Woods MeganCROWN MINERALS AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingHon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Energy and Resources): I move That the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill be now read a third time. This Government is committed to ensuring that the regulatory system that manages New Zealand's Crown-owned minerals and the permitting regime that underpins these sectors is robust and fit for purpose. This bill seeks to clarify and update statutory provisions and to address gaps inconsistencies and errors with the Act. The changes in the bill will ensure that the identified regulatory gaps are closed it will ensure that there is clarity for regulators and for the industry around permitting and it will address inconsistencies in the Act. I'd like to acknowledge once again—as I have in earlier readings—and thank the Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee for its consideration of this important and technical piece of legislation. The committee received 11 written submissions and five submitters made oral submissions. The submissions came from industry participants environmental non-governmental organisations iwi and a legal professional body. I'd like to thank those who took the time to lodge a submission and those who appeared before the committee. Those insights have helped to ensure that the legislation is as clear and consistent as possible. Although this is a technical bill it is also an important one. It is important as it ensures that the Minister of Energy and Resources has appropriate oversight over change-of-control transactions. Under the current legislation a change of control of a permit participant does not require prior ministerial consent. This is not in line with the intent of the Act as it allows companies to transfer operator responsibilities with reduced Crown oversight. This bill closes that gap and ensures that a change of control of a permit operator of a tier 1 permit receives prior consent from the Minister. It also ensures that the Minister must be satisfied that a change of control of an operator will not affect the permit holder's ability to comply with an agreed work programme. The bill as introduced did not expressly provide for a situation where a change of control of a permit operator was commenced but not completed prior to the new provisions in the bill coming into effect. This could result in an unintentional breach of the new provisions of the Act. As many people in this House will be aware OMV entered into a sale and purchase agreement in March 2018 with Shell Investments NZ Ltd to purchase all of the share capital of four Shell companies that hold Shell's offshore petroleum assets in New Zealand. During the select committee process OMV raised concerns that in the event that the bill be passed even slightly before their sale and purchase agreement was confirmed OMV could inadvertently be in breach of the bill's prior notice requirements for a change of control of a permit operator. The select committee recommended inserting a new clause into the bill which would confirm that the current law on change of control will continue to apply to any change-of-control transaction entered into before the new provisions commence. This gives certainty and clarity to commercial transactions currently being undertaken. Another thing this bill does is provide clarity around clauses in the Act which could be interpreted in multiple ways or where the meaning of the clause is unclear. Legislation that is unclear may lead to confusion and unnecessary administrative burden for those regulating the petroleum minerals sectors and for the sectors themselves. For example the bill clarifies that a permit holder must have an access arrangement to undertake minimum impact activities on schedule 4 land and clarifies which Ministers enter into access agreements in respect of Crown land and land in the common marine and coastal area. Clarifications such as these will ensure that New Zealand's regulatory system works effectively for both regulators and the industry. Finally the bill addresses sections in the Crown Minerals Act where the wording of a clause is either inconsistent with another Act or inconsistent with the purpose of the clause. The bill enables amendments to be made to the minerals programme that are consequential on the changes made by the bill without complying with the public notice and submission process that would otherwise apply under sections 17 and 18 of the legislation. The changes in the bill have already been through an extensive public consultation process and it is not considered necessary to delay the update of the minerals programme by going through another consultation process on the same amendments. The new provision does not enable the introduction of new policy; it simply allows consequential changes to be made to the minerals programme. This Government is committed to a just transition to a net zero emissions economy. The recent changes in the Act via the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Bill to halt future offshore oil and gas exploration permits is a clear signal from the Government so that industry and New Zealand can begin to make this long-term managed transition. We acknowledge that there is a need to look at the wider Crown Minerals Act and ensure that it is future-proofed to meet the needs of all New Zealanders. This is why as previously stated we will be shortly undertaking a wider review of the Act which will involve engaging with iwi and other key stakeholders on how New Zealand can sustainably derive value from its natural resources. As I have said publicly a just transition means that the existing work programmes of permit holders won't be affected regardless of the decisions that have been made on the future of the oil and gas industry in New Zealand. That means that our current regulatory system must continue to effectively manage the permits that are currently in place. To do this the legislation must be robust and up to date. This bill will ensure that the regulatory regime that covers our Crown-owned minerals is fit for purpose. The bill will close gaps clarify unclear provisions and address inconsistencies currently under the Crown Minerals Act. This will ensure that we have a regulatory system that remains effective and efficient while at the same time it provides clear and transparent expectations to industry. Our goal is to have minerals and petroleum industries that responsibly deliver value to New Zealand and the amendments in this bill will help us to achieve this. I commend this bill to the House. Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker.