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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 childrenšs 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:
1 The review process related to the receipt
and consideration of
submissions should be transparent and participative.
2 Each submission, whether by groups or
individuals, is considered on
its own merits.
3 When representation is made that recognition
be given to the number of
signatures supporting a submission.
4 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.
5 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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