Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister for Oceans and Fisheries): The Government's plan to revitalise the Hauraki Gulf announced today includes just under a threefold increase in marine protected areas, plus a significant reduction in the areas open to bottom trawling and Danish seine fishing, plus restrictions on scallop dredging, plus habitat restoration. All of these actions are supported by a cross-agency implementation plan, with a new monitoring and reporting approach to enable changes to this strategy if we're not satisfied with progress. I note the Hauraki Gulf Forum today welcomed the Government's announcement, calling it "an important first step" towards the desired 30 percent of marine area protection. Today's announcement, in my view, is a milestone that ought not to be understated.