March 15, 2017
Te Ohu Kaimoana fighting from sideline
Te Ohu Kaimoana is working with the Iwi Chairs Forum to fend off a government push to work with the forum on fisheries issues rather than the statutorily recognised fisheries settlement trust.
Chief executive Dion Tuuta says the trust wants to engage with the Government on its proposal for a Kermadec ocean sanctuary, its Future of Fisheries overhaul of regulations, and its plan to create Marine Protected Areas that privilege recreations fishers.
He says Maori have to work together to stand up for the Fisheries Deed of Settlement.
"The thing I am keen to ensure that we get, is that there is no disconnect between the expertise, that the Iwi chairs forum has available to them in the form of Te Ohu Kaimoana, as an advisor to the iwi chairs forum, so that Maori are not getting played off against one another by the crown. Te Ohu Kaimoana is an agent of iwi that works for iwi," he says.
Dion Tuuta says many of the members of the Iwi Chairs Forum also sit on the mandated organisations that manage their tribal fisheries assets.
FULL INTERVIEW WITH DION TUUTA
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