Minister needs to act quickly to sort out Fish and Game row
The need for newly elected Conservation Minister Kiri Allen to act swiftly to rescue the New Zealand Fish and Game Council from total dysfunction took on fresh urgency with the recent sudden resignation of CEO Martin Taylor.
An independent review of the Fish and Game Council system was ordered by former Conservation Minister, Eugenie Sage, last year following several years of internal dissension and significant governance issues. The review team was due to report back to government by the end of the year but that has now been extended to late January or early February.
The 12 regional fish and game councils are responsible for the technical management of game bird and sports fish populations while the New Zealand Fish and Game Council is charged with advocating the interests of licensed anglers and hunters nationally as well as co-ordinating and auditing the work of regional councils. In the past the New Zealand Fish and Game Council was one of our most effective conservation lobby groups having succeeded in getting water conservation orders on a number of important rivers and laid the foundation for the Government’s current priority focus on freshwater quality.
The councils, however, have been hampered by a number of systemic problems. One of most serious problems appears to be the appointment of one elected member of each regional council to serve on the independent New Zealand Fish and Game Council. It would be totally unacceptable to have our local district council appoint the local member of parliament but that was the system fish and game councils were given.
Some appointed councillors were forced to act as regional delegates rather than take a national overview as the Conservation Act requires. Those who did not act as delegates were quickly replaced by those who did.
That resulted in the inability of the New Zealand Fish and Game Council to carry out its proper function, particularly the co-ordination and audit of the regional councils. That also led to the development of regional parochialism and the failure of regional councils, and particularly some of their managers, to focus on their core business of managing the resource, leaving national politics to the New Zealand Fish and Game Council.
A number of fish and game councillors also have undeclared perceived, if not actual, conflicts of interest in that they have shares in irrigation schemes which have the potential to endanger fish and wildlife habitats.
Others are involved in the commercialisation of game bird hunting and angling by ‘persuading’ landowners to close their properties to all game bird hunters and anglers in favour of the councillor/guide’s fee-paying clients. While probably legal this activity is an anathema to the founding ethics of the system which disallows the commercialisation of game birds, sports fish.
The role of these councillors in protecting game birds and sports fish for all New Zealanders was clearly compromised as was the New Zealand Fish and Game Council in attempting to deal with the issue. Some other councillors tried, unsuccessfully, to have the issue properly addressed.
When Taylor, who has a corporate and political advisory background, took on the job in 2018 he set about trying to get the organisation to function efficiently but the New Zealand council was already spiralling into dysfunction and some regional councils were unco-operative.
He is said to have been particularly worried about problems ranging from financial mismanagement to cultural issues in three of the 12 regions.
Last year he and former chairman Lindsay Lyons called for an independent government review to address some of the underlying causes. After the review was announced it was expected that the New Zealand Fish and Game Council would pull together to try and improve performance but it seemed to stagger from crisis to crisis starting with the dumping of long serving chairman Lyons. His replacement lasted just a few months before he also resigned. The council also muzzled Taylor from making negative comments about farming. That muzzling order was later rescinded but a week ago Taylor suddenly resigned just two years into a five-year employment contract.
A former councillor has taken on the CEO role as an interim measure and that is where things should stay until the minister has at least had the opportunity to read and consider the report of the review team. The council however has announced it is already seeking a permanent replacement. That would seem to be unwise and it would be equally unwise for anyone to take on the role until any changes required by the minister are in place.