Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill

E te Māngai o te Whare, I present a legislative statement on the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Teanau Tuiono): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.

Hon TAMA POTAKA: I move, That the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill be now read a second time.

Tiritiri-matangi, Hauturu-a-Toi, Aotea, Ngā Pona-toru-a-Peretū, Te Rāhui-kākā, Rangitoto, Motukorea, Te Motu-a-Ihenga, Motu-tapu-a-Taikehu, Ōtata, Motuhurakina, Te Ārai-roa, Te Pou-nui-a-Peretū, Pākihi, Kāramuramu, tatū atu rā ki Ngā Poito-o-te-kupenga-a-Taramainuku, a Toi-te-huatahi.

Te Moana-nui-a-Toi-te-huatahi i hoea mai tana waka, a Paepae-ki-Rarotonga, ki Aotearoa Niu Tireni nei, i kawe atu i tana mana ure-tārewa ki roto i ngā iwi taketake, a koia hoki ko Huiarangi. I tēnei wā e kīia nei ko tōna maunga Pigeon Mountain, i moe tahi me tēnei moana ataahua.

[Tiritiri-matangi Island, Little Barrier Island, Great Barrier Island, the peaks on Rangitoto Island, the Parrot Reserve on Rangitoto, Pakihi Island, Kāramuramu Island, and including the island chain known as the Floats on the Net of Taramainuku, and Toi-te-huatahi.

The Great Bay of Toi-te-huatahi, who sailed his canoe, Paepae-ki-Rarotonga, here to Aotearoa New Zealand, and conveyed his patrilineal authority within the indigenous peoples, that is the celestial Huia. These days his mountain is known as Pigeon Mountain, who cohabited with this beautiful ocean.]

The purpose of this bill is to contribute to the restoration of health and mauri to the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana / Te Moananui-ā-Toi te rua tahi and to acknowledge customary rights within seafloor protection areas and high protection areas. It establishes 19 new marine protection areas that, in addition to existing marine reserves and the cable protection zones, will nearly triple protection in Tīkapa Moana. These areas are a critical contribution to protecting biodiversity and reversing the decline we have seen in the gulf.

The bill is designed to support the gulf with modern marine protection measures that reflect the needs of both the environment and the people. The gulf—Tīkapa Moana—has a diverse array of habitats, benthic, including kelp forests, fragile fields of corals, and others which support a great variety of ika—fish, karengo—seaweeds, and other species. It sees many migratory and transient specifies such as leatherback turtles or honu, manta rays, and humpback whales—wēra.

Aotearoa New Zealand is known as the seabird capital of the world. One third of all seabirds, manu moana, that breed in Aotearoa nest in the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana. It’s an important area to Aucklanders, people from Te Tara-o-te-Ika—like my colleague Scott Simpson—and to all New Zealanders. It has sustained the social, cultural, and spiritual wellbeing of mana moana and tangata whenua for centuries.

It supports the largest metropolitan area in Aotearoa New Zealand and plays a critical role in our economy. It’s a global tourism hotspot, boasting spectacular holiday destinations like the Coromandel and the Hauraki Gulf islands, and places like Man O’ War—an absolutely fantastic place on the western side of Waiheke.

Hon Member: Tāwharanui.

Hon TAMA POTAKA: Yes, and Tāwharanui and other beautiful beaches up and down the eastern seaboard of regional Auckland. I look forward to Ryan Hamilton taking me to Waiheke shortly.

Approximately 70 percent of all recreational fishing in Aotearoa was carried out in Tīkapa Moana, and a recent assessment put the value of Tīkapa Moana at $100 billion. The population of the Coromandel has been steadily increasing and Auckland has almost doubled since 1990—I look forward to the reopening of Cathedral Cove soon, Mr Simpson. Forecasts indicate that by 2030 more than 2.8 million people will be living within 80 kilometres of Tīkapa Moana. This brings with it increases in recreational fishing, discharges, and land-based pressures. Climate change impacts are predicted to include increasing heatwaves, invasive species, and more frequent storm events. I don’t like the sound of Caulerpa, or golden clams. The gulf is already battling these invasive pressures of Caulerpa and other matters. We must take action now.

I would like to acknowledge the many years of effort, of energy, of resource into this bill. Starting from Tai Timu Tai Pari marine spatial plan—Sea Change—mana moana, mana whenua, organisations, businesses, local government, and individuals have all had significant roles in ensuring that this bill is the best that it can be. Can I acknowledge people like Nicola MacDonald and Paul Majurey and others who have contributed to that mahi.

Hon David Parker: And Eugenie Sage.

Hon TAMA POTAKA: And Eugenie Sage, yes, and Laurie Beamish from the great tribe of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.

I also acknowledge the excellent work of the Environment Committee in considering this bill and the roughly 7,000 submissions received on it. I thank the submitters for their contributions and their mahi and whakaaro for this too. The committee—great committee—have recommended changes to the bill, focused on making these protection areas more effective and efficient. I tautoko these recommendations—many of them. Some highlights that merit our attention include making it clear in the bill that careful anchoring can occur within the seafloor protection areas and high protection areas.

We’re going to carefully monitor the effectiveness of the new high protection areas and seafloor protection areas, commonly known as HPAs and SPAs. These are new tools. Unlike marine reserves, they allow for some taking within the ocean, so we’re going to ensure that they work. A report will be published at least every five years, detailing the outcomes of monitoring and research to date. We’re cutting some of the bureaucracy and making it easier for councils to continue to fulfil their roles in protection areas by ensuring that they do not require permits to monitor or enforce a regional coastal plan or resource consents or to undertake activities relating to environmental monitoring.

Also—and this is very important to me and many of my colleagues in Tāmaki-makau-rau and out there in Moehau, Te Tara-o-te-Ika, and also a bit further north of Tāmaki-makau-rau up in Mahurangi—we are going to clarify customary rights by ensuring that protected customary rights and customary marine title rights, as provided for under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 are upheld. This includes exempting any activity carried out under those rights from the prohibitions in the bill—that is, these rights are uninterrupted. The bill also ensures that the establishment of SPAs—seafloor protection areas—and HPAs—high protection areas—do not impact on any existing application for rights in these areas, requiring affected people to be consulted on any new future management actions proposed in the high protection areas so that anyone who may be impacted has a say.

While I support and tautoko many of the recommendations of the select committee, I have further considered the appropriate balance between the environment, communities, and the economy and will be putting forward the following amendments to be considered at the committee of the whole House stage, providing greater clarity for how the bill gives effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Treaty of Waitangi, by including signposting provisions and ensuring that settlements that have been made under Te Tiriti o Waitangi—Treaty of Waitangi—settlement processes are upheld. That includes those whānau and those iwi that have had a great experience over many years with doing the mahi up in Tāmaki-makau-rau: people like the Waiohua Tamaki people, who have marine seaboards, like Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, people from the Hauraki iwi and the Hauraki sourced iwi like Ngāti Pāoa and others, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngaati Whanaunga, and also those people from the Ngāti Whātua dynasty—the whānau up at Ōrākei, Takaparawhau, and other places throughout Raki Paewhenua, the North Shore, and beyond.

We are removing the ability for the bill to regulate customary non-commercial fishing beyond what is currently provided for in the Fisheries Act—my view, again, is on ensuring that the customary fishing provisions are undertaken per the Fisheries Act and there’s no new additional impost or restrictions on the exercise of those customary rights and responsibilities.

Finally, we are providing for carefully managed and limited ring-net fishing in two high protection areas. These are the items that we are going to propose. There may be one or two others by way of the committee of the whole House. Again, it’s an absolute pleasure and a humble privilege to consider and to promote the second reading of this bill. I now commend it to this Whare. Tēnā tātou katoa.

The question is that that motion be agreed to.

Kia orana, Mr Speaker. I rise in support, on behalf of the Labour Party, of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill as reported back from the Environment Committee. This was a bill that Labour introduced to the Parliament last year. I want to acknowledge those that have been involved with this piece of legislation through to this point today. I think all members of this House will agree that this has been a bill that has been a long time coming. Many have had to wait some time for this to make its way through the process, but it does seek to restore the wellbeing of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana.

I’m not an Auckland member of Parliament, but I know that my colleagues from Tāmaki-makau-rau know, perhaps more than many others know, the significant role that the Hauraki, in particular the Hauraki Gulf, plays not just in their rohe but indeed for the rest of the country. It is very clear that action is needed to ensure that, moving forward, this taonga continues to be protected for the future, reflecting on what has happened in the past.

The select committee process: I want to acknowledge, as the Minister has identified, the submitters that submitted to this process. There were a lot of submissions, more than 7,500, and 79 submitters that were dealt with orally. The select committee, which I’m not a permanent member of but was part of some aspect of these submissions, did spend some time in Auckland, did spend time visiting the Hauraki Gulf and sitting here in Wellington as well. Being in Tāmaki-makau-rau, hearing the passion of submitters, I think is something that will be very memorable to those members that were there for that. There have been individuals, groups, and organisations that have worked for an extremely long time to see what this select committee report has brought to the Parliament today, and I actually think the passion was very evident there and continues to be evident as well.

When we look at what some of these submitters had talked about, they talked about the depleting of fish stocks. They talked about the number of fishes that were on the decline and that continued to be at risk, noting that snapper and cray were virtually extinct in the current climate. They talked about the reduction to marine life, to bird life, to changes and loss in relation to the natural habitat of the area. They talked about the impact, and they were able to show the impact of sedimentation and what that impact would mean for the water body. They talked about pollution and how that had changed over time as well. They also talked about the urban development changes and the direct impact that that had had on the Hauraki Gulf.

I remember, in Auckland, I took this photograph. [Holds up photograph of two jars of water] One submitter did this to illustrate the change. They brought water from the Gulf and they put it in two jars. They’re both the same type of water, but one had, effectively, some marine life, if we could call it that, and identified the undisturbed nature that that would mean. It’s very clear that those that have been involved in this passion and existence over many years really do understand the difference that change will bring for this particular area. That’s why this select committee has reported back to this House in this report with all of its recommendations in a unanimous fashion. I want to acknowledge the Hon Scott Simpson, who’s the local member of Parliament but also the chair at the tail end of the Environment Committee as well.

What is really concerning, though, is just hearing from the Minister this afternoon, basically confirming his intention to make some changes. Now, he announced that a month ago. One of the changes he announced was, basically, to permit a commercial sense of fishing in some of the high protection areas that had been established by this bill, and he’s confirmed that for the House today. Mr Speaker, I know you and other members of the House were on the steps of Parliament this morning, where members received more than 30,000 signatures that indicated, via an open letter to the Prime Minister and also a petition, the ridiculous nature of the changes that the Minister has just indicated. This is a backward step in terms of the future for Tīkapa Moana. This was not something that was raised through the democratic select committee process. It is not something that the Minister had foreshadowed at any stage. That does beg the question: why now? This is an important piece of legislation, and I know that, really, if the Government intends to go down this path, then it really is a disservice to all of those submitters who engaged with the process in good faith, gave up their time to share their views. Basically, what we’re going to have is a huge retrograde step backwards that is going to continue the depletion of what is happening up there.

Now, when we talk about having high protection areas (HPAs)—and the suggestion was that there would be no fishing, no commercial fishing in those areas—for the Government to now backtrack on that and say, “We’re going to continue to have commercial fishing in those areas.”, it will continue to cause irreversible damage for the future. It’s very clear that this is a Government that has on their agenda a direction that is not supportive of the community needs in that particular rohe and in that particular area. Knowing that individuals, organisations, iwi, and others have put their names in a pretty short space of time, just on a month, to signal that, I really do hope that the Minister and the Government take direct cognisance of that when it comes to the committee of the whole House stage, because it is important.

New Zealand used to be a leader in the marine protection side of things and space, but by international standards, less than 1 percent of our exclusive economic zone has a level of protection that meets international standards. What does that mean? Well, it means that it basically puts us behind some other countries in the world—countries like the US, the UK, Japan, and Russia, amongst some others. The Government in this Parliament need to acknowledge the special status of Tīkapa Moana / Hauraki Gulf, and they need to confirm that it is irreplaceable. They need to place on record that they are serious about the future of this particular jewel or gem. Because of the amendments that the Minister has signalled—and we’ll wait until they’re tabled and we have a look at those—this is going to be very much a retrograde step. It would have to be the Minister resiling completely from the comments that he has just made in this House to basically confirm the intention to continue a level of commercial fishing in those HPAs. That is rather disappointing.

I know the Minister probably will say, “Well, it’s to provide local support in the area.” Well, there needs to be a decision that is taken by the Parliament, and indeed by the Government, that supports the submissions that have been made and this process that has been democratic, and it is extremely disappointing. I do hope that those that availed themselves of the select committee process will make their views known. We know that they already have; more than 30,000 of them have this morning.

The reason why the Labour Party supports the bill and will vote in support of it today is because this report, unanimously—every single party in this Parliament has signed up and agreed that what was presented should be passed into law and that the amendments that were made by a unanimous vote, not majority but unanimous—through that select committee process should be incorporated in the bill. On that basis, and on that basis alone, I do commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. If there’s one thing that Kiwis are truly united on, it’s the love for our moana, our oceans. As humans who are really trying to figure out this crazy world, our understanding and awareness of not only the immeasurable value that healthy ocean ecosystems play in our existence and our ability to provide for ourselves but also the pivotal role that tangata whenua and tangata Moana hold—that our very narrow and siloed systems can actually start learning from—is growing. We are really slowly but surely getting better at marine protection, and this bill, the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill, was really demonstrating that evolution in practice. It was at least set to be marine protection that actually upholds customary rights—or, in other words, the rights of Māori in exercising tino rangatiratanga and their rights to gather and practice mahinga kai, and that form of enabling, that form of appropriate recognition, means that we as a collective of tangata Tiriti and tangata whenua are in the best possible position, where we all benefit.

Speaking about oceans, I really need to share one of the privileges of my life, which was when I spent 13 months living and working, running the biodiversity and science contracts for the Department of Conservation, on Rangitāhua / Raoul Island, in the Kermadecs. It’s a little rock that’s a five-day boat ride away from any kind of civilisation. The whole island itself is alive. It’s an active volcano full of bird and plant life and surrounded by teeming ocean life. There’s dolphins, there’s groper, there’s humpback whales, there’s turtles, and in that time I got a snapshot of what a semi-intact marine ecosystem looked like and felt like. When anyone experiences that kind of marine life, you can’t help but be reminded not only of how much we have lost closer to home, in places like Tīkapa Moana, but of how much we have to gain if we actually create the right settings to allow these ecosystems to restore and recover. When I heard the stories of people’s experiences and memories of what Tīkapa Moana was, I was reminded of that experience and of how important it is that we actually hold on to that connection and that experience for our kids and for those who come after us.

It was a real pleasure to be part of the select committee process on this bill, and particularly because we inherited something that had already been through so much community consultation, deliberation, and development. This bill really has been over a decade of collaborative work between tangata whenua, environmental groups, industry, commercial and recreational fishers, and others involved in the sea change process that began way back in 2013. I really want to acknowledge every single person, every single group, every entity who has been part of that process along the way that has resulted in where the select committee got to with this bill, in the face of such serious ecological challenges. I’m sure my select committee colleagues across the House will agree with me that we really were conscious of that. We were very respectful of the part that we had to play, which was, essentially, at the end of such a long process, with so many people having been involved. Ultimately, that resulted in what my colleagues have already referred to: this unanimous decision to report the bill back to Parliament with so few substantial changes.

Like my colleague Tangi Utikere, it was then so hugely disappointing to hear the Government’s announcement of this amendment to actually allow commercial fishing in these high-protection areas. I really want to amplify and share the outcry we’ve heard from individuals, from groups, from hapū connected to Tīkapa Moana who do not want to see this amendment enabled. We’ve heard these 30,000 voices in the petition that we just received today, and we’re hearing that this kind of change would completely undermine the purpose of the bill in restoring the health and the mauri of Tīkapa Moana. Government parties should know that it’s not too late to reverse this, to actually uphold the integrity of the process.

If this bill actually did pass through unscathed by this last-minute amendment, this would be a really happy moment for the Government and particularly for the National Party, because the Sea Change Stakeholder Working Group developed the Sea Change - Tai Timu Tai Pari Hauraki Gulf Marine Spatial Plan under a National-led Government in 2017. That foundation is now forming the protections under this bill. Instead of a happy moment right now, we have New Zealand First acting a little bit like an invasive species on this democratic process which is in progress. They’ve somehow managed to override the process and make specific carve-outs for specific companies. This doesn’t need to happen, it shouldn’t happen, and it was great to hear the Minister say earlier that not only must we take action now but we want to ensure that the high-protection areas and the seafloor protection areas actually work.

We have this natural wonder here on our doorstep, as Tīkapa Moana. It’s an essential and traditional source of mahinga kai. We’ve heard about the immense economic benefits—the $100 billion of economic value that this has for the Tīkapa community. This bill is not locking it all up and throwing away the key. The protections proposed in this bill will actually ensure that the gulf can withstand the environmental impacts that have been documented time after time in the State of the Gulf reports. They’re not news to us. It’s climate breakdown, it’s sedimentation from misuse of land, and we need to increase the protection with this network of sanctuaries so that marine ecosystems can actually recover. We would only be going from 0.3 percent protection to 6 percent of full protection within the gulf. This enables fishing within the other 94 percent, which seems very, very reasonable.

This bill is not about restricting our access to this incredible taonga. It’s about giving the gulf a chance to recover. Te Pāti Kākāriki would have liked to see it go much further. We would have liked to see, particularly, bottom trawling banned from the gulf because of the very clear impacts that it has on the ability for marine ecosystems to recover. We had really clear information from officials during this process that that would have been a positive thing for the gulf. Despite that, where we’re at now is where fishing, both commercial and recreational, will be possible. What will change is that the gulf’s most vulnerable ecosystems will finally be given some breathing space that they so desperately need to regenerate. I want to just quote something that we heard outside on the steps of Parliament earlier today, from Tangata Moana campaigner Bianca Ranson. She said, “It’s time to restore the mauri of the gulf. The Government as a whole, as in us here in Parliament, have this opportunity to do something really special. It’s not too late to ditch these unnecessary amendments that undermine where the collective community have gotten to to this point.”

Yes, Te Pāti Kākāriki are pleased to see this bill pass, and we will be supporting it at this point, but we really want to see serious consideration from the Government to enabling and upholding the integrity of the process and the bill. Kia ora.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I’m proud that the ACT Party is part of a Government that is finally taking action to restore the health and vitality and abundance of the Hauraki Gulf.

The ACT Party supports the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill, and I want to let people listening or watching at home know—and a reminder for those who are not on the Environment Committee considering this bill, which I had the privilege to be on—that this is not a bill that creates marine reserves. This is a bill that introduces to the New Zealand conservation system a new concept of adaptive management. Within these marine protected areas, this bill, and those acting and using powers under this bill, will still have to deal with invasive marine pests like Caulerpa and deal with indigenous species like kina, which, when out of control, create kina barrens and destroy reefs and habitats, and themselves contribute to the poor condition of the gulf. This is groundbreaking, it is unique in New Zealand, and while we all wish for the bill and the protections to go further, we are trying something we haven’t tried before.

I want to acknowledge the work of the select committee. The select committee reported this bill back unanimously. We did seek significant changes from the Department of Conservation. We got excellent advice from the Ministry of Primary Industries, from their fisheries professionals, and we were able to take that on along with the considerations and concerns of submitters to produce what I personally felt, and what I recommended to our ACT caucus, was a bill that we could support. However, it has become clear that there is further change needed in order to take on board some of the rights that exist amongst existing users.

The select committee had the benefit of taking a field trip out on the Hauraki Gulf, organised by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and some of their staff. I want to acknowledge the work of those DOC staff in leadership roles providing excellent policy advice and explanations about some of the matters we needed to consider. I want to acknowledge their work and the fact that they were able to create a sense of collaboration and unity of purpose between policy makers or policy writers and elected members whose role was to interrogate that policy. That was an excellent, excellent opportunity.

Being out on the Hauraki Gulf gave me an opportunity to share with some of the other committee members from outside of Auckland my personal experiences of growing up in Auckland, spending decades on the Hauraki Gulf as a sailor; windsurfing around some of those Hauraki Gulf islands on multi-day experiences with nothing more than a backpack and a raincoat; scuba-diving, being able to get a feed of scallops, get a crayfish, and how proud I used to be bringing that back to the boat to show my mum and dad and uncles and cousins; and why it’s so gutting for me, and so many other people who love the Hauraki Gulf and grew up with that experience, to know that that’s not the case now. Just a few weeks ago, I was kayaking off East Coast Bays, up to Ōkura estuary, and wondering where all of those dolphins and other creatures are that used to be so prolific in the gulf, but which I see only rarely these days.

I also want to acknowledge the work not just of officials and committee members but of Sea Change and the Hauraki Gulf Forum and others, particularly those who I’ve met with outside of the committee work to get their insights into what were the motivations and what were the trade-offs that are already being made before this bill had come to our committee. I want to acknowledge their work.

I want to acknowledge those passionate, sometimes incredibly intense, submissions that we received from people who love the Hauraki Gulf as much as I do and who all had different perspectives based on whether they were involved in commercial fishing, whether they were recreational fishers, whether they were people who lived on islands in the gulf and their families had lived there for many, many generations. We took all that on board and I hope we reflected in this committee report, as far as possible, the things that were important to you and that you wanted us to know.

I also want to acknowledge the concerns that iwi and hapū raised about maintaining access to their kaimoana as part of their customary rights which are already established as part of Treaty settlements. I’ve heard a number of concerns raised by those who say, “Well, how is it that iwi and hapū have this access to continued fishing in the Hauraki Gulf but others, like recreational and commercial fishers, potentially are excluded?” Well, of course, Treaty settlements are the vehicle to establish customary rights. The ACT Party is proud to stand up for people’s property rights and customary rights. We believe in the rule of law.

We also heard from the Department of Conservation that there are sufficient protections in the legislation that’s proposed, so that environmental baselines will need to be established before a customary take can be any more than a mana-enhancing exercise rather than something substantial. It was very, very important that we reflected that in our report back, and I hope that many people who are concerned about what they perceive as a risk of customary take will have their concerns allayed once they get to know more about the protections for biodiversity that are in place that must be balanced against the opportunities for customary take.

We’ve also heard concerns expressed today from the World Wildlife Fund and other non-governmental organisations about the potential for commercial fishing in some of these marine protected areas, and I want to acknowledge those concerns. I also want to point out that the Hauraki Gulf is a source of food for Auckland and for others, because not everybody can afford a boat, not everybody can afford the fuel, and not everybody can afford a fishing rod or has the time and the skills to get out there on the water. That’s why being able to access kaimoana in your local fish shop or supermarket is particularly important for communities which don’t have access to the ability to get out on the water. We are trying to balance the needs of people against the rights of the environment and all of those creatures that live in it—to live their best lives too.

I just want to acknowledge that, overall, despite all of the concerns that still remain about whether this bill will deliver on our ambition to restore the gulf, this is the best step forward that any Government has taken to protect the gulf since the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park legislation was passed over 20 years ago. That itself—the simple statement—wasn’t sufficient; this is action. If you think about the 80:20 rule, the first 80 percent is a lot easier to do than the last 20 percent. This bill represents the 80 percent—what we can achieve now through legislation while we work on adaptive management to realise our ambitions to restore the gulf over decades. The results will take decades to assess and verify.

I was really pleased to hear the Minister of Conservation, Tama Potaka, point out that this bill now includes provision for five-yearly reassessments of progress. Previously, that was only going to be undertaken at the first 25-year milestone. As an environmental scientist and then a civil engineer and an environmental engineer, I really wanted to make sure that we were doing regular check-ins to monitor environmental performance, because there’s no point in just passing a piece of legislation, crossing your fingers, walking away, and hoping for 25 years. We want to know what’s going on in our gulf and we want to know what else we might need to do to adapt and change.

To those watching and listening at home, again, I’ll reiterate: ACT is proud to support this bill and we look forward to continuing the debate at the committee of the whole House stage. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is a pleasure to rise on behalf of New Zealand First in support of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill, now in its second reading.

I am blessed. I am absolutely blessed because I have a beautiful, big, blue backyard. It is called the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana, and some of those in the Chamber today also share my beautiful, big, blue backyard. Those of us that know and have lived around the Hauraki Gulf, and me, Mahurangi, we are certainly passionate about this piece of legislation coming through the House, and I will quickly acknowledge the Minister for bringing this through and the former Minister in the previous Government for starting off this piece of work.

Mahurangi, I mentioned. I’d also like to mention Tāwharanui, Ōmaha, Mathesons Bay, Pākiri, Scotts Landing, Baddeleys Beach, Leigh, and Goat Island. It is Goat Island, in particular, that was the first marine reserve that was created, and I must acknowledge the amazing kaumātua from my region, Laly Haddon. It was the work and his dedication behind the creation of New Zealand’s first marine reserve at Leigh.

My daughter growing up in the region, the schools all go to Goat Island—we’d go to the Marine Discovery Centre. Our visitors all come in and explore because it’s the most amazing piece of our big, blue backyard—snorkelling, looking at all the fish, looking at all the amazing kelp, all those sorts of things, jellyfish, stingrays. It is most fantastic. The work that Laly Haddon started—in 1975 it was established and then it officially opened in 1977. He received a QSM in 2009 for his work. He is well connected not only to my leader, Winston Peters, but also to Shane Jones. I really wanted to make sure I began my contribution acknowledging the work of Laly Haddon.

This is a really significant piece of protection work for the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana. It’s been years in the making. I won’t go through all of the comments about the select committee because, really, it’s been a great select committee that has done a really thorough piece of work on this. It will create a network of 19 new marine protection areas and we should be celebrating that in the House today. That is a milestone. It will nearly triple the space that will be protected in Tīkapa Moana, and that is something to be absolutely proud of. We all have had a role in that. Pollution; sedimentation; in particular, climate change; harvesting; utilisation activities—they’ve all had an impact.

Those of us that use the gulf on a regular basis, particularly over summertime, are expecting an influx of visitors to our region. We have to get out there really early in the morning, before all the visitors arrive from Auckland and around the country as well. I’ve shared with you now some names of beaches. You don’t just have to go to Ōmaha; there’s a whole bunch of others you can go to. Do enjoy that when you come up.

I’d like to acknowledge a couple of women who have been fundamental and dedicated and passionate in terms of the protection about the Hauraki Gulf. I’d like to mention the co-chair of the Hauraki Gulf Forum, Nicola MacDonald—I’ve got to know her quite well over the course of the year—as well as from the Environmental Defence Society, Raewyn Peart, who’s been a very dedicated ambassador of looking after the gulf.

I’d like to acknowledge the Environmental Defence Society. When the Minister acknowledged that the bill would come back to the House, they were delighted that Cabinet agreed to the passing of the Hauraki Gulf marine protection bill. They have seen, even though there is a small amendment coming, that, actually, this is, overall, to be celebrated. It is to be celebrated.

I’d just like to speak very quickly on ring netting, just to put some facts on the table, because it’s really important that we’re not just being hysterical about this. It’s a small reason to ensure that affordable, nutritious protein can continue to be supplied to local communities. Now, ring-net fishing happens only in the winter on the East Coast, because the fish aren’t there in the summertime. It’s fished at night and there are only five fishers who will go out and fish through a very short period of time, over a few months over winter only, and they’re in tiny little 6-metre boats. It’s not trawling; it’s not the big commercial fishing. It is very small.

It is enabling this affordable nutritious protein kahawai, grey mullet, at $5 to $10 a kilo—so it provides that local community with protein that they ask them for. Also, the licensed fish receiver who provides this affordable, nutritious protein supplies to around 34 marae in Auckland, particularly during the wintertime, and it mitigates hapū needing to go out and send their whānau out into the waters in the winter when the conditions are rough. They are able to get their customary take there so they can supply hui and tangi. It made sense to make this a recommendation, and I look forward to the Minister bringing those amendments to the House. It’s a very small amendment that is being proposed. It is a practical and a pragmatic one.

Talking about practical application of how we change the state of the gulf, the Hon Shane Jones has recently announced a new permit, a special permit, to deal to the kina barrens, because we know the kina barrens, they munch through all the kelp and they create this habitat, which is a massive loss of habitat and biodiversity. The very first kina barren special permit has been approved, and the very first community day will be happening this Saturday in my neck of the woods in the Mahurangi, with the Te Kohuroa Rewilding initiative. They’ll have their first kina barren day on Saturday at Mathesons Bay. I’m very pleased about that.

We also have invested a whole lot of money—around $15 million—into dealing to exotic Caulerpa, which is a problem. Caulerpa has bloomed across the gulf. This is a massive problem. This Government is providing practical ways in which we can take care of our moana, because it is a treasure. It is a treasure.

I’d just like to finish my contribution with the words of Laly Haddon, that we all have to protect it and be the kaitiaki. We all have to be the guardians of it because the pressures are here. This bill balances the needs of the community, the environment, and the economy. I commend it to the House.

This debate is interrupted and is set down for resumption next sitting day. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. today.

Debate interrupted.

The House adjourned at 1.02 p.m. (Thursday)