INVESTING IN THE MINISTRY ORGANISATION

Our mission

"To be the guardian of the multitudes of Tangaroa"

Our mission is expressed by our Maori name – Te Tautiaki i nga tini a Tangaroa – which means ‘the guardian of the multitudes of Tangaroa’.

Our values are:

• We are proud to be part of the New Zealand Public Service and will maintain the highest standards of professional behaviour. We will:
• fulfil our lawful obligations to government with professionalism and integrity
• perform our official duties honestly, faithfully and effectively, respecting the rights and interests of the public and our colleagues
• not bring the Ministry or the public service into disrepute through our private activities.
  
• We recognise the status of Ma – ori as tangata whenua.
  Our behaviour will, at all times, be consistent with the responsibilities of the Crown as partner to the Treaty of Waitangi and our specific legal obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi (Fisheries Claims) Settlement Act 1992, the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004 and the Fisheries Act 1996.

In our day-to-day work, we will act in ways consistent with our behavioural values:

• Leadership: We will develop effective and innovative ways to help people contribute to, and support, the Ministry deliver on its mission
  
• Relationships and People: We will develop, internally and externally, constructive and collaborative relationships built on trust
  
• Working in Teams: We will share information and knowledge through exceptional teamwork and networking
  
• Achieving Results: We will create an organisation that encourages and recognises people’s contribution to our achievements and dedication to our mission.

The Ministry has been given significant additional resources for delivery of services in the past five years. Generally these increases have occurred for frontline services. The infrastructure of the Ministry has not been developed at the same pace as service growth. This SOI outlines a number of initiatives to ensure the Ministry will improve performance while ensuring longer term capability is developed.

Aligning the Organisation with SOI Priorities

This SOI signals a number of developments in services, and expanded activities. This coincides with the appointment of the new Chief Executive. The Ministry will be aligned to ensure the SOI can be implemented. This alignment includes the move to a flatter reporting structure at the senior level of the Ministry.
New accountability arrangements are expected to be in place by the start of the 2005/06 year and these will be available on the Ministry’s website: www.fish.govt.nz

The objective for the organisation alignment is to achieve better integration of our wide range of services, with clear lines of accountability.

Improvements to Infrastructure

Work has commenced and will continue in the 2006/07 year, on the core infrastructure of the Ministry. Investments in systems, information and development of staff are required to ensure Ministry personnel can work in the way envisaged by the SOI.

Ministry Information Systems

Delivery of relevant information to stakeholders and Ministry staff is critical. During 2004/05 the strategy for information has been developed and initial projects are now underway to enhance the performance of the Ministry. In future years, increased focus on information on fisheries will be achieved.

Initiatives include:

• new records and document management systems and procedures to maintain historical records, and access new information
• new core financial systems to replace those originally installed in 1995
• tangata whenua and stakeholder relationship management system to ensure we have accurate and nationally consistent information to support Ministry engagement with tangata whenua and stakeholders. 

The way we work

Initiatives are underway to address workplace improvements.
These include:

• handling of feedback and complaints will follow a new nationally monitored complaints policy and process
• implementation of workforce planning in the Ministry
• improved management capability, building on work in 2001/02 with a skill development programme
• upgraded and efficient office accommodation for fisheries operations and compliance services at Nelson
• re-alignment work on compliance services
• ongoing focus on culture and working in a constructive way
• implementation of efficient office accommodation for Wellington CBD-based staff
• improved integration of Ministry work processes to support the objectives-based approach to fisheries management.

Pou Hononga

The Ministry of Fisheries is implementing the Deed of Settlement Implementation Programme (DoSIP) to “...establish capacity and capability to build effective working relationships with iwi and hapu- as a platform for effective input and participation of tangata whenua in fisheries management processes”.

The primary mechanism for building these relationships is through the establishment and operation of regional fisheries forums by relationship managers (Pou Hononga).

Pou Hononga have been appointed to work with each regional forum to develop effective relationships with Ma- ori.
The role of Pou Hononga is to manage the Ministry/tangata whenua relationship at the regional level (eg assisting the flow of information and working closely with the Ministry’s Senior Fisheries Management Advisors in the region so the advisors and other Ministry business groups, as appropriate, can engage with tangata whenua at appropriate times), and to establish and organise the regional fisheries forums.

Pou Hononga will also assist Ministry staff by providing advice on at what stage they should engage with tangata whenua and how this should best be done. Where forums are not established, the Ministry will still need to engage with tangata whenua in the region and Pou Hononga will assist in that engagement. In addition, Pou Hononga will help with the appointment of Kaitiaki and the notification of boundaries under the customary fishing regulations.

Establishment of effective relationships with tangata whenua is crucial if the DoSIP is to be a success.

Extension officers

A key idea behind regional fisheries forums is to facilitate the development of a common policy and management approach to fisheries matters for the region. If participating representatives of the iwi and hapu- are well prepared, the forums can focus on the more significant issues of common interest for the region.
To assist in this, the longer term plan is for each region/forum to have an extension officer with the role of assisting each of the hapu- and iwi representatives in undertaking their role, including identifying their hapu- ’s key objectives and how they might be achieved, and helping them with any concerns they may have so that as many issues as possible can be resolved outside of the forum hui. The Ministry will initially employ the extension officers. Once the forums and governance arrangements across the iwi and hapu- are established, the extension officers could be contracted directly by the forum to assist the designated iwi/ hapu- representatives.

Establishment of the Chief Executive’s office

The revised SOI emphasises the importance of constructive engagement with stakeholders to achieve credible fisheries management.

Key to this will be the establishment of a Chief Executive’s office. The new team will provide an integrated support unit for the Chief Executive to facilitate improvements in the way we support the Minister’s office through ministerial servicing, relationship management with government and key stakeholders, and provision of significantly enlarged external communications capability. The team will also have responsibility for implementing a new feedback and complaints process.

Increase in ecosystem capability in the science group

The revised SOI signals an increased focus on improving the environmental performance of fisheries. It also states the Ministry’s intention to develop an approach to fisheries management based on outcomes and standards, and objectivesbased management including an assessment of risks and opportunities. These will see the Ministry and stakeholders working together to establish clear outcomes and standards for fisheries and the effects of fishing on the aquatic environment, and implementing measures to ensure the standards are met.
This will include explicit consideration of the point at which an effect of fishing becomes adverse. An increase in the ecosystem capability in the Ministry’s science group is essential to achieving this approach.