Smith Nick: Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill — Referral to Commerce Committee In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSmith Nick: Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill — Referral to Commerce Committee In Committee[Sitting date: 10 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9266. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Conservation): I just have to take a call to expose some of the bunkum and contradictions that I have heard from members opposite. You see all year we listen to the argument that New Zealand needs to create jobs and wealth. There is wailing and moaning about the job opportunities in Australia and the number of people who are going there particularly to Western Australia and you have a Government that is committed to growing the mineral and the petroleum industries here in New Zealand and on every one of those tests members opposite say no—members opposite say no. I say to the Andrew Littles and the Damien O’Connors of the Labour Party—who I hoped would bring to this debate on the Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill a little bit of common sense and a little bit of balance—that they have let down middle New Zealand who are looking for jobs and looking for opportunities for wealth.Let me go through a few of the contradictions. The first of those that I challenge Mr Little on is this: for the 9 years that Labour was in Government there were no environmental rules about mining in the exclusive economic zone—zero. There were no environmental rules about mining in the exclusive economic zone. We did not hear a peep from the Greens or the Labour Party about this and I am proud to be part of a National Government that has put in place a law that requires consents for petroleum exploration and other activity that occurs within the exclusive economic zone—absolutely. The challenge I have for Mr Little and others on Labour’s side is this: if somebody has gone and got a consent from the Environmental Protection Authority to be able to explore to be able to do surveys of resources in those areas will Labour defend the rights of people to use those rights? That is the question.Let us read exactly what Supplementary Order Paper 205 which Mr Little objects to says. It says that it will be an offence for people to interfere intentionally with a person who is out exploring. What the Labour Party is effectively saying is that it thinks it is OK for people to interfere in people going about their lawful exploration activities.What Mr Little said was this: if people legitimately think that they are right they should be able to interfere. Well I have to say to Mr Little that there are New Zealand citizens who quite properly believe that there should be no exploration of petroleum or minerals anywhere. I have met those people. So because those people hold those legitimate views Mr Little are you saying that they can interfere and damage people’s property? I am proud to be part of a Government that says no.You see—Andrew Little: Why are you breaching the Convention on the Law of the Sea?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: It does not. It does not. I have read the Crown Law opinion that makes that point that Mr Little interjects with absolutely wrong—he is wrong. Let me put it this way. Let me put it just very simply for members about protest. It is absolutely their right for people to protest outside Parliament; it is absolutely the right of people to be able to protest outside my electorate office; but it is also the law set down very clearly in court decisions that they may not stop my legal right to be able to access Parliament or my legal right to be able to access my electorate office or other citizens and that is what this law is intended to do.Then I come to the contradictions. I stood on the electoral platform at the last election next to Maryan Street Labour’s environment spokesperson who said in respect of the Bathurst Resources mine on the West Coast: “Leave the coal in the hole.” That is what she said—“Leave the coal in the hole.” Now I have Damien O’Connor who purports to represent that community saying: “Oh no no no. They are in favour of Bathurst.” Well I simply say to the Labour Party that it is no wonder it is in Opposition. It is no wonder the public has no confidence in it when it does not even know its position and it sends such contradictory messages on those sorts of issues.The last point I would make is this: this bill provides for decisions made around minerals to be made jointly by me as the Minister of Conservation and the Minister of Energy and Resources. That is because we believe in balance. I will tell you something else. Actually we are a Government that agrees to work together. We are a blue-green Government. We have a balance of both conservation interests and economic interests.Hon Phil Goff: Yeah right. Ask Guy Salmon about it.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Mr Goff says that actually he does not agree with balance in these decisions. Well I actually stand up front as a Minister of Conservation who says this country needs prosperity this country needs jobs and we as a Government are going to make balanced decisions about how we create jobs how we use resources wisely and how we also ensure that we protect—Hon Phil Goff: Balanced decisions yeah—like mining in schedule 4 areas. That was balanced!Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I hear Mr Goff interjecting. I have a question for Mr Goff. Given all the rhetoric that I have heard in speeches from members of the Labour Party that mining in national parks is absolutely sacrosanct why did the Labour Government in 2006 approve the mine in the Paparoa National Park? I tabled the documents in Parliament where its Cabinet approved a mine in a national park and then they get up in this Chamber and pretend that somehow that is absolutely sacrosanct.This is a Government that is about jobs this is a Government about balanced environmental protection and this is a bill that is about New Zealand in an environmentally responsible way taking advantage of our minerals and our resources to create jobs and wealth which this country has to do if it is going to be able to provide that sort of future for New Zealanders. Members of the Labour Party who scream about jobs and about wealth and about higher pay are absolutely contradictory because every time a bill comes to this House to do anything to create jobs—whether it is the film industry whether it is the mining industry whether it is any area—Labour says no andthat is why it is completely out of touch with New Zealanders and their desire for growth and jobs in an environmentally responsible way.