12. PHIL HEATLEY (National—Whangarei) Link to this
to the Minister of Maori Affairs
Does he have confidence in Te Puni Kōkiri; if so, why?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Māori Affairs) Link to this
Yes, I have confidence in Te Puni Kōkiri because its employees are hard-working and conscientious public servants.
Does he consider Te Puni Kōkiri’s seven aquaculture hui a success, given that only 143 people turned up across the whole country when Te Puni Kōkiri spent over $180,000 on the hui; if so, why?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
I am more than certain, as that member knows, that they were more than successful. They are one part of a whole lot of consultation that is going on. Within that costing, there has been preparatory stuff that will prepare Māori as major owners in the aquaculture industry to do better and be better involved.
Dave HereoraHon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
There are several. More Māori are working. Māori own 56 percent of the aquaculture industry in this country, and they are good partners. They know how to work with local authorities. More Māori are moving into semi-skilled and highly skilled occupations, and more Māori are earning a lot more than when we came in.
Was it good value spending $26,300 on the Whanganui-Taranaki hui, given that only five people turned up, costing Te Puni Kōkiri $5,260 per attendee?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
This member has quite a habit of misconstruing facts. The facts that I have here are that in Whanganui it cost $4,583, and the travel and—
Paula BennettHon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
The member should know. She should come out of the closet about being Māori. But the member Phil Heatley certainly misconstrues those facts and those figures, as he has done before.
Was the value for the five people who turned up to the Whanganui-Taranaki hui the fact that 10 officials turned up and therefore the people were able to get 2:1 attention?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
It was not just about Māori leaders who represent heaps of Māori from Whanganui being there, but also about local authority officials being there, and Te Puni Kōkiri officials being there, and people understanding what the hui was about. That member should get his facts right. At the end of the day, I am quite clear that he misconstrues the truth.
I seek leave to table the Minister’s own figures given in answers to parliamentary questions, showing the attendance and costs.
Madam SPEAKER
Tariana TuriaTēnā koe, Madam Speaker. Tēnā tātou katoa. Since the legislation, can the Minister tell the House how many new aquaculture farms have been established by and for Māori, and where they are?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
Since the moratorium has been lifted, there is more participation by Māori in the aquaculture industry, but certainly it is a complex issue where all parties, like big fisheries companies and regional authorities, have to work towards bringing them together. We are certainly on our way to making sure that Māori are more involved in that industry.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. My question was very specific. I want to know how many new aquaculture farms have been established by and for Māori, and where they are.
Can the Minister elaborate on his answer, to address that point. We will have it in silence, please.
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
There are none, but in the local authority area there are issues about aquaculture management areas and new spaces. The growth factor has been in Māori taking more shareholding in a whole lot of big companies. They are the biggest fish-owners in this country, and I know that that member has another opinion to try to put that asunder.
Can the Minister inform the House who the Māori economic development manager of Aquaculture New Zealand is, given that Te Puni Kōkiri provided $70,000 towards the salary, and what expertise in aquaculture has this person, and will the reports be publicly available?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
Certainly, and that is the commitment by Te Puni Kōkiri to ensure, alongside the new developing aquaculture forum, that there was a Māori interest in there, and we paid that salary. There are those issues in relation to slowness in opening new space, and we clearly have three settlement options. That member knows about them.
What did attendees say at the hui when Te Puni Kōkiri told them that 2½ years after the Minister promised them 2,000 hectares of space in the 2004 Māori aquaculture settlement, not a single hectare has been found anywhere in the country; were they gutted?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
I was not at the hui, but I do speak to the staff generally. The Government and the settlement options have been quite clear—an additional 20 percent of new aquaculture management area space can be identified and allocated to meet pre-commencement obligations, thereby providing Māori with up to 40 percent of new space in some areas, and there will be purchasing of existing marine farms for transfer from 1 January 2008—that member is afraid of this—and paying an equivalent amount from 1 January 2013. I tell the House that I do have a lot of faith in Te Puni Kōkiri staff, but that member wrote me a letter on 17 July complaining—at about the Brash time—about how unprofessional those people were, and that people were turned away from Te Puni Kōkiri’s door because they were National Party supporters. That was a whole lot of rubbish. He went to the press saying that, he damned those poor people, who took a whole lot of umbrage at that, and he kept on with the fib. At the end of the day, he found out that it was not true. He knew it was not true, and he carried on attacking that ministry. Shame on him!
The Minister will recall that that is an unparliamentary term. We no longer use that term in this House. I know that it will take members a while to get used to it, but you had better get used to it by tomorrow. Would the Minister please withdraw and apologise.
Is the Minister embarrassed that he ran hui on aquaculture, right across the country, and no one turned up, probably because the Minister has not turned up with the space that he promised Māori 2½ years ago?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
I am not embarrassed, because that member is picking one hui. There have been a whole lot of hui, over and above the information that he has. He is talking a whole lot of hooey, because he has not been there. I tell him that Māori are the biggest owners in aquaculture, and he had better get used to it. The reason the hui went on there is that we contracted with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, which has international experience and modern science, putting out into the open the opportunities that Māori are really clear about wanting to be part of. He talks a whole lot of rubbish.
Given that the Minister is concerned that I am talking only about the Whanganui hui, where only five people turned up, is he pleased that in Canterbury only 16 people turned up, costing Te Puni Kōkiri several thousand dollars for each of them; and is he pleased that for the 16 who turned up, there were 11 officials to greet them?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
I am pleased the officials were there, because that is how we need to sort this matter out. But those people who turned up represented thousands of beneficiaries, and what Māori are getting used to is running their business by themselves, not having people like that controlling it.
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
167: I seek leave to table the reports on how Māori are participating at a dramatic pace in aquaculture and are adding value to this country’s economic status.