Labour is considering dumping plans to put cameras on fishing boats:
Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash said many in the fishing industry were unhappy with the camera proposal and all options were on the table - including dumping it entirely.
One of Mr Nash's first moves when he became the Fisheries Minister was to put the brakes on the rollout of electronic monitoring of the commercial fishing fleet.
The former National government came up with the plan last year, saying it would protect the sustainability of fish stocks and act as a deterrent against illegal activity, like fish dumping.
But Mr Nash said National forced it upon the sector, and he was getting advice from officials on what should be done.
"There are certainly concerns in the industry that there hasn't been a proper process followed and a complete and utter lack of consultation.
...which is like a burglar complaining about a "lack of consultation" when people install burglar alarms. Because that is what is going on here: an industry which is 80% criminal and which has relied for decades on regulatory capture to get away with serious criminal behaviour is finally looking at being properly regulated. So naturally, they are squealing about it. The government should ignore that squealing, regulate the fuckers, and target the loudest for investigation since they obviously have something to hide.
...and I'd expect the Greens to be demanding this of their "partners". Because this is fundamentally about environmental crime, and the Greens should not let NZ First and Labour turn a blind eye to it like they did in the past.
