Ministry of Fisheries Preparations for Inquiries

29 November 2002

The Chief Executive of the Ministry of Fisheries has established an Advisory Committee to oversee the work of the project team collecting information for the forthcoming inquiries by the Primary Production Select Committee and the State Services Commission into the management of New Zealand scampi fisheries.

Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections, Mark Byers and Neil Walter, recently retired Chief Executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, will join Ministry of Fisheries Chief Executive, Warwick Tuck on the committee.

"The Ministry's project team is well on track with the mammoth task of going back over 15 years of documents and pulling together our analysis and submissions for the two inquiries," said Mr Tuck. "We want both the Select Committee and the SSC to have complete access to all the information they need."

Mr Tuck said further resources would also be necessary to help meet the widespread public and news media interest in the two inquiries and the Ministry had contracted Network Communications to supplement the in-house communications resource of two people.

"Network's advice and specialist services will assist with the constructive approach the Ministry is taking to the inquiries, as well as helping us to inform various audiences of our management of New Zealand's fisheries," Mr Tuck said.

Ends

For more information please contact:

Alan Meek
Communications Manager
Ministry of Fisheries
04 494 2369