O'Rourke Denis: Antarctica (Environmental Protection: Liability Annex) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Rourke Denis: Antarctica (Environmental Protection: Liability Annex) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Third Reading[Sitting date: 04 December 2012. Volume:686;Page:7089. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DENIS O’ROURKE (NZ First): New Zealand First is also very happy indeed to support this bill the Antarctica (Environmental Protection: Liability Annex) Amendment Bill. I note that the main provisions of it are first of all that it requires operators to take prompt effective action when environmental emergencies arise from their activities and those activities of course are increasing every day in that part of the world. New Zealand operators must notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade if they cause or discover an environmental emergency. If an operator fails to do so then another annex party may do so and the New Zealand operator would then have to reimburse those costs. Where no annex party takes any such action the High Court in New Zealand may order the operator to pay an amount representing the costs that would have been incurred had prompt and effective response action been taken. That amount of course is paid into the environmental protection fund administered by the Antarctic Treaty secretariat.The bill also sets out the situations in which an operator is exempt from liability and imposes a financial limit on liability. I am pleased to see that the liability is strict and attaches to both State and non-State operators. I am pleased also to see that the bill removes the requirement for the Attorney-General to consent to civil proceedingsagainst operators since the bill aims to facilitate such actions and requiring the Attorney-General’s approval would be seen as a barrier. I think that those objectives are just what we should be doing in Antarctica and I think it is a good start. Of course a lot more needs to be done.New Zealand has had a very long association with Antarctica. That began of course many years ago—over a century ago now—with the Scott and Shackleton expeditions which were very much supported in New Zealand and in particular where I come from in Christchurch. I remember the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year there—I was just a young child then—and being taken out toHarewood to see theGlobemasters and the other aircraft that were being used in the Antarctic. New Zealanders were then and still are very enthusiastic about New Zealand’s involvement in the Antarctic and seeing that it is kept as a place for peaceful activities and where the environment should be protected. New Zealand has always had a leadership role to play and that continues today. It was one of the first signatories to the 1959 treaty and has maintained an active presence since. New Zealand must always continue to show leadership in the Antarctic and we must always maintain our presence there at Scott Base. I think it is an investment very well made.The issue today of course is the threat to the Antarctic environment from some of the activities we are seeing there. As I have said I am therefore very pleased indeed to see New Zealand support a strict liability regime for operators in the Antarctic. That is no less than should be done and as I have already also said this bill is really only a beginning. It is a very good beginning and New Zealand First is enthusiastic about supporting it but we do think more needs to be done especially in the supervision of activities of all parties in the Antarctic to see that its environment is maintained and protected. The same effort of course should really be put into the huge oceanic area in New Zealand’s economic zone but that is another issue. For the time being New Zealand First will be very happy indeed to support this bill and would like to encourage further action by the Government to ensure New Zealand plays its part in the future in the protection of the Antarctic environment.