Sage EugenieEUGENIE SAGE (Green): I am pleased to take a call in this final stage of the Hurunui/Kaikōura Earthquakes Emergency Relief Bill. I think I will start with Kaikōura Harbour and the significant works that are going to be undertaken there. I would just encourage the Minister of Conservation because the Department of Conservation holds considerable information about the marine life and the natural character and values of the coast to actually contribute that information to the process of deciding how the dredging and blasting work is to be undertaken. The Minister Gerry Brownlee said that is starting next week. That is great in terms of getting boats back into the boat harbour. Engineers can do some things but they need to actually recognise the importance of the Kaikōura Peninsula—not just because of its natural values but because of its habitat for fur seals and a lot of seabirds the distinctive cast limestone landforms its cultural significance to Ngāi Tahu—to ensure that those blasting works which will potentially obliterate some significant rock outcrops in the harbour area are undertaken with as much sensitivity as possible in terms of reducing the effects on the marine environment. The Department of Conservation has a lot of information and it would encourage the Minister to ensure that that contributes to the process.One of the things also in terms of the third bill that the Local Government and Environment Committee will be dealing with next week is an issue that the submitters particularly from the pāua industry highlighted on this bill. It was really unclear in terms of official advice what the status is of works that are being done by contractors for the network utility operators particularly in terms of State Highway 1 the New Zealand Transport Agency and the main trunk railway line in relation to spoil.We all know the damage that the pāua industry has suffered because of the major uplift of the seabed exposing a lot of the pāua brood stocks and the efforts that have been made to rehabilitate pāua by taking them and putting them in deeper water but the industry is very concerned that if spoil is just simply pushed over the side because it is economically less costly to do that then there will potentially be major impacts on remaining areas of coast where the pāua still exist. So there needs to be quite a careful assessment process. It may well be that some spoil is deposited on the foreshore in uplifted areas but there needs to be an assessment of where that spoil is going to go. What the debate in select committee and submissions highlighted is that it is unclear whether Transport Agency contractors and others will be using the emergency powers under the Resource Management Act to do that spoil dumping or whether we need in the third piece of legislation to actually constrain that to ensure that it is done in an appropriate way and that what may seem less costly and economically efficient in the short term does not undermine the reputation that Kaikōura has for a very special coast and marine environment. The scale of the spoil that is along State Highway 1 and the railway line—those big landslides—means that if it is just pushed into the sea and on to the foreshore there will be potentially major sediment plumes in the water it will smother areas of shellfish and remaining pāua stocks and it will have quite significant ecological effects. I hope that the Local Government and Environment Committee looks at how that is dealt with and just clarifies what the law will be around how the spoil is disposed of particularly around the south of the town where it does look like there is the ability to get the road open in the short term. I hope that there is a thoughtful decision-making process there which enables the transport links to be restored as quickly as possible but ensures that all options are considered and that the values of that coast—not just for transport but for the nature tourism industry and for the fisheries sector—also come into play in terms of decisions.We are pleased to support the bill and would encourage all parties to consider the constructive approach that we have had on this bill when it comes to the subsequent piece of legislation. Thank you.