Bipartisan bid on fishing

Press, 6 October 1988, Page 1

Bipartisan bid on fishing

OLIVER RIDDELL

By

in Wellington In the hope of getting a bipartisan solution to Maori fisheries claims, Maori negotiators will meet the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger, this morning. They will do so only hours before their scheduled meeting with the Government, which is likely to see a settlement of their claims. The four Maori negotiators are the chairman of the Maori Council, Sir Graham Latimer, Mr Tipene O’Regan, Ms Denise Henare and Mr Matiu Rata. Mr O’Regan said the biggest problem was ensuring that the 20-year time-frame for delivering fishing quotas to Maoris — which the Government had proposed — could be achieved. There had been threats of amendment or repeal, or of a future Government just abandon-

ing the proposed agreement. He said Maoris were worried about Mr Bolger’s threats of repeal or substantial amendment of the controversial Maori Fisheries Bill. That threat had compromised the Maori position and was a warning that Maoris must heed. At the end of the day, he thought Mr Bolger would reconsider that threat. Mr Bolger said, “They may ask me to withdraw the threat of repeal but I will not do that unless the Government changes the allocation of fish on the basis of race as contained in its bill.” There had to be legislation that did not discriminate on the grounds of race “the way this bill sought to do.” “I want something that is a permanent resolution of Maori fisheries claims and not a 20year patch-up,” Mr Bolger said.