McAnulty KieranSEVERE WEATHER EMERGENCY LEGISLATION BILLSecond ReadingHon KIERAN McANULTY (Minister for Emergency Management): Thank you Mr Speaker. After consultation with the Business Committee I seek leave to present a legislative statement on the Severe Weather Emergency Legislation Bill.SPEAKER: Leave is sought for that course of action. Is there any objection? There appears to be none. Hon KIERAN McANULTY: I move that the Severe Weather Emergency Legislation Bill be now read a second time. The recent—SPEAKER: Sorry to interrupt; I missed a piece out. That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon KIERAN McANULTY: Thank you Mr Speaker. I move That the Severe Weather Emergency Legislation Bill be now read a second time.The recent extreme weather events in the North Island have affected the lives of many and have had significant impacts on many communities. They have caused widespread damage to land waterways infrastructure and roading. We need to ensure that the legislative powers needed for response and recovery are available. We also need to ensure that our local authorities and civil defence emergency management groups including those outside of the affected area can prepare for and respond to future emergencies.This bill is intended to make urgent changes to assist councils and communities with the recovery in the areas that have been affected by recent weather events. It will also enable all councils to take immediate action to improve resilience to future weather events. The bill will make urgent direct amendments to the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 the Local Government Act 2002 the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) the Food Act 2014 and Food Regulations 2014 to provide relief to those people who are in communities affected by the severe weather. This will support recovery and provide authorities with the powers necessary to facilitate an efficient timely and effective recovery. In particular the amendments will help local councils with their planning and decision making allow for concurrent declarations of states of emergency and transition periods and enable remote attendance at meetings. I would like to thank the Governance and Administration Committee for considering this bill in a short period of time to ensure that we can get the changes in place to support those who are affected by the severe weather events. Despite the short process the committee was able to call for submissions from interested parties and received 14 written submissions and 13 oral submissions. I also want to express my thanks for the cross-party support of this bill and the hard work of officials overnight to get this ready for us today. The Governance and Administration Committee heard broad support for the amendments to the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act and the Local Government Act to allow for meetings to be attended via audio or visual link and to enable councils to make long-term plan amendments relating to water services. The audio or visual link amendment is particularly useful for people who are unable to attend in person due to the damage to roads and to bridges. Some of our submitters supported this provision being made permanent. This change doesn't fall into the scope of this bill but it's something that I am considering in future.Some submitters asked for greater consideration of iwi and Māori interests in the bill particularly around engagement with emergency management processes and upholding the obligations that the Crown has under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I am proposing some changes to the bill to reflect those concerns. I want to acknowledge the work undertaken and the response to date by tangata whenua—the resources that have been organised and the difficult on-the-ground support provided to assist in the response and recovery from these events. Although some of the issues raised are out of scope of the bill we acknowledge these considerations and they will be addressed in future emergency management legislation.Submitters were concerned about adverse effects in the coastal marine area and potential damage or impacts to sites of cultural significance for Māori caused by recovery work. To mitigate this risk I intend to propose a Supplementary Order Paper to amend the bill so that activities undertaken in coastal marine areas are not permitted and activities on a culturally significant site can only be undertaken with the prior written consent of local iwi and hapū.Submitters and the select committee have recommended additional changes to the bill relating to the RMA to incorporate additional environmental safeguards and also flexibility in certain provisions to reflect the practical realities of those undertaking emergency works and relief activities on the ground.The changes in Part 4 of the bill enable rural landowners and occupiers to undertake permitted activities to repair or prevent damage on their land. Currently there aren't restrictions on these activities going beyond the boundaries of the owner's or occupier's land. I propose to amend the bill so that permitted activities could not cause significant adverse effects beyond those boundaries. This is aligned with a similar modification in the Hurunui/Kaikōura Earthquakes Emergency Relief Act. I also propose to amend the bill so that rural urupā papa kāinga and marae are included in the areas where permitted activities can be undertaken.This bill is intended to assist people their communities iwi and hapū and local authorities with the recovery to improve resilience for the areas affected by severe weather events. It also enables all councils to take immediate action to improve resilience to future weather events. We all want the best for these affected communities. The select committee has identified where there is more work to be done on targeted legislative changes to further enable the recovery. The Government's intention is to progress these recommendations through further legislation in the coming weeks. This will be using similar tools to those deployed past Hurunui and Kaikōura.I again want to acknowledge the officials that have worked diligently and advised us well on this bill despite very tight time frames. They have demonstrated their professionalism and expertise in assisting both Ministers and the select committee. I am grateful for their work to get this bill to where it is and therefore I am pleased to commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Poto Williams): The question is that the motion be agreed to.