November 14, 2005
Kahawai
Campaign Steady
Kahawai Campaign
Support for the Kahawai
Legal Challenge campaign continues at a steady pace. 70 percent
of people contacted during the month welcomed the opportunity
to take a Supporters Pack and help with the fundraising effort.
Even more encouraging is the number of people asking for more
than one Booklet, they are the people who have committed to
getting out in amongst their friends, club mates and work colleagues
and really giving it their best shot. We have plenty of good
quality kahawai t-shirts available in navy blue for anyone needing
more. Just call the help team on 0800 KAHAWAI (52 42 92) for
details on what sizes are available and place your order. The
t-shirts would make great Xmas presents for your family and
fishing buddies.
The fundraising campaign
is going well and the New Zealand Big Game Fishing Council are
doing a good job of operating the account. All donations via
the website and sent in through the NZ Fishing News go directly
into the Kahawai Challenge Fund managed by trustees that include
the NZ Fishing News team.
Many hours were spent
on developing the Kahawai Legal Challenge Update #12 published
in the NZFN November edition. If you have not read the article
please make it your mission to read it online at https://kahawai.co.nz/kahupdate121005.htm
It will give you a
good understanding of what the issues are and what we are doing
in response.
Court Challenge
The court case challenging
the Minister of Fisheries 2004 allocation decision for kahawai
is due to be heard in the High Court around the middle of next
year. Powerful affidavits to support the Statement of Claim
have been reviewed by an independent QC and given strong support.
The key objectives
of the Court proceedings are to:
- Ensure that “more fish are left in the sea”, so there is
a return to better fish catch rates; and
- clarify the Minister of Fisheries' decision-making powers
for amateur and recreational fish species.
The official parties
to the legal challenge are the NZ Big Game Fishing Council and
the NZ Recreational Fishing Council. option4 and the NZBGFC
have shown their commitment to the court challenge by underwriting
the campaign. All parties agree there is merit in taking the
challenge to clarify future allocation processes. Previous
discussions with the Ministry of Fisheries and Crown law indicated
an interest in determining some of the matters raised in the
legal challenge.
The public have never
had a better opportunity to have the issues raised in the case,
heard in court. It is an historic occasion and one we are looking
forward to completing successfully.
The legal team from
Hesketh Henry and the QC who reviewed the case have made monumental
efforts to refine the case to achieve the best outcome for all
New Zealanders, not just for people who fish for food. Their
effort and commitment is noteworthy.
Thanks to
Supporters
Thanks to everyone
who have “done the rounds” and raised money and t-shirt orders
from their family, work colleagues and club mates. You are the
real heroes of the campaign. The “kahawai call girls” have been
going flat out processing all the orders and getting them out
the door as soon as they can. We accept that some people
have found it difficult asking people directly for money. Getting
orders for t-shirts is a simple and effective way to help out
the campaign.
Even easier is the
0900 KAHAWAI (52 42 92) facility, dialling from your home phone
automatically debits $20 to your phone account, please make
sure you check with the bill payer first. A secure
online donation service is available too for those who have
access to the web. Every dollar counts so please help the campaign
by doing the above more than once. All donations go directly
into the Kahawai Challenge Fund.
The Challenge team
need your support to continue the campaign.
Returning Booklets
The people wanting
to send their Booklets back to us can do so, at no charge, by
posting it to the campaign base using the following address:
Kahawai Legal Challenge, Freepost 131323 c/o NZ Fishing News,
PO Box 12-965, Penrose, Auckland.
How you can
Help
If you haven't ordered
already, there are several ways you can obtain a Support Pack:
