Govt decision on fisheries?

Press, 22 July 1988, Page 5

Govt decision on fisheries?

OLIVER RIDDELL

Bj

in Wellington

A decision on Maori fishing rights that involves the management and ownership of fisheries will be made by the Government in the next six weeks. The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, said yesterday that the Government “would probably have to make a decision.” That decision would absolutely not include confiscation of the livelihood of people engaged in the fishing industry, he said. It was unlikely that the working group on fisheries could come to an agreement, he said. Mr Lange was asked if the Government was considering buying back fishing quotas in order to transfer them

to Maori interests. “There is a whole range of possibilities and none has been settled,” he said. His fundamental message to the fishing industry was that there would not be a confiscation of livelihood. “Absolutely not,” Mr Lange said, “and it is inconceivable that a Government could issue some form of retrospective legislation which would have that effect.”

The way the fish resource was managed could be altered and there might be greater Maori involvement.

The Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger, criticised the Government for its failure to indicate how it planned to proceed. a