Suzanne Williams

At the risk of becoming a one-woman Marewa Karetai Fan Club, once again I must express appreciation of her opinion piece, this time on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.

I for one, didn’t realise it was mooted, continuing the Government’s plan of fast stealth legislation. It is of the utmost importance.

As her piece says, it removes the requirement for fishermen to land their catch, thereby removing the need for them to bother to care about how much they waste of what they catch; so bycatch and non-target species catch numbers are bound to rise.

The clause allowing under-size fish to be caught in these times of failing fish stocks worldwide is so incredibly stupid I can’t believe it can possibly be entertained.

Then we have the hard-won “cameras on boats “ battle we had some years ago – we are no longer to be allowed access to the footage so that there are no checks and balances?

While most fishers are responsible and sensible enough to see the long game, there are still those who can look no further than tomorrow’s dinner; and in this category I place firmly Shane Jones, the Minister.

Twenty-five years ago, in the Far North, I knew the young Jones as a customer of my sawmill and timber yard. He was a “go-getter” and very focused on doing his best for his whanau and friends.

He would come into my office saying, “Sharpen your pencil, Sue”, to which I would reply, “Already sharp, Shane”.

I remember thinking then that I would not have been surprised if he had finished up Prime Minister. Fortunately, so far this has not happened.