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Letter to Minister of Fisheries
option4
21
October 2000
Paul Barnes
21/10/00
The Honourable Pete Hodgson
Minister of Fisheries
Parliament Building
Wellington
Dear Minister,
You will now be aware of option4.co.nz, a group of recreational
fishing advocates who have formed a task force to respond to the
Ministry of Fisheries invitation to participate in the process of
redefining the nature and extent of the right of the public to fish
and gather seafood in New Zealand.
You have asked the New Zealand public to respond to the proposals
outlined in the Soundings document. Thank you for the opportunity
that has been provided to us as members of the New Zealand public
to have our say and to be involved in shaping the future of marine
recreational fishing for ourselves, our children and our children's
children.
As you can see in the enclosed document we are having our say, and
have established a very strong set of guiding principles, which
we believe should underpin the future management of marine recreational
fishing. At this time we have more than 50,000 submissions in support
of these principles.
option4.co.nz, as the holder of this taonga, believe we have a responsibility
to ensure that the views of each of these individuals are heard
and responded to at every stage of the process.
Although page 34 of the Soundings document gives some idea of what
will happen to our responses eventually, we would be grateful if
you could advise us what specifically the process will be after
the 30th of November. In other words Minister, we will have had
our say but then what happens?
We strongly believe that the process should include the
following elements:
- The review process related to the receipt and consideration
of submissions should be transparent and participative.
- Each submission, whether by groups or individuals, is considered
on its own merits.
- When representation is made that recognition be given to the
number of signatures supporting a submission.
- That Government and MFish recognise and accept that no one group
can fully represent the wide-ranging and diverse views of the
New Zealand public about marine recreational fishing.
- That the Public of New Zealand will have an equal standing with
the Minister and his Ministry in determining what the final policy
will be.
option4.co.nz requests
the opportunity to meet with the Minister as soon as is possible
to discuss further the details of the process by which the New Zealand
public can participate in this process of analysis and reporting
to Cabinet.
option4.co.nz. believes that as a key stakeholder it would be involved
in more targeted consultation and analysis in partnership with other
stakeholders groups and the Ministry as the review process and policy
is formulated.
We thank you for your consideration and look forward to your reply.
Whilst your time is limited we believe that a meeting with you would
be beneficial to both parties and accordingly offer you an open
invitation to meet with us when next you visit the Auckland region.
Yours sincerely
Paul Barnes
Project Manager
option4.co.nz
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