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Environment – Greenpeace rebrands MPI building as ‘Ministry for Destructive Fishing’

Source: Greenpeace

Greenpeace activists have hung a net full of ‘bycatch’ outside the Ministry for Primary Industries building in Auckland this morning, rebranding the government department ‘The Ministry for Destructive Fishing’.
“Bottom trawling is the worst of the worst, destroying the seafloor and wreaking havoc on marine ecosystems”, says Greenpeace Aotearoa programme director Niamh O’Flynn..
“Clearly the Ministry has been captured by industry interests that put profit above ocean health. This was an opportunity to protect and restore ocean life by banning bottom trawling and they have chosen not to, despite the evidence, and despite the public mandate.”
“It’s as if the Ministry thinks that it works for the fishing industry in the interests of profit even if it means allowing indiscriminately destructive fishing practices to continue.”
“Today activists placed a net over an MPI sign to symbolise that they have been captured, and challenge them to do better.
“We can have a thriving ocean but any government serious about that has got to take action against bottom trawling, and ban it from the places it does the most harm. It’s what people want, and it’s what the ocean needs.”
The decision to allow bottom trawling to continue in areas of the Gulf was made as part of the Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan released yesterday. The plan offers some protective measures but still allows bottom trawl methods including trawling, dredging and Danish seining, to continue in large areas of the marine park euphemistically dubbed “trawl corridors”.
A broad alliance of groups, including Greenpeace Aotearoa, made submissions on the plan calling for a total ban on all bottom trawl methods to protect the marine park which has been pushed to the brink by years of destructive human activity and fishing practices.
Says O’Flynn: “Over 36,000 people have called for a ban on bottom trawling in the Marine Park and in April hundreds showed up on the water and at Mission Bay beach to show their support. It’s time for the government, MPI and the Minister for Oceans & Fisheries Rachel Brooking to listen to these voices and act to ban trawl methods from the Gulf.
“The movement against bottom trawling is strong and it won’t be stopped. Moving away from this method is urgent. We need political leaders with the courage to stand up to industry interests, and start making real gains for ocean protection before it’s too late.” 
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Politics News – Farmer confidence hits a new record low – Federated Farmers

Source: Federated Farmers

A recent survey of over 1000 dairy, sheep, beef, and arable farmers has found that confidence is at historic lows, says Federated Farmers President Wayne Langford.
“Farmers are dealing with a lot at the moment with high interest rates, huge inflation, and a steep decline in both meat and milk prices they receive for their products,” Langford said. “We’re also facing an unprecedented level of regulatory change that is heaping on costs, undermining profitability, and creating huge uncertainty for farmers.
“Unfortunately, all these challenges have arrived at the same time, which just compounds the pressure farmers are feeling – it’s just not sustainable.
“We have real concerns about farmer wellbeing and what this might mean for farming families, rural communities, and the wider New Zealand economy.
“When farmers aren’t profitable or feeling confident, they stop spending money and try to cut any costs they can from their business, and the implications of that flow right through the economy,” Landford said.
The Farmer Confidence survey was conducted in July 2023. Concerningly, this was prior to Fonterra’s announcement last week that they were slashing $1 from their 2023/24 forecast milk price.
The four biggest concerns for farmers were debt, interest and banks, regulation and compliance costs, and climate change and ETS policy. “This is the second successive farmer confidence survey to set a new record low with a steep decline over the last six months – so we’re sounding the alarm,” Langford said.
“This should serve as a wake-up call for all political parties, banks, and processors that something needs to urgently change. There needs to be a real focus on reducing the costs and uncertainty farmers are facing.
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Ready-mixed concrete: June 2023 quarter – Stats NZ information release

Ready-mixed concrete: June 2023 quarter – Information release

10 August 2023

Ready-mixed concrete statistics provide an indicator of construction activity.

Key facts

  • In the June 2023 quarter, the actual volume of ready-mixed concrete produced was 1.07 million cubic metres, down 11 percent compared with the June 2022 quarter.
  • In the year ended June 2023, 4.4 million cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete was produced, down 4.2 percent compared with the year ended June 2022.
  • In seasonally adjusted terms, the volume of ready-mixed concrete fell 0.4 percent in the June 2023 quarter, following a 5.5 percent fall in the March 2023 quarter.

Visit our website to read this information release:

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Housing Market – NZ property resale gains fall to lowest level since 2015 – CoreLogic

Source: CoreLogic

The frequency of NZ property owners reselling for a profit has fallen again, as the country’s housing market downturn flows through to softer resale results.

The latest CoreLogic NZ Pain & Gain report shows the proportion of properties being resold for more than the original purchase price – a gross profit or ‘gain’ – in Q2 this year fell to 93.1% down from 94.1% for the first three months of this year.

The figures are the lowest for any quarter since Q4 2015 and well down on the peak of 99.3%, recorded in Q4 2021. The gains themselves have reduced too, with the median profit of $290,000 well down on Q4 2021’s peak of $440,000.

CoreLogic NZ’s Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson said for investors, that can be a cash windfall but for most owner-occupiers gross profit is equity that needs to be recycled back into the next purchase.

He said the drop in the share of property resales being made for a profit, and the fall in the size of those profits, is widespread across owner classification, property type and geography.

“The large majority of property resellers in the second quarter of 2023 still got a price higher than what they originally paid, reflecting that most people have held their property for several years,” he said.

“What this report shows is the frequency of those gains has declined further, or in other words there’s been a rise in the proportion of resellers seeing ‘pain’ – especially if they’ve only owned the property for a short period of time.”

“It’s not surprising to see the frequency of resale gains decline further as national average property values are 13% below their peak and are now back down at mid-2021 levels. Anybody who bought a year or two ago and has sold more recently has seen market conditions change significantly.”

Hold period

Across New Zealand as a whole, properties that were resold for a gross profit in the second quarter of 2023 had been owned for a median of 8.4 years, pretty much unchanged from the previous quarter’s figure. Of the loss-making resales in Q2 2023, about 60% of those had a hold period of less than two years.

Mr Davidson said the median hold period for loss-making resales was broadly unchanged from the previous quarter.

“The most striking aspect of the median of 1.8 years means there was a tendency for recent loss-making property resales to have been originally purchased around the middle of 2021, when the market was very strong, and looked different than it does now,” he said.

“Presumably, many of these resellers had intended to hold for longer, but perhaps due to changed personal circumstances they had to sell.”

Major centre pain greatest in Auckland

Auckland vendors felt the most ‘pain’ among the main centres, where 11% of property resales in Q2 were made below the original purchase price, broadly unchanged from 11.2% in Q1 2023.

Hamilton recorded 10.7% of resales at a gross loss in Q2, up from 7.6% in Q1. Gross loss resales in Dunedin was 5.9% in Q2, while Christchurch recorded an increase in ‘pain’, from 3.7% in Q1 to 4.9% in Q2.

The median resale loss in Q2 2023 was $95,000 for Auckland, $82,500 for Wellington, and around $50,000 apiece for Hamilton, Christchurch, and Dunedin. On the flipside, the median gains were around $360,000 in Auckland, Tauranga, and Wellington, $305,000 in Hamilton, and in the mid-$200,000s in Dunedin and Christchurch.

Apartment pain on the rise

The proportion of houses being resold for a loss increased to 6.2% in Q2 2023 from 5.2% in the first quarter of the year, hitting the highest level since Q1 2016. Apartments resold for a gross loss increased to 26%, up from 24.9% in Q1 and the highest level in a decade.

“The breakdown of the pain and gain data by property type reaffirms the recent change in market conditions, with gross resale profits less common and the size of those profits down too – for both houses and apartments,” Mr Davidson said.

“There is a tendency for apartments to be resold at a loss more often than houses, perhaps reflecting a greater proportion of investor ownership but we’re not seeing signs of apartment owners ‘abandoning ship’.”

Pain & Gain outlook

Mr Davidson anticipates a further increase in the proportion of properties resold at a nominal loss, even as the wider housing market finds a floor. Due to the recent drops in house prices, a potential slow recovery back to previous levels, and the role of hold periods, the ‘pain’ indicator tends to lag house prices themselves.

As an example, he said following the Global Financial Crisis, prices started to rise again from mid-2010 but it was another nine to 12 months until the bulk of the resale ‘pain’ stopped increasing.

“A further increase in the share of property resales being made for a loss seems likely in the next few quarters, even as property values themselves stop falling,” Mr Davidson said.

“But with the labour market still robust and few signs to date of widespread mortgage repayment problems, it’s unlikely we’ll see a return to the ‘pain’ peaks of previous cycles in the near term.”

About CoreLogic NZ

CoreLogic NZ is a leading, independent provider of property data and analytics. We help people build better lives by providing rich, up-to-the-minute property insights that inform the very best property decisions. Formed in 2014 following the merger of two companies that had strong foundations in New Zealand’s property industry – Terralink Ltd and PropertyIQ NZ Ltd – we have the most comprehensive property database with coverage of 99% of the NZ property market and more than 500 million decision points in our database.

We provide services across a wide range of industries, including Banking & Finance, Real Estate, Government, Insurance and Construction. Our diverse, innovative solutions help our clients identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. We also operate consumer-facing portal propertyvalue.co.nz – providing important insights for people looking to buy or sell their home or investment property. We are a wholly owned subsidiary of CoreLogic, Inc – one of the largest data and analytics companies in the world with offices in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and United Kingdom. For more information visit corelogic.co.nz.

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Energy News – Time for a national discussion on gas

Source: GasNZ

The Government released today its Gas Transition Plan Issues Paper which provides the strongest signal yet that the Government sees gas as key to the energy transition.

The paper suggests that natural gas and LPG will be required for some years yet and that biogas and hydrogen have a role to play and could be produced at commercial scale in New Zealand.

GasNZ chief executive, Janet Carson, says the paper provides the impetus for a national discussion on gas.

“Let’s talk seriously about the future of gas and what it will take to get some serious investment in hydrogen gas and in biomethane. And let’s ask Kiwis what they think.

“Kiwis love gas – from continuous hot water, warm homes, cooking and barbecuing – it is hard to imagine life in Aotearoa without it.

“Our electricity system also depends on it to cover the gaps in electricity generation when hydro storage is low, the sun’s not shining and the wind’s not blowing.

Referring to the Ecogas and Firstgas Group collaboration in Reporoa, Carson notes that with a single biomethane project currently underway in New Zealand, there is significant opportunity for growth of the renewable gas sector.

Australians are tapping into the bioenergy opportunity with around 240 biogas plants already operating.

In April this year, GasNZ hosted a renewable gas tour of Australia to see first-hand the range of hydrogen and biogas projects being undertaken in Australia, including the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group’s (AGIG) renewable hydrogen development that delivers a five percent renewable gas blend to more than 4000 gas customers in Adelaide’s south in the suburbs of Mitchell Park.

“If you’re decarbonising energy, why wouldn’t you use the billion-dollar infrastructure you already have to help. The issues paper recognises the sense this makes.

“We congratulate the Government for putting the paper out there, now we need to take that discussion to marae, restaurants, hotels, laundromats and every New Zealander that depends on gas.

“Developing the renewable gas sector will give the two million Kiwis who directly rely on gas every day the reassurance that their fuel of choice will continue to be available – providing all the benefits of gas, while also helping to reduce our carbon emissions.

“The final Gas Transition Plan will have a profound effect on New Zealand’s future and a smooth transition to a net zero emission economy will ensure reliable and affordable forms of energy are available to consumers, and the flexibility to choose.

“I think Kiwis are really going to like this. So, let’s let them tell us what they think.

“The paper recognises that the transition challenge is not exclusively about reducing emissions but about the evolving role of natural gas and LPG in supporting the wider energy transition.

“The more energy options we have, the better for consumers and communities. Let’s make sure gas, in its many forms, is one of those options.”

About GasNZ

GasNZ represents renewable gas, natural gas and LPG companies. Its vision is that renewable gases, including biogases and hydrogen gas, are a material part of the energy mix in Aotearoa. GasNZ members cover all gas energy fuels and all parts of the gas chain: gas producers; gas distributors; gas wholesalers and retailers; and gas equipment suppliers.

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Politics and Finance – Proposed BNPL regulations still leave room for harm – Good Shepherd

Source: Good Shepherd NZ

Good Shepherd NZ welcomes the announcement from Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Duncan Webb confirming regulation requirements in the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Sector but does not believe it goes far enough to mitigate harm for New Zealanders in the most financial hardship.
The regulations include credit reporting at sign-up and at the time of requests for credit limit increases, but a credit reporting alone does not signal suitability or affordability. Responsible lending processes, as required by other lenders, need to include affordability checks – without confirmation of a client’s income and expenses it is not possible to assess a person’s full financial position to extend a fair line of credit.
We know people will prioritise debt repayments over other essential costs to ensure access to the credit facility is not closed off. They will forego things like food, heating, and medical bills, which has dire consequences.
We are seeing more and more people with BNPL layered on top of other debt that has become unmanageable, as people try to navigate the high cost of living on relatively low incomes.
Natalie Vincent, Head of Microfinance says “Increasingly we are seeing BNPL used for day-to-day expenses, as living costs for those on low or limited incomes become more unmanageable. Allowing these lines of credit to remain outside affordability assessments because they are for small amounts, directly affects those who are most unable to afford the cost of living. It is unsustainable, harmful and does nothing to address the core cost-of-living issues.”
When debt including unpaid BNPL becomes a problem it is often sent to a debt collector, after additional fees have been added and a collection agency takes over recovering the debt. It is no longer fee or interest free. This causes distress and harm – debt being collected that was unaffordable in the first place.
We strongly urge the Government to further consider the damage that is caused to families and communities by credit that is not appropriate or affordable, and ensure regulation is focused on reducing harm for those who are most affected.
About Good Shepherd NZ
We aspire for all women, girls and their families to be safe, well, strong and connected, and our objective in New Zealand is to support better futures for women, girls and their whānau who are experiencing disadvantage. In New Zealand we work across the areas of financial, social, and economic wellbeing, with a significant area of our focus on supporting the development of financial inclusion and microfinance programmes for families living on limited incomes.
Additional information:
We see the impact of unaffordable BNPL lending on our clients. One of the ways we support people is through our DebtSolve programme, a free service for people with unmanageable debt –  https://goodshepherd.org.nz/debtsolve/
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Energy News – Policies to improve investment confidence needed to avert energy crisis

Source: Energy Resources Aotearoa

Energy Resources Aotearoa has welcomed the release today of a significant package of energy policies for consultation, saying they raise important issues that need to be resolved as we transition to a more renewable energy economy while maintaining reliable, affordable energy.
Energy Resources Aotearoa Chief Executive John Carnegie says:
“The package is the start of an important conversation about how we restore long-term confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector. We need unprecedented levels of investment to achieve our ambitions – and policy settings need to change to support that.
“The long-awaited release makes for sobering reading and points to what Energy Resources Aotearoa has been saying for some time: New Zealand is facing an energy shortfall as efforts to remove natural gas cannot adequately be offset solely by alternate renewable technologies.
“The reality is that even as we increase renewable capacity significantly, we need solutions to keep the lights on when renewables cannot deliver.
“Policy settings must be laser-focused on encouraging this. We agree with officials that importing LNG would not be viable, or provide us with domestic energy security. The fact that this is an option on the table is extremely concerning as it points to the energy gap.”
Carnegie says that while the policy package raises several concerns, it is pleasing to see the Government acknowledge the opportunities to reduce emissions – including carbon capture, natural gas storage and renewable gases.
“Affordable and reliable energy can only be achieved with a diverse fuel and technology mix.
“We have long pointed to the opportunity that carbon capture, natural gas storage and renewable gas offer to meet our net zero emissions goals. No one option is a silver bullet, but overseas experiences with these projects show they can remove hard to abate emissions while ensuring the international competitiveness of our emissions intensive businesses, such as those in the energy and manufacturing sectors.
“This is an exciting development, particularly after yesterday’s announced $2 billion fund from BlackRock. Like many others, BlackRock has invested significantly in carbon capture projects across the world, and we look forward to them doing the same here.”
Energy Resources Aotearoa is New Zealand’s peak energy advocacy organisation. We enable collaboration across the energy sector through and beyond New Zealand’s transition to net zero carbon emissions in 2050.
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Government News – Improvements needed when tamariki are returned home while in State custody

Source: Aroturuki Tamariki, the Independent Children’s Monitor

The safeguards and support for tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people) who remain in or return to their parents’ care while in State custody are not always there, despite this group being at higher risk of harm than others in care, according to report from Aroturuki Tamariki, the Independent Children’s Monitor.

Returning Home from Care looks at the experiences and practices surrounding tamariki and rangatahi cared for at home by their parent/s while in State custody. As at 30 June 2022, 12 percent of tamariki and rangatahi in care (627 tamariki and rangatahi) were living in this type of care arrangement.

Successive Oranga Tamariki Safety of Children in Care reports have found that tamariki and rangatahi in return or remain home arrangements are at higher risk of harm than those in other types of care.

Aroturuki Tamariki Chief Executive Arran Jones says when tamariki or rangatahi are taken out of the care of their parents the goal is to return them home, but this must be when it is assessed as safe, and the home environment can meet their needs. “We heard that for many tamariki, rangatahi and whānau, the supports and services are not in place.”

Findings from the Returning Home from Care report include:

Planning is important to the success of a return home, however almost half were unplanned.
Policy at the time of our report recommended that tamariki returned home are visited weekly for the first four weeks, however only 19 percent of children who returned home were visited weekly.
Communication, collaboration, funding, and inconsistent policies were barriers to successfully supporting tamariki and rangatahi returning home.
There is limited visibility of the success of a return or remain home.

“Our report found that planning is important to the success of tamariki returning home, however data shows that almost half of these are unplanned. Some of those unplanned returns may be rangatahi voting with their feet, but it is important that social workers are checking on the safety of tamariki and rangatahi,” said Mr Jones.

Oranga Tamariki policy in place at the time of the review recommended that tamariki and rangatahi returned home are visited every week for the first four weeks, however data showed that only 19 percent of tamariki and rangatahi who returned home were visited weekly in the first four weeks.

Across the first four weeks, tamariki and rangatahi whose return home was unplanned were visited less frequently, than those whose return was planned (75 percent of planned returns received at least one visit in the first four weeks, compared to 63 percent for unplanned).

“We also heard that communication, collaboration, and funding across the social sector were barriers to success. Lack of coordination in the policies and practice of government agencies was also identified as a barrier to a successful return home,” Mr Jones said.

Examples of barriers across the social sector include long waiting lists for assessments and specialised support for parents, such as alcohol and drug counselling, and for tamariki, such as mental health or disability assessments. Uncoordinated policy and practice between government agencies can lead to delays in parents receiving the right support or in accessing a suitable, stable home so their children can return.

Data on the success of tamariki returning home is limited. For example, Oranga Tamariki do not know how many tamariki are subsequently removed from the care of their parent/s following a return home. This reduces opportunities for Oranga Tamariki to understand what is working well and where there are areas of risk.

“It is the responsibility of Oranga Tamariki to ensure tamariki in State custody who are returned home are safe there.  Considering the assessment of risk by Oranga Tamariki, supports must be in place to keep tamariki safe and give parents the best chance of keeping tamariki at home.

“There is no visibility at a nationwide level if anyone else is checking on tamariki, and there is no reporting on the success, or otherwise, of a return home. Having those assurance processes in place will enable Oranga Tamariki to know if tamariki are safe and if the right supports are in place. This is how they can learn and improve.

“We have seen what a good return home looks like, and this needs to be the experience for all tamariki and rangatahi, not an exception.  There is clearly room to do better for sake of tamariki and their parents,” Mr Jones said.

The Returning Home From Care report is available on the Aroturuki Tamariki websitehttps://aroturuki.govt.nz/reports/returning-home-from-care

About Aroturuki Tamariki

Aroturuki Tamariki, the Independent Children’s Monitor, was established in 2019 to monitor compliance with the National Care Standards Regulations. It became a departmental agency on 1 May 2023, and its role expanded under the Oversight of the Oranga Tamariki System Act, to monitor the wider oranga tamariki system. That is, the supports and services provided to tamariki and rangatahi, and their whānau, who are known to Oranga Tamariki.

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Education News – New Ara Te |Pūkenga te reo kaiako follows teaching tradition to meet district demand

Source: Te Pukenga

You could say the new Timaru-based Ara | Te Pūkenga te reo Māori kaiako (teacher), Haami Rahui (Ngāi Tahu, Tuhoe), was born for the role.
Haami Rahui is a second-generation educator, following in the footsteps of his father Matua Hori Rahui who was well-known for his dedication to teaching in the wider Canterbury region. “They were pioneers for our community in things Māori back in the late 80s and 90s,” Rahui said of both his late father and mother Kareen Rahui.
“I was lucky in in my upbringing that I was brought up in te ao Māori with my language and culture put to the forefront as a young child. I felt this was always going to be the thing I was going to do. My upbringing has directed me this way.”
Haami Rahui, whose polished and fluent reo saw him win the Waitaha region Ngā Manu Korero at high school is now literally sitting at his father’s old desk, preparing to share his own knowledge and skills with a region hungry for the language.
New classes in partnership with Te Aitarakihi Marae-a-Iwi Multicultural Centre in Timaru include a free one-year Level Two Te Reo course and another 10-hour introductory course (Te Hoe) starting this month.
Ara | Te Pūkenga Director of Southern campuses Leonie Rasmussen said some spaces were still available for classes starting next week with further advanced and open-entry classes scheduled for Timaru in 2024, along with offerings planned in Ashburton and Oamaru.
Te Aitarakihi Taumata Chairperson Whaea Ani Haua described the partnership with Ara |Te Pūkenga as a blessing for whānau whānui (extended family) and community, and said it assisted in achieving strategic goals.
“There is an increasing desire for many in our wider community to up skill their Reo Māori to help with their understanding and development in Te Ao Māori. We’re fortunate to be able to offer these opportunities not only at basic level, but at advanced levels also,” Whaea Ani said.
“We are so privileged to have Haami Rāhui as our current Kaiako for those joining the classes. He has been groomed and nurtured by his father, Matua Hori Rāhui, who was the forerunner of Te Reo Māori programmes in our schools and in the wider community for many years before he passed away.
Haami Rahui said he wanted to contribute to help meet the demand he’d seen since returning from bringing up his own family in Australia for 16 years. “There’s been a number of people who have played a role in teaching te reo since my parents but, particularly in recent times, there have been gaps of resource in the area,” he said.
Equipped with a long-held adult teaching certificate, he’d been working in a range of settings since returning to South Canterbury and is now also completing his primary teaching degree.
He said he was looking forward to helping provide a path for his own generation to learn their culture and find connection, and to meeting the wider demand for te reo through his new role.
“It’s awesome. As a whole, the nation is opening up to things Māori and this shows our town is involved in that and wanting the same thing. Revitalising the language is part and parcel of us becoming a nation that is properly bicultural while acknowledging our tangata whenua.”
Behind it all is a wider aspiration.
“My passion is our next generation and hoping we can bring back the style of learning where our young ones are immersed in our language from birth. Being able to hold the mantle for our children so they can be totally immersed in the language and culture from the cradle to the grave would be my hope.”
Ani Haua said learning in a Tikanga-based situation on site at Te Aitarakihi Marae-ā-Iwi Multicultural Centre enhanced the learning and respect for customs and protocols shared during the course of the programme.
Haami Rahui felt that teaching in the marae was a blessing because it “embodied the stories and learnings at the same time”.
“It also takes learning back to its traditions. The marae has always been a place of learning, wananga, getting together and seeking knowledge and so takes me back to traditional ways.”
Connecting with those traditional ways, he said, will help secure Timaru a place in a better future.
“We’ve come ahead in leaps and bounds in Aotearoa and I think we are actually at the forefront. The world is looking at us and how we as a country recognise our indigenous people, culture, language and the customs of the whenua. If that continues to feed throughout the world, that’s great, but my focus is our town here in Timaru.”
A teaching and learning heritage that everyone in the region can tap into.
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Marine Environment – Enviro Groups slam decision to continue trawling Hauraki Gulf – Greenpeace

Source: Greenpeace

News today that the government will allow bottom trawling to continue in large areas of the Hauraki Gulf is being met by strong opposition from an alliance of groups campaigning to get the destructive fishing method out of the marine park.
Released today, the decision is part of the Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan, and while offering some protection it still allows bottom trawling to continue in large areas of the marine park euphemistically dubbed “trawl corridors”.
Members of the Hauraki Gulf Alliance, a diverse group of organisations, including LegaSea, Forest & Bird, WWF-New Zealand and Greenpeace are frustrated by the decision, saying it goes against public opinion and the scientific evidence that shows bottom trawl methods destroy marine ecosystems and contribute to the decline of the Hauraki Gulf.
“This decision is extremely disappointing and a massive missed opportunity to protect the Hauraki Gulf in its entirety “, says Greenpeace oceans campaigner Ellie Hooper.
“Bottom trawling is the most destructive fishing method there is, bulldozing the seafloor and indiscriminately destroying marine ecosystems. To give the Hauraki Gulf – Tīkapa Moana a chance to recover and thrive, bottom trawling has got to stop completely in all areas of the Gulf, and to do that we need bold action from the government, not more concessions to the fishing industry.”
“The Minister’s decision allowing bottom trawling to continue in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park is counter-productive to restoring the seabed and ocean life. The collapse and recent closure of the entire east coast scallop fishery ought to have been a signal that the marine environment is struggling. Over 36,000 people have clearly said they want bottom trawling and dredging gone from the Gulf. We can and must do better to enhance the Gulf, for our kids and future generations”, says LegaSea’s spokesperson Benn Winlove.
“The government has missed an important opportunity to end bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf. This hampers the much-needed efforts to urgently restore the mauri of Tīkapa Moana. Our campaign to end this completely inappropriate and destructive fishing method continues. We will not stop here. There is no place for bottom trawling in a decimated ocean environment that needs our help more than ever. When the government consults on the Hauraki Gulf bottom trawl areas, it’s vital that the New Zealand public send a clear message that it needs to end”, says Forest & Bird Hauraki Gulf coordinator Bianca Ranson.
“We acknowledge there are positive steps being taken towards marine protection in the Hauraki Gulf; however we remain disappointed with the decision to continue bottom trawling in some corridors. The marine ecosystems in the Gulf have been suffering for a long time and need urgent action. Thousands of New Zealanders, who signed our petition to put an end to these destructive fishing methods, have been ignored. Banning damaging bottom-contact fishing methods is a critical step in the journey to a healthy Tīkapa Moana,” says WWF-New Zealand Advisor, Conservation Impact, Carolyn Aguilar
In June, members of the Hauraki Gulf Alliance, a diverse range of recreational fishing, environmental, law, corporate and business organisations, delivered a petition signed by over 36,000 people to parliament calling for a ban on trawl methods in the Gulf. A horizon poll also showed strong public support for a ban with 84% of people living around the Gulf wanting bottom trawling gone.
Earlier in the year, hundreds turned out for a flotilla at Mission Bay to oppose the continued trawling of the Marine Park, depoying banners from boats, kayaks and on the beach.