March 25, 2024
Red tape cuts good for Māori aquaculture
Māori aquaculture pioneer Harry Mikaere says the Fast-track Approvals Bill will boost the Māori aquaculture industry.
The bill is a part of coalition’s overhaul of the Resource Management Act, and which it says will cut red tape and give priority for regionally and nationally significant infrastructure and development projects,
Mr Mikaere, from Pare Hauraki, says while iwi have aquaculture space allocated, the current system for starting a fish or shellfish farm is slow, inefficient and expensive.
“I think we need some very good people around that alongside the ministers, in terms of advising them as to what the industrialisation of this country needs to get to the point where it’s not taking us 10 years to get down the track to a consent process,” he says.
Mr Mikaere says national, local and regional bodies need to move together to ensure the aquaculture potential of Pare Hauraki can be realised.