March 30, 2017
Post election punt for Kermadec decision
Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary is a problem for the next Government to deal with.
Mr Flavell told the Maori Fisheries Conference in Auckland that the unilateral decision to close off the seas around the islands with no consultation with iwi had the Maori Party under pressure to walk away from Government.
Forceful lobbying by Te Ohu Kaimoana and iwi and the intervention of then-deputy prime minister Bill English meant the decision to go ahead was put on hold for more consultation.
"I think that that issue is going to be stalled until after the election because there is no appetite on the part of this Government to have those discussions, so at the end of the day if you stand on principles, you come out on the right side most of the time," Mr Flavell says.
He says going ahead with the Kermadec Sanctuary without consideration of the interests Maori had in the area through the 1992 Maori Fisheries Settlement would have put every treaty settlement at risk.
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