Sage Eugenie: Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sage Eugenie: Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 21 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4612. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
EUGENIE SAGE (Green) 
: 
 I would like to make just some brief comments in relation to the cultural impact assessments and Supplementary Order Paper 101 which is in my name. The Local Government and Environment Committee had very strong submissions from iwi supporting the need for environmental management of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf but highlighting the need for quite major changes to the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill if the Crown was to meet its Treaty obligations and particularly the principles of partnership active protection recognition of rangatiratanga and active participation in decision making. We recognised that the Minister for the Environment’s Supplementary Order Paper 100 with its changes to clause 59 certainly provides for the Environmental Protection Authority to take account of any advice it receives from the Maori advisory committee. 
But this is not enough and it is not early enough in the process. There needs to be another mechanism and that is why my Supplementary Order Paper 101 provides for changes to have cultural impact assessments. This will be a mechanism that would ensure that applicants engage with iwi in developing their application. As Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu noted in their submission to the Local Government and Environment Committee “There is likely to be a low level of understanding of iwi interests and associations with the marine environment amongst applicants and potentially EPA staff.” So the Supplementary Order Paper provides for cultural impact assessments as quite a practical mechanism for both applicants and the Environmental Protection Authority to be in a position to adequately identify effects on cultural values and then identify ways of avoiding remedying or mitigating those effects in a manner that reflects tikanga and incorporates an iwi perspective. 
 These cultural impact assessments are increasingly used in applications for water takes so requiring applicants to include a cultural impact assessment as part of their whole impact assessment for a marine consent application by amending clause 40 would give the Environmental Protection Authority the confidence that that impact assessment properly reflected an iwi perspective. It would also in the process of developing that cultural impact assessment provide a mechanism by which the applicant and iwi could really engage in some of the practical issues. 
The other matter I would just like to comment on in this call is Supplementary Order Paper 102 in Gareth Hughes’ name which provides for the contribution to climate change to be one of the list of matters that the Environmental Protection Authority takes into account when it is considering an application for a marine consent and submissions on that application. The Environmental Protection Authority is currently debarred from doing that by clause 59(6)(b) and that parallels a similar provision in the Resource Management Act. The rationale in the Resource Management Act for debarring consideration of contribution to climate change is that regional councils are dealing at the regional level and matters of climate change should be dealt with at the national level. But the Environmental Protection Authority is a Government agency that is working at the national level and it is responsible for environmental management at the national level. It is entirely appropriate then that it should be considering issues around climate change. That is why Gareth Hughes’ amendment seeks to rectify this situation and ensure that the very important issue of climate change is one of the list of considerations that the Environmental Protection Authority must take into account so I commend that Supplementary Order Paper. Thank you.