8. PHIL HEATLEY (National—Whangarei) Link to this
to the Minister of Fisheries
How is he supporting the recently announced goal for aquaculture of becoming a “1 billion dollar business by 2025” now that the Government’s reforms have been in place for 2½ years?
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Minister of Fisheries) Link to this
The aquaculture industry’s goal is, as the member says, to be a $1 billion business by 2025. I believe that this goal is more than realistic and achievable; probably it is even conservative. The Government is committed to helping the aquaculture industry to achieve that goal. The Government’s Our Blue Horizon strategic document, which the member had in his hand, is a five-point plan to support the future growth of aquaculture in New Zealand, and copies of that document are, of course, publicly available.
What happened to this Vision 2020 glossy put out before the reforms, when the aquaculture industry was to make $1 billion by 2020, and why has it been replaced by this new glossy, , put out last week, which shifts the target date to 2025?
All I can say to the member is that the aquaculture industry has in fact grown by 48 percent in the last 6 years. If the member can name any industry that he has been associated with that has had that sort of growth, I would be interested to hear about it.
Can he give this House an explanation as to why, before the reforms, the industry was set to make $1 billion by 2020, and after his reforms it will not achieve that until 2025; why has the goal been shifted back 5 years after the Government’s reforms?
All I know is that under the previous National administration, this industry had a turnover of $50 million. It now has exports of $300 million and employs six times more people than it ever did when National was in power. I would have thought the member would celebrate that rather than commiserate with himself.
Madam SPEAKERThe Government has not lost 5 years. The member, of course, refuses to contemplate the fact that nearly 200 aquacultural applications have been approved during the last 4 to 5 years and that the industry has grown by 48 percent. If there is anything about those facts that the member does not understand, I would like him to put it to me in writing.
Tariana TuriaTēnā koe, Madam Speaker. Tēnā tātou katoa. What response will the Minister make to Mayor Alistair Sowman of Marlborough District Council, who said the aquaculture law reforms requiring local authorities to allocate aquaculture management areas were unworkable for the region, as was the required allocation of space to Māori, because most of the space has already been allocated—or do Māori have to wait until 2013 and miss out on another potential opportunity?
As far as I am aware, the present system was one that was supported by regional government, which wanted to remove from central government’s authority, and the Minister of Fisheries’ authority specifically, the power to make those decisions. It is one of those lessons in life to “never ask for what you want; you might get it.”
Pita ParaoneTēnā koe, Madam Speaker. What has been the estimated economic loss, if any, resulting from the lack of expansion within the aquaculture industry during the moratorium introduced by the Government while it worked on the industry reforms?
As I have indicated to the House, the aquaculture industry is actually growing at a much faster rate—2 to 3 times, actually—than the rest of the economy. We still have to see how the new aquaculture management area method of administration of aquacultural space will work its way through. It is new. The Government has allocated nearly $3 million for the ministries of fisheries, conservation, environment, and economic development to work proactively with regional councils to develop aquacultural space opportunities in our regions. We are monitoring that very closely.
Why has not a single new aquaculture management area been created in an area where marine farming was not already happening since the Government’s reforms of 2½ years ago?
There are two tranches to this answer. Firstly, I have already indicated to the House that the Ministry of Fisheries has processed over 200 applications that were held as previous applications before the new legislation was passed. Those 200 applications have been processed. They have increased the space from 9,000-odd hectares to 13,500 hectares, and that is an increase of 48 percent. So I think the member should at least tell the whole story. The second part of the answer of course is that this is new legislation. It will take a while to work its way through. The Government is working proactively with the industry and regional councils, and it is being congratulated by all those stakeholders on the proactive role it is taking.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I let the Minister go on, in the hope that he would address the question. My question asked specifically why not a single new aquaculture management area has been created under this Government’s reforms.
I am sorry, Mr Heatley. Be seated. When I am on my feet the member sits, if the member wishes to stay in the Chamber. I listened very carefully to that answer, and although it went on at length, I think it did in fact address the question.
How can the Minister expect aquaculture to triple its growth to $1 billion by 2025 if there is no more space being provided for aquaculture under the new legislation—not under the old legislation but under the Minister’s new legislation?
We are yet to see whether the new legislation will work effectively, and the Government is putting resources into doing that. If the member wants to know whether the industry itself supports what the Government is doing and the activities it is engaged with, he has only to read the recent press releases from Aquaculture New Zealand about the Government’s response to the aquaculture sector’s strategy. They show that the industry is enthusiastic and supportive of the way that this Government is working with it—something it never said under the previous administration.
Why did the latest glossy document, which puts things back 5 years, itself show a decline since 2000 in export earnings if the Government’s reforms are actually working; why does the Minister’s own graph show a decline in export earnings since 2000 if his reforms are working?
There will be ups and downs, of course, year by year. That is true. But if we look at the period when the member’s party was in Government in this country, we see there was $50 million worth of exports and now there is $300 million worth of exports. If there is anything about that the member does not understand, I ask him to please let me know.
I seek leave to table the Marlborough District Council’s push for a cash payout because it is not getting the space.