Dear Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, the Honourable David Seymour, and the Honourable Shane Jones,

You promised to defend the principle of equality before the law for all New Zealanders by rejecting the race-based agenda of the last Labour government.

The Environment Committee recently reported on the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill. Despite the substantial number of submissions from members of the public who consider it unfair to allow customary fishing in ‘High Protection Areas’, the Committee has retained provisions that ban commercial and recreational fishing from these areas, but continue to allow for customary fishing by tangata whenua.

If we are to truly address the Gulf's environmental challenges, 'no-take' marine reserves under the Marine Reserves Act are the gold-standard in protection. It is unnecessary to allow for customary fishing in these areas as over 80% of the Gulf will still be available for customary harvesting.

I urge you to stand firm in your pledge to defend the principle of equality before the law for all New Zealanders by removing all race-based provisions from the Bill.

Yours sincerely