Penk ChrisCHRIS PENK (National—Kaipara ki Mahurangi): Mr Speaker thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to the Maritime Transport (MARPOL Annex VI) Amendment Bill—just pausing on the annex VI" getting my Roman numerals correct there. It's interesting and enjoyable to be back in the House. I won't stray far from the bill but I am wearing blue and white today a little bit of a coincidence in terms of being a parochial Aucklander! I'm delighted none the less to be in Wellington for this particular purpose.So the maritime transport area in general is extremely important to New Zealand and indeed the world. Our place in the world is oftentimes defined by our isolation in geographical terms from the rest of that. That would be to place a negative construction on what is also a great opportunity in the sense that we are insulated from some of the worst effects of some of the environmental and other challenges of the world. But we also have a great opportunity as a small land nation but a large maritime nation.Maritime transport is hugely important to us and should be hugely important to us. It's largely been the subject of bipartisan consensus to legislate in these matters. I note that what we're doing today is having the Parliament agree with the Government in that we're passing domestic law to give effect to international obligations. So the Government of the day the executive thereof has signed up New Zealand—over the course of a number of years I should emphasise—to protocols conventions indeed in this space. So it's appropriate that the Parliament provides some means by which that law that obligation that we have on the international stage can be effective and effected here in New Zealand. Of course by "New Zealand" I mean not only the territorial landmass of New Zealand if you'll excuse the tautology but New Zealand as a whole more generally including of course its territorial sea exclusive economic zone and arguably New Zealand flagged ships further afield.So the bill itself as others have canvassed does a number of things that give effect to those maritime protection rules—maritime protection of course being reduced to the portmanteau word "MARPOL" as it's known in international legal terms. This is the ability to conduct inspections and audits to ensure compliance with those requirements. If we didn't give explicit authority in our law to allow inspections and so forth we'd have difficulty with more general prohibitions on search and seizure or intrusion more generally. That would be problematic. So it's appropriate for the Parliament to turn its mind to how we can legitimate activities that we do want to take place in order to meet various aims.The aims include the protection of trade economic interests and also the environment. So I don't think it's problematic to view the legislation as doing a number of different things not necessarily in conflict—although I would of course acknowledge that any time there are extra regulations or rules that apply to any sector then of course there is a burden of compliance for that. That's not a reason in balance to reject the legislation or to reject the idea of oversight and compliance in this space but I do note it and say that it's fair to acknowledge that for those who are most directly affected by it including that requirement to use low-sulphur fuels it is a major change being introduced across the globe.I note that the impetus for the bill includes not only the environment in the sense of the ecology of that magnificent place that is the ocean and ocean-adjacent environments but also in relation to human health. So we've talked previously and no doubt the select committee spoke notwithstanding that I wasn't there but I understand they discussed the importance of a clean-air environment such that negative health effects aren't caused unduly by emissions and other difficulties that are caused when we have obviously vessels being powered in the way that they generally are albeit that there's new technology coming on and available.So a number of different things to like about the legislation; certainly very necessary in this space for international reasons and on the domestic stage. I commend the bill to the House."