Nash says sorry for phone call remarks

Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash made a ‘‘heartfelt’’ apology to Winston Peters and Shane Jones for remarks made in a private phone call, which aired on television on Tuesday night.

Nash was recorded telling someone that Peters and Jones were unlikely to agree to surveillance cameras being placed on boats, which are meant to stop illegal fishing. The phone call was obtained by Newshub and aired on Tuesday.

‘‘I’ve got to play the political game in a way that allows me to make these changes. Now, Winston Peters and Shane Jones have made it very clear they do not want cameras on boats,’’ Nash said in the recording.

‘‘If Winston wants to have that discussion with Jacinda, it is had in the public arena and it is almost impossible for him to win it,’’ Nash said. ‘‘But if he has it behind closed doors on the 9th floor now, then the public will never know about it. So what I am trying to do is put Winston and Shane into a position where they cannot back down.’’

Nash said yesterday that the conversation was had two-anda-half years ago, and he couldn’t remember who was on the other end of the call.

He said he had apologised to Peters and Jones about the call.

‘‘I’ve apologised to Winston and to Shane and said I got it wrong,’’ Nash said.

‘‘I think they took it well because it was heartfelt.’’

The Government has already delayed the mandatory installation of cameras on all commercial fishing boats, pushing mandatory monitoring of the industry beyond the election.

Nash said at the time that while the technology had been rolled on 20 boats on the West Coast, it was not yet ready for wider distribution.

This year, the Government delayed a deadline for requiring nearly 1000 fishing boats to have onboard cameras, changing a July 1 ‘‘holding date’’ for the regulation to kick in to October 1, 2021.

NZ First has received donations from the fishing industry.

Yesterday, Jones said he made no secret of his associations with fishing industry. Fishing company Talley’s donated $10,000 to his 2017 election campaign and Talley’s was also a big donor to the NZ First Foundation.

Jones would not discuss the specific position he took on the issue of cameras on fishing boats, saying that was subject to Cabinet secrecy rules, however, he said Nash was ultimately responsible for the fisheries portfolio.

‘‘Any suggestion that I in particular or our party has somehow undermined the ability of Mr Nash to do his job is a bare-faced lie,’’ Jones said.