bill to the House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to.