UPDATE: the Select Committee tried to dodge your submissions

It has come to our attention that the link we shared with you on Saturday was changed very quickly after we sent it to you.

We were very concerned that this would result in fewer submissions and reached out to the Select Committee to enquire why this had happened.

They said it was part of a planned outage on the site, but that doesn't explain why the link address was changed.

A brief recap:

This is about the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill.

It proposes that only Māori be allowed to fish, trawl, and gather seafood in the Gulf.

We have drafted a template response below that you are welcome to use, or write your own:

I support the proposed extensions of the two existing marine reserves: Cape Rodney – Okakari Point Marine Reserve (Goat Island) near Leigh and the Whanganui A Hei (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve on the Coromandel Peninsula – where all fishing, trawling and harvesting of seafood is banned for all people.
I oppose the proposed Seabed Protection Areas, which allow ‘customary rights’ to be exercised by tangata whenua, while banning all other New Zealanders or visitors. Instead, I would support these areas of seabed being protected from all people and visitors, no matter their identity or ancestral lines.
I oppose the 12 proposed 'Highly Protected Areas’, which allow ‘customary rights’ to be exercised by tangata whenua, while banning all other New Zealanders or visitors. Instead, I would support these areas being made marine reserves, and thereby protected from all people and visitors, no matter their identity or ancestral lines.

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