Hauraki Gulf, The 1News Verian Poll and Samoa Citizenship Bill w/ The Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez-March: October 16th, 2024

Over the weekend, the government announced a number of amendments that would be made to the Hauraki Gulf Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill.

The amendments included the addition of 19 new marine protection areas, 12 of which are high protection areas, but would also allow the continuation of authorised customary fishing in High Protection areas by authorised fishers.

While Conservation Minister Tama Potaka, who introduced the amendments, has lauded the bill for protecting the biodiversity of the Hauraki gulf while allowing local fishers to provide for their communities, the Hauraki Gulf Forum and numerous conservation groups have said bill will do the exact opposite, by opening critical areas of the gulf up to commercial fishing and threatening the region’s already endangered marine life. 

For their weekly catch up, I spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss the recent amendments to the Hauraki Gulf Marine protection bill and the party’s take on it. 

They also discussed the recent 1news Verian poll showing that 40% of New Zealanders thought that Aotearoa was in a worse state today than it was last year, and the Samoan Citizenship Bill by Greens MP Teanau Tuiono getting passed in the select committee and moving on to it’s second reading.