December 04, 2017
Greens wary of Kermadec lure
National's hope of embarrassing the Government over the Kermadec ocean sanctuary could fall short over the question of iwi support.
Nelson MP Nick Smith has put a private members bill into the ballot to ban fishing and mining in a 620,000 square kilometre swathe of New Zealand's exclusive economic zone, in the hope the Greens will split off and vote with it.
But Green MP Marama Davidson says while the Greens and all other parties voted for the first reading of a similar Government bill in the last parties, it has also listened to iwi about a lack of consultation and their concerns that it would confiscate development rights included in the Maori fisheries settlement.
"Te ao Maori understands when we have to put rahui on and when we have to put measures in for our sustainability issues, so again the Greens will back Maori leadership on these issues and any sanctuary set up must have the work and the leadership of iwi Maori involved in that process and that is what we have said and that is what we will continue to stick to," she says.
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