Representing an iwi view on TVNZ’s Breakfast
8 Mahuru 2020
After a week of passionate debate about the tension between fisheries and sustainability, Dion Tuuta spoke with Breakfast’s John Campbell to present an iwi perspective.
Dion discussed Te Ohu Kaimoana’s role in representing iwi views on policy and upholding iwi rights to be part of the decision-making in the management of the marine environment.
Many conversations take the view that fishing and conservation (although ‘kaitiakitanga’ is often used here) are in opposition to each other. In his kōrero this morning, Dion explained that kaitiakitanga and responsible fisheries management are entwined – “You cannot have sustainable fisheries without exercising kaitiakitanga.”
He addressed the criticism that Te Ohu Kaimoana only cares about the commercial value from the Fisheries Settlement. He says, “What I really care about.. in the way that fisheries are managed… it’s really around that relationship and the how the rules around fisheries are established. The settlement was about restoring the relationship between iwi and the Crown so that the iwi worldview about how fisheries are managed was actually taken into account.”
