Harawira Hone: Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Harawira Hone: Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee 
[Sitting date: 23 September 2008. Volume:650;Page:19004. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. Kia ora tatou e te Whare. I was really pleased when Rahui Katene the Maori Party candidate for Te Tai Tonga proudly told me about Nelson’s Wakatu Incorporation which has just released plans for a 78-hectare Horoirangi Centre of Seafood and Aquaculture Innovation. It will include fingerling fish hatcheries high-value extraction and aquaculture research facilities and complementary activities including seafood and marine education and Maori cultural tourism. I congratulate Wakatu on their vision their leadership and their enterprise in the face of adversity. 
I say that because although we know well the tremendous commercial opportunities that can come from aquaculture we know too that the iwi from Te Tau Ihu have not exactly had a lot of support from the Government. The crux of the matter for Te Tau Ihu is that although they were promised 20 percent of new aquaculture space there is nothing left so they were given nothing. They were forced to pursue a cash settlement because the Government refused to offer them anything at all. 
Putting all that aside this Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill will be important for iwi wanting to get into aquaculture in that it defines what aquaculture management areas or AMAs will be available although we also note that this bill will stop iwi from developing aquaculture projects outside of aquaculture management areas which Te Tau Ihu did in 2006. We understand the need to clarify the way in which aquaculture management areas can be established and we are glad that the bill confirms obligations to provide new space to iwi but we will not be holding our breath waiting for that to happen anytime soon given the fact that although the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act was passed in 2004 the agreement to provide iwi with 20 percent of aquaculture space simply has not happened. 
We are not surprised to hear though that all of a sudden the Government is running a consultation exercise with iwi just prior to the election about aquaculture space allocation. What it is not bragging about though is that what it is talking about with this consultation exercise is what it was supposed to do in 2004 and now will not be doing until 2014—if we are lucky. We are also mindful of the recent aquaculture consultations which the Government called a success but which cost the taxpayer $180000 and some hui attracted only five people. Given how poorly those consultation exercises have been to date and given that this is election campaign time it would not be unrealistic for people to think that this exercise was nothing but a publicity spend to profile the Government. The Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia summed up the situation perfectly when she asked the Minister of Maori Affairs last September: “Since the legislation can the Minister tell the House how many new aquaculture farms have been established by and for Maori and where they are?”. The Minister’s response was “None.” 
The Maori Party will support the bill in the interests of trying to get the Government to honour the Maori commercial aquaculture settlement but we do so mindful of the bad faith and broken promises that have characterised this Government’s commitment to Maori aquaculture development. Sorry I apologise; this Government did keep one promise to Maori. It promised to steal our foreshore and seabed and it did exactly that. Kia ora tatou. 
Bill read a second time. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: This bill is set down for Committee stage forthwith.