He kororia ki te Atua
He maungarongo ki runga i te whenua
He whakaaro pai ki nga tangata katoa

This iKarere updates the fisheries management and aquaculture development work being undertaken by
Te Ohu Kaimoana, on behalf of the Maori Fisheries Trust
and Maori Aquaculture Trust.

It will be sent to iwi monthly with updates.

One of the topics discussed over the two-day Maori Fisheries Conference in Nelson recently was the role that foreign-owned and chartered fishing vessels (FCVs) played in the New Zealand deepwater fishing industry.  This prominence came in response to the campaign that has been playing out in the media, specifically the Sunday Star Times, against industry use of FCVs.  Allegations have been made that foreigners working on these foreign-owned vessels are working in “slave” like conditions, underpaid and underfed. We are working with quota owners to find ways to ensure that vessels demonstrate good performance on fisheries management and labour standards. 

(contacts: Laws Lawson/Kirsty Woods)

A draft paper on advancing a kaimoana strategy,
bringing together Maori customary commercial and
non-commercial interests in fisheries and fishing.

Te Ohu Kaimoana, in conjunction with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, has developed advice to assist iwi, which hold their assets in charitable entities, to claim back the Maori Authority tax credits that were attached to the AFL dividend all shareholders received prior to Christmas.

As charitable entities do not generally have assessable income, they do not normally file tax returns nor do they have the ability to offset those credits against other tax owing. Normally Maori Authority Tax Credits are available as a cash refund from Inland Revenue if not required to be used to pay other income tax owing.

The current forms are not particularly user friendly so we have developed this "how to" advice which hopefully will prove useful to iwi wanting to claim their credits as a refund. We are also going to approach IRD to develop an easier method to claim back the credits.