Doocey Matt: Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) (Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDoocey Matt: Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) (Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 16 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4437. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri): It is a pleasure to rise in support of this very important bill the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) (Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill. As I rise to speak to this bill and reflect on what I have heard through the second reading I have heard it all. Mr Cunliffe said in the second reading that this bill was a pooper scooper. That just reflects just how irresponsible this Opposition is because this bill reflects things that are important to New Zealanders—the environment and the economy.This National Government cares—it cares about the environment and it cares about the economy. That is why everyday New Zealanders trust us. They trust us to care about protecting the environment and they trust us to care about supporting the growth of our economy. I think they demonstrated very clearly in September last year whom they trust. They trust this National Government.In this speech I want to touch on a few key things that happened through the process that takes us up to this second reading. I must say as a new MP following this bill through that it has been a very informative and learning process seeing this bill go through its first reading and go back to the Local Government and Environment Committee hearing the submissions the learning from that and the discussions across the table and the very collegial decision-making that has formed a very smart piece of legislation.I want to touch on the flexibility of section 162 of the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012 and how that is a key to ensuring that there is investment certainty and business continuity in this sector. I also want to touch on how the consequences will play out in New Zealand if we do not get this bill right. I also want to talk about the specified time frames for applying for a marine consent and how very importantthat is to this whole bill.If we look at the consequences of not getting this bill correct we know through the regulatory impact statement that if Shell Todd Oil Services ceased to explore and extract gas that would have a significant impact on New Zealand’s economy. We know that Shell Todd Oil Services operates at the Māui gas field which is 26 percent of New Zealand’s gas supply. We also know that it is a big employer in the Taranaki region. I have my colleague to my right the very able MP for Taranaki - King Country Barbara Kuriger who her constituents can rest assured is already making a significant mark in Parliament and in her electorate. We know that Shell Todd Oil Services is a big employer of 300 people in the region so the gas sector is very important to New Zealand’s well-being the well-being of our environment and the well-being of our economy.It is very much the Pareto ratio. We know that the Pareto ratio is 80:20 and 80 percent of the gas consumed from Māui feeds 20 percent of sites which include petrochemical electricity generation and large industrial users that support our export economy. Every New Zealander knows that it is the export economy that drives forward the well-being the wealth and the success of this country and that it is something that we need to protect.The regulatory impact statement also clearly outlined how in 2011 when there was an outage in Māui for 5 days the knock-on effect of that—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member. The time has come for me to leave the Chair for the dinner break. This debate is interrupted and I shall resume the Chair at 7.30 p.m.Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.MATT DOOCEY: Before the dinner break I was talking about the consequences of this very important legislation and the consequences if we did not have this important bill. I was quoting the regulatory impact statement which acknowledges that in 2011 there was a 5-day outage in Māui and that the cost to gas consumers was over $200 million a day. At $40 million a day it is important and imperative that this legislation and these regimes are not only protecting the environment but our economy as well.A key issue of this bill in the select committee process was very much about the specified time frames and the time frames of applying for a marine consent. For a new MP to watch this process play out was very informative. There was a lot of learning and it was great to be part of that and to see how decisions are made based on the evidence put forward. The select committee sought advice to understand the different time frames that it could look at for this bill and very much it was about looking at what time frame an operator would need to submit their application for a marine consent.The first option—it was one of three the first being at 6 months. This looked quite an interesting suggestion. On first look it actually looked a very good one when it looked at the benchmarking compared with the current Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012 as well as benchmarking against the Resource Management Act with the date of 6 months around consenting. There was also a comparison made around the Crown Minerals Act with extending a mining permit around the 6-month mark. But where it came unstuck was around the need for 140 days which is the statutory time frame for the Environmental Protection Agency consideration and of course appeals and objections—140 days did not fit into the 6 months. Twelve months did seem quite a good period of time as well but possibly a bit too long so the select committee settled for the 9-month period for the time frame for the application for marine consent to be submitted which would allow for the full 140-day statutory time frame as well as 15 days allowed for appeals and objections.We did have five submissions and two of these were heard orally. We had Frack Free Kapiti and Beyond and they thought this seemed to be offering operators an open-ended time frame. This seemed to be a theme that came through a lot of the discussions. Also allowing existing operators to continue activities that might need to be mitigated against came through too. I would make reference to this National Government bringing in this Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act entirely for this reason: to regulate where previously there was no regulation.Having an open-ended time frame is important because something that Kiwis value—and our colleagues over in the Green Party would suggest it is only them and their members who have the best interests of the environment at heart but protecting supporting and enabling the environment is actually intrinsic to every Kiwi. It is intrinsic to every New Zealander. It is right to have an ability that is somewhat open-ended for any New Zealander who feels like they would like to make a submission around this marine consent to be heard. I welcome that and I think that is very good. It is very good for accessibility. It is very good for transparency and it is fantastic for public involvement as all New Zealanders want to protect their environment for the future and for their children.There was an issue around the flexibility of section 162 which provided a real uncertainty for investment for these petroleum operators but also around business continuity. We heard from one of the submitters who was supporting the industry the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand which was representing petroleum operators other stakeholders and individuals involved in the sector. I must say that at the end of the day I think the association had a leadership role that possibly it did not enact. So overall it is a great bill and I support it to the Committee. Thank you.