Barry Maggie: Crown Minerals (Protection of Public Conservation Land Listed in the Fourth Schedule) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Barry Maggie: Crown Minerals (Protection of Public Conservation Land Listed in the Fourth Schedule) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Advance Copy - Subject to minor change before inclusion in Bound Volume.] 
MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore) 
: 
 I rise to speak against the Crown Minerals (Protection of Public Conservation Land Listed in the Fourth Schedule) Amendment Bill for much the same reasons as my colleagues. I do not see that there is any need for new laws. The bill is unnecessary. The legislation that we have currently covers the concerns of New Zealanders adequately and that was proven when we listened last year. It has been proven time and again that when the public speak we listen. We use the existing legislation well and there is no need for this bill. 
I would imagine that there are some small amendments that can be made. We are looking at some of the things that we are doing at the moment with the Crown Minerals Act. It provides sufficient safeguards for schedule 4 land but we are looking at fine-tuning aspects. I think that along with our overall commitment to develop resources while protecting the environment the regime that we are reviewing under the Crown Minerals Act which is over 20 years old and does need a bit of a tweak will ensure that we continue to balance economic benefits of exploration with safety and environmental concerns. 
 There are places in New Zealand that need careful and considered exploration. I look at Pike River and I see that the Pike River 29 may not be the only casualties; the economy of the West Coast will be too if we do not have the fortitude to look carefully at what we have. Although I appreciate that the Greens and to a certain extent Labour as well do not really want to go too much further into mineral exploration the West Coast and other parts of New Zealand deserve to be given the opportunity to look at what they have and to use the resources they have to continue to keep their young people there and to keep the skills within their communities and environment. So I urge that we do not do blanket bans and shut down the prospects we have for mineral exploration. I think that prospecting and looking at these things is what is required. Adding in unnecessary laws does no good at all. Section 61(5) of the Crown Minerals Act does require public consultation before any Order in Council is made to add or remove land. These things work— 
Denis O’Rourke 
: And adequate consultation. 
MAGGIE BARRY 
: Adequate consultation. This has worked in the past and it will work again. Have faith in democracy and in the ability of some politicians and political parties Mr O’Rourke to listen to what the people say because that is what we do and that is why we are back in Parliament for a second term. That is part of the lesson you could learn here coming in in the party that you have. 
Our consultation process has been effective and will continue to be so and I think that we have proved that time and again—democracy at work. When we look at what happens in the Act it prevents land that is classified as an ecological area or islands in the Mercury Islands group for example from being removed from schedule 4 through an Order in Council. These are precious places. These need to be protected and they are adequately protected. 
National is making great progress in improving energy and mineral resources regulation. There are a raft of things. The Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill is currently before the House and will go through one of the select committees that I sit on. It is an important environmental regime. The robust process it goes through at select committee level ensures that the legislation that comes before this House is actually able to do the job it is designed to do. 
The High Hazards Unit which we established within the Department of Labour is another excellent device. It is a dedicated unit of inspectors that oversees and regulates health and safety practices on oil and gas platforms and as well as that in geothermal installations mines tunnels and quarries. 
These are measures that we have brought in that are doing the job and doing it well unlike this proposed bill. After the 2010 consultation on schedule 4 we did decide that all the national parks and the other types of high conservation value lands that are listed there will remain protected from mining. We have said that and we are sticking to it. We listen to people. I think that the public consultation process is very adequate. I do not think we need this bill. I think it is unnecessary and that is why I speak against it. Thank you Mr Speaker.