Korako Nuk: Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) (Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKorako Nuk: Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) (Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 23 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4644. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]NUK KORAKO (National):Āe e mihi atu ki a koe e te Mana Whakawā ā huri noa i te Whare tēnei Whare Pāremata e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.[Yes I acknowledge you Mr Assistant Speaker and all of you throughout the House this House of Parliament.]Before I talk about this particular bill I just want to acknowledge the passing of the Rt Hon Sir William Birch’s wife Lady Rosa who passed away yesterday. So I am just thinking of Sir William and also his whānau at this time.I rise to support the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) (Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill. I will be ticking off another parliamentary milestone today in the fact that this is the first bill that I have seen go right through the legislative process. I spoke on the first reading. I sat on the select committee. I spoke on the second reading and now I speak as the final speaker to hopefully allow it to be passed through into law.As the final speaker on the bill I want to summarise the situation that necessitated this bill the details of what it does and finally give the broader picture. I do acknowledge members from both sides of the House and particularly the previous speaker Su’a William Sio who spoke about responsibilities around legislation the role of the Opposition and the role of those in Government.When National first came into Government in 2008 there was no regulatory regime in place to protect our oceans. I think that is really a major point in this whole process. Our exclusive economic zone which is very vast over 4 million square kilometres really does contain some untapped potential. As a Government that is committed to improving the lives of New Zealanders creating jobs and lifting income levels we are committed to making the best use of those resources and that should be a commitment from all members of this House.What we should also be doing—and it is what we have actually done and it is a reflection of this bill—is making economic use of the exclusive economic zone. We understand that this carries a risk to the environment. So it is vital that we protect this vulnerable environment—it is very very vulnerable. We need to try to minimise as much as possible the environmental risks. So this is what National did. National introduced the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act. So this is the one that we are amending. We put in place for this country for the first time the first comprehensive regulatory regime of the exclusive economic zone. I think that milestone is really important to highlight in this final reading.The Act we are amending here was indeed a major reform. It was a very significant and a very complex piece of legislation. In fact there were not 121 pages; there were 129 pages. So it is no surprise that there have been unintended consequences. The provisions around the transitioning of the four current platform operators into this new regime have not been as clear as they could have been—this is major legislation; very comprehensive containing 129 pages. Granted it would have been nice to see Shell Todd Oil Services allowing much more time between its application for consent and the expiry of its current permit. If the permit had not been granted in time Shell Todd Oil Services would have had to cease operations immediately. The effect of course—and we have heard this right across the House—would have been major as 20 percent of New Zealand’s gas would have been in jeopardy. The supply would have stopped.This is an essential resource which many families and businesses rely on and I know that previous speakers from the other side of the House have said we are using that as an excuse in part for having to amend this Act. That may be so but at the end of the day it is not just to protect only those people who would have suffered drastically if we just completely shut it down immediately. It was that situation that we addressed but as I said previously there are a number of other reasons why we needed to amend this Act. If the permit had not been granted in time Shell Todd Oil Services would have had to cease operations immediately and then it would have been mayhem particularly for a number of New Zealand families and businesses. That is why part of this amendment is really really important.Shell Todd Oil Services has now been granted the consent. We all understand that. There are weeks before that expiry—only weeks—but there is an appeals process and we understand that as well. But I think looking at the bill and the appeals process it cannot hold up the actual pathway travel of the permit itself. I think that is also a really important part of this legislation.This bill does not just ensure the continuity of gas supply while any appeals regarding Shell Todd Oil Services or the other three consents are heard. It also ensures that there is a sensible transitional process in place for the remaining three other operators. We have really heard only about Shell Todd Oil Services. The other companies are Australian Worldwide Exploration OMV New Zealand and Origin Energy Resources. They will still be required to lodge their applications for consent at least 9 months before the current permits expire provided that the Environmental Protection Authority accepts an application as complete. In addition if any appeals are lodged the current permits will continue to apply until they have been heard and the final decisions made.As the final speaker I want to as everyone else has done acknowledge the submitters. There was a good cross-section of submitters and I suppose it is all about quality as opposed to quantity. There were very few but they covered major stakeholders within the industry major stakeholders who were tangata whenua and mana whenua and they are really active groups that share the same whakaaro the same things that we on this side of the House really do believe are very very important to the sustainability of our environment. I acknowledge the other members on the Local Government and Environment Committee and of course our very able chair Scott Simpson.Finally we are here today because the Government has introduced a bill that was long overdue. That is why we are here. We have a proper regulatory regime for our oceans and for the first time in our history environmental risks in the exclusive economic zone must be assessed and managed. This was a great step forward I believe and one that makes me proud to be a National Party MP and a blue-green. Our natural environment is our greatest asset. National’s successful economic and environmental policies must go hand in hand. This is another milestone in that journey.