‘Economic Development’ is the name of the game for many iwi nowadays. But such development comes at a cost which RevHirini writes we need to be willing to pay, and cannot ignore.
Recently I was involved in a very, very small way with helping to house some exploited Indonesian fishing workers. They worked for South Korea’s largest fishing company, the Sajo Oyang Corporation. This corporation owns an industrial fishing fleet that works in the waters around our nation catching and then selling fish. And the global economy being what it is nowadays profit is the only determinant of quality, so getting the fishing done at minimum cost and maximum profit requires costs to be cut, especially the cost of the crew.
This has meant that the crews on these boats come from very poor countries (such as Indonesia) and are sometimes subject to terrible conditions and minimal (or even no) pay. The crew on the Oyang 77 were not paid for up to two years; six died when the Oyang 70 sank off the Otago in 2010; and the crew of the Oyang 75 were allegedly subject to physical and even sexual assault.
This has been the New Zealand fishing industry for some time now. Things are looking a little better for the future of the industry. Thanks to pressure from journalists, lawyers and unions from 2016 all vessels will have to be NZ flagged which means meeting NZ labour laws.
But really, who cares? We happily shop at outlets in this country stocked with cheap products made by exploited labour from all across the world and we never question it. To be honest we’re more likely to complain about the price of fish than to wonder how it got to us.
Another side of this story though is the future of Maori. In our current settlement/post-settlement environment we are constantly bombarded with iwi leaders telling us that it’s all about “economic development” and iwi need to be left alone to get on with developing their commercial interests that will benefit future generations. Fishing is a good example of this.
And it’s true. Fishing (and aquaculture) is a huge industry with an even bigger potential. It’s estimated that Maori own around $1.5 billion in fishing quota. The growing middle classes in China and developing countries can afford our kaimoana, with paua, for example, considered one of the four “heavenly Foods” in China. And this will create jobs and profits for iwi to reinvest in their own development. Good stuff.
But the reality is that there is a cost to this investment. Since the 2004 Maori fisheries settlement putea has been decentralised away from Te Ohu Kai Moana with 57 iwi developing their own fishing portfolios. Unfortunately that means 57 relatively small owners who can’t afford to invest in hugely expensive boats and still be economically competitive, so they… lease their quota out to foreign fishing companies like those that own the Oyang boats.
And it’s not just the economic exploitation but the environmental. Another ship, the No 1 Insung sunk in the Ross Sea near Antarctica with the loss of 22 crew. And the Ross Sea is one of the last unspoiled parts of the sea in the world which even the Americans(!) want to protect but because of its potential value to our fishing we (Maori included) want to exploit it more.
There’s no easy answer to this. While our people remain the poorest in the country it’s hard to argue against economic development, and the commercial realities are hard to get around. I know our Maori Anglican Church investments included shares in mining companies destroying the environment in Australia, and we happily lived off the returns for years. And those returns supported our work in the community.
But what we can do is be part of the decision. When you’re next at an iwi hui, or even talking to whanau around the kitchen table, make sure you know what your own people are doing. Be aware of the price others will pay for our development. And be sure we are willing to pay that price.
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Further Reading
The Oyang 75 story http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/korean-fishing-company-buys-off-complaining-crew-5119018
A movement established by a lawyer dedicated to justice http://www.slavefreeseas.org/Home/
Future changes for the industry http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/ban-foreign-fishing-vessels-not-enough-labour-4896916
