Hobbs Marian: Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Stockholm Convention) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Hobbs Marian: Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Stockholm Convention) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:606;Page:3657] 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS (Minister for the Environment) 
: 
 I move  
That the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Stockholm Convention) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be referred to the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee for consideration with an instruction that the committee report back to the House by 8 May 2003.  
The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Stockholm Convention) Amendment Bill together with certain amendments to the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Amendment Bill will enable New Zealand to ratify the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The purpose of the Stockholm convention is to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutant chemicals—or “POPs” as they are commonly referred to; and that is not affectionately. 
New Zealand became a signatory to the Stockholm convention on 23 May 2001. The convention will come into force once the 50th country ratifies. We are very close to having that number of countries ratifying. I think we are up to the late 40s and it is this Government’s intention that New Zealand become a ratified party as soon as practicable. Between 23 May 2001 and today these two conventions—the Stockholm and Rotterdam conventions—were considered by the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee. The committee found that there were significant advantages and no disadvantages to New Zealand ratifying the two conventions. So already we have been through a select committee process that has looked at the conventions. We have weighed up advantages and disadvantages and said: “Let’s go to it.” and having been given that advice from the committee we are now doing the necessary amendments to the legislation in order that we are able to ratify the conventions.  
This bill is necessary because the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act while providing a general framework for compliance with the Stockholm convention’s requirements does not guarantee that prohibitions on the import use and manufacture of persistent organic pollutants will be put in place and maintained as required by the convention. Therefore an amendment to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act is needed to prohibit as a matter of course the import manufacture and use of the persistent organic pollutant substances listed in the convention. This bill prohibits the manufacture import or use with specific exemptions of the 10 persistent organic pollutant substances currently listed in the Stockholm convention. As the Minister in the previous debate mentioned the 10 chemicals are: aldrin chlordane DDT dieldrin endrin heptachlor hexachlorobenzene mirex toxaphene and polychlorinated biphenyls. Each chemical has the characteristics of being environmentally persistent of being toxic of being bioaccumulative and of being able to be transported by the movement of air water and migratory species to places far from their original point of release. With the exception of small quantities of polychlorinated biphenyls still in use by the electrical sector in New Zealand and subjected to a regulated phase-out timetable New Zealand does not use these toxic and bioaccumulative chemicals and has no need of them.  
New Zealand intends to implement the Stockholm convention fully. The benefits of ratifying the convention and implementing it through this bill include the protection of the health of New Zealanders now and in the future by reducing exposure to persistent organic pollutants; safeguarding the quality of food especially meat and dairy products; strengthening and protecting New Zealand’s clean green image; and addressing persistent organic pollutant chemical stockpiles wastes and contaminated sites—orphan or otherwise. 
 I note that a parallel bill the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Amendment Bill which gives effect to the export prohibition requirements of the Stockholm convention has been introduced and given a first reading by my colleague the Hon John Tamihere.  
I will now briefly outline the key provisions of the present bill which provides amendments to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act. As I noted earlier the main purpose of this bill is to provide for the absolute prohibition of the manufacture import or use of persistent organic pollutants in Annex A and Annex B of the Stockholm convention unless specific exemptions have been granted in accordance with that convention. All prohibited chemicals and any exemptions together with the expiry dates are recorded in new schedule 2A of the bill. In fact members will see that the bill is largely made up of annexures and schedules. The only specific exemption granted is for the continued use for a limited time of polychlorinated biphenyls already approved under the Toxic Substances Regulations. 
There are three further more general exemptions provided for in the Stockholm convention that apply to each persistent organic pollutant chemical. The Environmental Risk Management Authority can approve small amounts of a persistent organic pollutant chemical to be imported or manufactured in containment—firstly for use as analytical standards and secondly for research in a laboratory. The third exemption provides for the importation of persistent organic pollutants for the purpose of environmentally sound disposal; and I understand that is if somebody from the Pacific Islands wanted to bring material over to us. This will enable a treatment service to operate in New Zealand and import persistent organic pollutant chemical waste for the purpose of environmentally sound destruction disposal. Where the manufacture import or use of a persistent organic pollutant chemical is prohibited in New Zealand—that is there are no exempted uses recorded in new schedule 2A or an exempted-use has expired—the Environmental Risk Management Authority can issue a direction requiring any amounts of the substance already in New Zealand to be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.  
Because additional substances may be added to the annexures of the Stockholm convention—this was a point Dr Lockwood Smith was making—the bill contains an Order in Council mechanism enabling persistent organic pollutant chemicals that are added to the convention to be included in new schedule 2A of the hazardous substances legislation. Any exemptions permitted by the convention which New Zealand decides to adopt can also be added. This mechanism also allows the Environmental Risk Management Authority to approve the import and manufacture of a persistent organic pollutant for use during a foreseeable emergency—such as the use of DDT in the event of a malaria outbreak. Any such emergency use must however be approved in accordance with the rules of the Stockholm convention.  
In conclusion the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Stockholm Convention) Amendment Bill together with certain amendments to the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Amendment Bill will enable New Zealand to ratify the Stockholm convention. We did want to do this at Johannesburg but because of the weight of legislation going through the House we did not meet our commitments to get the bill through in the legislative timetable. I am quite sad about that. However New Zealand will be able to ratify the convention and be within the first 50 nations to do so. In company with the global community New Zealand will act responsibly. We will commit to eliminate the use of persistent organic pollutant substances to meet other Stockholm convention obligations thereby protecting the health of New Zealanders and strengthening New Zealand’s image. I wish to emphasise that the Stockholm convention enjoys an almost unparalleled level of support among United Nation countries. It is supported by the chemical industry and by the full spectrum of non-governmental organisations concerned with the safe use of chemicals the protection of human health and the environment.  
It is hoped that the passage of this bill and of the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Amendment Bill will proceed expeditiously through the House so we can ratify the convention.