Simmonds PennyWASTE MINIMISATION (WASTE DISPOSAL LEVY) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon PENNY SIMMONDS (Minister for the Environment): I present a legislative statement on the Waste Minimisation (Waste Disposal Levy) Amendment Bill.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Teanau Tuiono): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on Parliament's website.Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: I move That the Waste Minimisation (Waste Disposal Levy) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. One of the Government's priorities is to improve and protect the environment from harm particularly focusing on the most harmful waste. The Government also wants to prevent the impact of and support recovery from extreme weather events. The Government wants to do this while achieving financial stability and sustainability across the public sector. This bill is a step towards this.The Government is changing the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 to allow the waste disposal levy to be spent on a wider range of activities and to increase the levy incrementally over three years from July 2025. Broadening the scope of the waste levy will help fund a more comprehensive set of Government waste and environmental priorities. These changes mean that as well as waste minimisation activities the levy can also support projects to improve fresh water quality remediate contaminated sites and restore the health of important New Zealand ecosystems. We will be able to fund waste reduction ways to reduce harm from waste resource recovery and reducing organic and construction and demolition wastes.Mr Speaker I wonder if you would indulge me moving away little from the bill at the moment because I feel as the MP from Invercargill I can't stand here talking about demolition waste without noting that this week in Invercargill as the pyramid museum was being demolished—the museum held a tuatara enclosure. That enclosure was closed and the tuatara were taken out of there in February 2023. But this week as the demolition was occurring four live baby tuataras were found in the enclosure. So what resilient little critters they are.However thank you for indulging me in that and I will return to the bill. The bill will mean that the levy funds can support local authorities with the costs of managing waste from emergencies. This includes supporting councils to repair or replace waste infrastructure damaged during emergencies. The levy will also fund the Ministry for the Environment's waste and hazardous substance responsibilities. This adjustment will achieve cost savings while contributing to improving and protecting the environment from harm. This is a pragmatic solution to the current fiscal situation to ensure that the Ministry's important work programme and environmental funding initiatives can continue. As well as broadening the scope of the levy the levy will continue to increase incrementally over the next three years from July 2025. For municipal landfills it will rise in $5 increments from $60 per tonne at 1 July 2024 to reach $75 per tonne on 1 July 2027. For construction and demolition landfills it will rise in $5 increments from $30 per tonne at 1 July 2024 to $45 per tonne on 1 July 2027. For managed or controlled landfills it will rise from $10 per tonne at 1 July 2024 to $15 per tonne from 1 July 2025 followed by a further increase to $20 per tonne on 1 July 2027. These levy increases will provide further incentives to reduce waste going to landfill as well as providing additional revenue towards Government waste and environmental priorities. This means central and local government can make a bigger impact on reducing waste and improving the environment. It means there's a stronger financial incentive for people and organisations to seek alternatives to landfill like reusing recycling and composting. The Government will focus on investing the levy in the most effective way and to fill gaps in New Zealand's waste infrastructure without crowding out the private sector. I will be particularly focused on measures to decrease construction and demolition waste so the levy changes support the building sector. Importantly the local government proportion of the levy will remain at 50 percent even with the increased revenue. Local government will continue to fund waste minimisation in line with their waste management and minimisation plans. This means councils can continue to invest in local solutions to reduce waste like education kerbside collections food waste redistribution schemes and supporting local business to reduce their waste. These changes will also support councils and communities to deal with the legacy of contaminated sites including historic landfills and other sites that are vulnerable to the effects of severe weather events.The changes will enable levy funds to support the remediation of these sites. The changes will mean that the Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund appropriation is replaced with levy funds. I also intend to substantially increase the amount of funding available for these remediation projects. It is estimated that there are hundreds of historic landfills and other contaminated sites vulnerable to the effects of severe weather so we need to tackle this proactively wherever possible. I know councils have been asking for more support. No one wants to see another Fox River landfill event where a 2019 severe storm spread waste along 21 kilometres metres of riverbed and 51 kilometres of coastline.The changes mean we can fix these sites before they cause a problem and support communities after severe weather events. The bill will also enable the Secretary for the Environment to approve the levy waiver for waste disposal from the remediation of contaminated sites and historic landfills meaning we will be able to further support local government and communities to get these sites cleaned up. The frequency and magnitude of emergency events is increasing partly due to the rise in severe weather events.To date the cost of managing waste caused by these events have been dealt with on an ad hoc basis. No standing funds were available to respond to community and council needs to deal with emergency waste. The changes will enable the Government to help fund the management of emergency waste including repairing or replacing waste infrastructure damaged during emergencies. This will reduce the financial burden of these events on both central and local government.The bill will enable levy funds to be used to support activities and responsibilities that address waste reduction reduced harm from waste and support other environmental outcomes. The bill will allow the waste disposal levy to be spent on a wider range of activities and to increase the levy incrementally over three years from 2025. The levy will also fund the Ministry for the Environment's waste and hazardous substances responsibilities allowing this important work to continue. This will contribute towards meeting the government's priorities while achieving fiscal savings. The bill will enable an increase in the funds available for contaminated site remediation which will benefit many communities. It will also enable the Government to help fund the management of emergency waste including repairing or replacing waste infrastructure damaged during emergencies. In addition territorial authorities will receive an increase in revenue from their levy allocation over the three-year period. I commend the bill to the House. The bill will be progressed under urgency through the House. The progression under urgency if the House agrees will allow the fiscal savings to be realised for the 2024-25 financial year.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Teanau Tuiono): The question is that the motion be agreed to.