Cost of review of Maori fisheries body outrages MP

A review of the Maori fisheries body cost almost $1 million – with two thirds of that paid to one barrister for six months’ work.

The report recommends Te Ohu Kaimoana (the Maori Fisheries Trust) be scrapped and assets transferred to iwi.

Wellington lawyer Tim Castle charged $600,000 for his 135-page report. There was just over $37,000 in disbursements. The total bill for the review was $915,000, with $278,000 going towards fees and expenses for the trust’s committee of representatives, production and distribution of the report and a meeting.

Castle was selected by the committee, which is largely made up of representatives from the larger iwi, who some say stand to gain the most from an overhaul of Maori fisheries’ commercial structures.

A source said: ‘‘There are some people that are pushing the idea that they want to break up all the assets and hand them out to the 72 iwis. What is bizarre is that every other element of the primary sector in New Zealand is trying to get bigger and aggregate so they can emulate Fonterra.’’ Castle did not respond to repeated requests for comment this week.

A spokesman for the trust confirmed the employment of a reviewer, the setting of the terms of reference, and that the amount paid to the reviewer was set by the committee. They agreed the fee would be kept confidential.

‘‘The Maori Fisheries Act states that all of the costs associated with the review are to be paid for by Te Ohu Kaimoana Trustee Limited [the corporate trustee of Te Ohu Kaimoana Trust]. Whether it is unusual for the costs paid to a reviewer of a statutory review to be kept from the public or not is moot. The committee contractually agreed to confidentiality and that bounds Te Ohu Kaimoana Trustee Limited too, despite Te Ohu holding the purse,’’ a spokesman said.

Labour’s fisheries spokesman Rino Tirikatene considered the cost of the report ‘‘outrageous’’ and ‘‘not justified’’. He understood Castle was selected from a shortlist of three candidates. He is concerned the fisheries structure, which was hard won after heated debate, may be ‘‘thrown away’’.

‘‘I don’t really rate his report,’’ he added.

The four entities under review were the Te Ohu Kaimoana Trust, which has transferred assets worth more than $500m to iwi, Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd, Te Wai Maori Trustee Ltd and Te Putea Whakatupu Trustee Ltd. They were established in 2004 to allocate the Maori Fisheries Settlement.

Castle recommended iwi be given responsibility for overseeing Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd, which owns half of Sealord. And a ban on iwi selling their settlement assets should also be lifted.

Meetings will be held to discuss their fate, with a final decision in June.