No compensation for Maori in marine sanctuary

NEW ZEALAND – One of the world’s largest ocean sanctuaries will be named the Rangitahua Ocean Sanctuary – but no compensation will be paid to Maori or commercial fishing companies.

The creation of the sanctuary has been given the go-ahead by a New Zealand parliamentary select committee, but the Labour Party says Maori interests are still being overlooked.

The plans would see the area around the Kermadec Islands permanently converted into a marine life sanctuary, covering 620,000 square kilometres north-east of New Zealand.

Some fishing groups and iwi have opposed the proposal, which would ban all fishing in the area.

Labour’s spokesperson for conservation Nanaia Mahuta said they felt like they had not been properly consulted.

“If they had consulted at the front-end and tried to find a solution with the co-operation and agreement of Maori fisheries interests, there could have been a solution, but we’re not in that situation.”

Environment Minister Nick Smith said the sanctuary was an important environmental commitment and would have the dual Kermadec-Rangitahua name.

A Colmar Brunton poll conducted in May showed 86 per cent of Maori supported the concept of the sanctuary.

The project will cover an area around the Kermadec Islands that is twice the size of New Zealand’s land mass and 50 times the size of the country’s largest national park.

Ngati Kuri and Te Aupouri, the two northern iwi with connections to the Kermadec Islands, had submitted for the sanctuary to be named after the Maori name for Raoul Island.

The Maori Fisheries Trust, Te Ohu Kaimoana, has taken legal action against the sanctuary, saying it undermines the fisheries settlement and therefore all treaty settlements.

Two fisheries settlements in 1989 and 1992 granted Maori control over one-third of New Zealand’s commercial fisheries.

However, the government has reasoned no compensation need be paid because there is little viable commercial fishing in the area, and it has a right to provide for no-take marine reserves.

“The government is keen to resolve outstanding iwi concerns through discussion. We acknowledge the strong support for the sanctuary by Ngati Kuri and Te Aupouri but would prefer to have broader support from Maori for this globally significant initiative,” Smith said.

Te Aupouri chair Rick Witana last month appeared before the local government and environment select committee and said the iwi’s support was conditional on a solution being worked out to the satisfaction of Te Ohu Kaimoana. - PNC