April 16, 2014
Iwi fish companies lose flag exemption
Iwi leaders will be questioning how much sway they really hold in the corridors of power with one of their biggest recent victories being taken away from them.
An amendment which would have allowed foreign charter vessels to continue fishing iwi quota for a transition period was stripped out of the new Fisheries Amendment Bill when it passed its second reading this week.
The bill requires all foreign charter vessels to fly the New Zealand flag.
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says the four-year exemption for iwi would undermine the Government’s objectives to send a clear message that all vessels operating in New Zealand waters must fully meet New Zealand employment, vessel safety and fisheries laws.
Maritime Union national secretary Joe Fleetwood says it’s the right decision, as the use of so-called slave ships was damaging New Zealand’s clean green image in export markets.
He says the focus must now go on creating New Zealand jobs in the industry.
But the Maori Party’s Te Tai Hauauru candidate, Chris McKenzie, says the change amounts to confiscation and diminishes Treaty settlement assets.
He says some iwi fishing companies will be bankrupted.
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