The National Government has sneakily reneged on protecting the Hauraki Gulf, reducing the protected area of the marine park and inviting commercial fishing in the depleted seascape.

“Once again we see the National Government putting commercial interests and profit over scientific evidence and the priorities of our communities. There will be no future for the fishing and tourism industries in these areas if we don’t take action to protect them now,” Labour conservation spokesperson Priyanca Radhakrishnan said.

“Tama Potaka’s announcement undermines a decade of work by mana whenua, local and central governments, the industry, and local community groups to protect the health of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana for future generations.

“Labour introduced the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill because the Hauraki Gulf was facing a bleak future if action wasn’t taken to protect it.

“New Zealanders know that the Hauraki Gulf has been overfished for decades and that both sedimentation and pollution has led to a significant decline in marine life and seabird populations. Species are almost functionally extinct in the areas permitted to be fished now.

“Years of negotiation with the community and stakeholders led to the Bill Labour introduced last year. National’s changes are a slap in the face to everyone involved in the negotiation process.

“Our Bill extended the Gulf’s marine reserves and created marine protection areas to preserve fragile habitats and parts of the sea floor from damaging activities, while allowing for customary practices of tangata whenua.

“It looks like the Government has done this to bend to Minister of Fishing Shane Jones’ backroom deals.

“This is a government set on attacking our natural environment from every angle, by allowing mining projects that risk native species, scrapping work to meet our climate targets, and repealing the ban on oil and gas exploration. Just like with the Fast Track legislation, National is making it harder for locals, iwi and hapu to have a say on destructive projects that will affect them,” Priyanca Radhakrishnan said.

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