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August 05, 2014
Stewardship of fisheries assets to be reviewed
Waatea Team
Posted On August 5, 2014
The chief executive of Te Ohu Kaimoana isn't expecting major changes as a result of a 10-year review of the Maori fisheries trust.
An independent reviewer is to be appointed by iwi to assess the performance of the trust and Aotearoa Fisheries and consider whether the legislation is still fit for purpose.
This will include looking at the restrictions on selling treaty settlement quota.
Pita Douglas says there is not a lot of clamour for change, but the reviewer will take into account the spectrum of opinion that was part of the debate over the 2004 Act.
"Some people are saying we don't need to treat our assets any different to the way the general population treats its assets, we should be able to trade them freely and all those kinds of things. There are other occasions where people say our assets are different to the rest of the population. These are Maori assets."
"We've got to a trustee's responsibility to act in the interests of people who are yet to be born, which mean that some of these restrictions are well considered and supported," he says.
Mr Douglas says the way Te Ohu Kaimoana has performed over the past decade has set a benchmark for the transfer of assets through the treaty settlement process.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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