Press release
The National Party’s proposals for a Hunting and Fishing Minister in Government is very welcome says Alan Simmons, President of the NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party and a lifetime hunter and fisherman. However the appointment of such a person is tempered by National’s past disregard for the environment and the public’s hunting and fishing.
The NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party is now officially part of the Freedoms NZ Party which is a registered political alliance of several minor parties in New Zealand founded in August 2022.
“Irrespective of party, the idea of a voice at the cabinet table for the million plus Kiwis who fish in saltwater and freshwater and hunt, is well over-due, in view of the threats to hunting and fishing over decades, which invariably have come from government policies to exploit the environment,” Alan Simmons said. “That means National by virtue of its years in government is not blameless. Their list of disregards go back a long way.”
Track Record
Alan Simmons gave examples of a National government’s plan to raise Lake Manapouri in the public’s Fiordland National Park in the 1970s, plans around the same time to commercialise trout via trout farming and selling Crown Lands at Upukeroa, Te Anau to a wealthy American to exploit the fishing and hunting values.
Then more recently John Key led National government showed a complete disregard for rivers and freshwater fisheries both trout, salmon and native, when it sacked and replaced the democratically elected Environment Canterbury with “state puppet commissioners” thus facilitating the wholesale expansion of corporate dairying, resulting in high irrigation demands and a large increase in toxic nitrates into aquifers and rivers themselves.
“Excessive nitrate levels are toxic to freshwater ecosystems and to human health as evidenced by Canterbury and South Canterbury’s alarming high rates of human bowel cancer, as proven by a Danish study of 2.7 million people,” said Party Co leader Sue Grey. “Further to that was Minister Nick Smith saying that nine new salmon farms, with equivalent nitrate pollution to a double decker dairy farm, in the conservation zone of the Marlborough Sounds was a good idea.”
Labour Not Innocent
“Labour was also guilty having promised in 2017 and 2020 to clean up deteriorating river health and have done virtually nothing. Political rhetoric and hollow promises come cheap,” she said.
Labour had also introduced the sea fisheries quota system in 1986 which predictably led to a domination by corporate fishing companies of the overall fishery resource an area Sue Grey is well versed in, having written the Fisheries Law book. Labour had been guilty of other past disregards for the public’s fish and game such as mismanaging the Fiordland wapiti herd by allowing unchecked hunting by helicopters and just very recently attempting to take over the democratic administration of Fish and Game via the Department of Conservation bureaucracy.
“ It remains to be seen as to how sincere National’s promise to set up a credible voice at the cabinet table, if they are elected government. The one million hunting and fishing public should ask searching questions about National’s real intentions relative to its past disregard for recreational fishing and hunting,” she said.
The NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party and the Freedoms NZ party would be totally genuine in promoting the need for a voice for the outdoors in government.
“It’s so important to have Ministers and MPs who understand the implications of policies and who can promote workable common sense solutions that balance current use and enjoyment with future needs “ said Sue Grey.
Alan Simmons – “Outdoor voice in Cabinet good Idea, but—.”
I cannot disagree with the general thrust of this. Both Labour and National have not impressive track records. As for the Green Party, they have been distracted by social engineering and are not an environmental party which was the original purpose.
Alert to all hunting fishing people out there. This is also of great concern to all citizens. It is extremely important that we keep the focus on the real problem & not flail about at a nebulus “somethng???”
Our greatest concern is to retain a right & access to our hunting ground & water, fresh or salt , we are on the cusp of losing both. It’s all but a thump of rubber stamp that fresh water & the foreshore and seacoast out to 12 N. miles will be handed over to tribal ownership.
Recently I’ve been stirred into action because I have 2 large qeii Trust conservaion covenants on private land as many others do , & we are met with this in statement in the last few days:
Given that DOC HAS A n“Options Working Group,[initiative by racist Ardern]” to transfer the entire Conservation Estate to tribal ownership, which would naturally include,by definition . qeii conservation covenants.qeii covenant holders need clarification on status since Parties have said Private land could be used to satisfy claims:
Parties embracing racial division include not only Labour, but the Greens, who are now pledging to open up private land to Treaty claims, and the Maori Party, that wants to take the country back to full tribal control.
All our efforts need to be directed at parties to roll back these initiatives now made public.Any party not willing to withdraw all rscism from legislation & law, gets no votes. we need to voice this loud & clear, pass it around to all your contacts the snowball effect could turn this around as each person rolls it out to all their contacts. We are in a strong position here as a powerful voting bloc. There is no other such powerful group in the country! Do we want to hunt & fish or stand by helpless as we get dealt to?? Time to fire your volley October 14 is our D day,[do or lose it all for generations
Please pass onto all.
The idea of a Hunting and Fishing minister is a good idea but all I can see coming is a lot of weasel words and nothing much will happen just more of the same.
Any party that acknowledges hunting and fishing as major participant public recreation deserves full consideration for a vote in the election – very soon. So despite a poor track record when in government – Labour is no better except for Labour PM Norman Kirk’s years …1972 election, give credit where credit might – I said might – be due, to National and Todd McClay.
The basic problem seems is that excessive exploitation and degradation of natural resources is essential for economic growth.
Our consumer economy relies on people buying more and more products and services that they do not really need and often with money they do not have.
Products are designed to be disposed of and replaced by new ones.
More and more natural resources have to be accessed, exploited and wasted to produce these disposable products.
Real concern for the environment and conservation to reduce the waste of resources would impair economic growth, corporate profits and government tax revenue.
All the virtue signalling fine words about conservation and the environment are false because when a decision has to be made nature will always be sacrificed for money.
People who fish and hunt are not influential in political parties because they do not join or become active in them.
The small minority of influential party members and donors choose the candidates and decide what they will do if elected.
Representing people that fish and hunt is not a priority.
The only way to avoid the eventual loss of fishing and hunting access and opportunities is for more people who care to join and participate in political parties so that they influence the policies and choice of candidates who become MPs and ministers.
National will say what they think might attract our votes but when they have to choose between conservation of fish and game and economic growth the money will win every time.
There are an estimated total of around 50,000 political party members.
There are 1.2 million people that fish and at least 300,000 who hunt.
Do the simple math.
A small percentage of people that hunt and fish could join and take over all of the political parties if they wanted to retain what is being taken from them.
Complaining to and and asking for consideration from people who do not care will never achieve anything.
A ministry of hunting and fishing will create another wasteful bureaucracy and result in more government regulation of fishing and hunting that will probably do more harm than good.