Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Copyright (New Technologies and Performers’ Rights) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Copyright (New Technologies and Performers’ Rights) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:643;Page:12636] 
Hon LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector) 
: 
 Kia ora talofa lava and warm Pacific greetings. It is my pleasure indeed to stand to speak in support of the Copyright (New Technologies and Performers’ Rights) Amendment Bill. I also want to thank the submitters and the Commerce Committee for their hard work and participation. 
The bill amends the Copyright Act 1994 and promotes a legal framework that guides the protection and use of copyright material. The bill creates a more flexible framework for technology to operate within the Copyright Act and will ensure the effective operation of the Copyright Act in the face of emerging technologies. The bill also clarifies the liabilities of Internet service providers and copyright infringement and it strengthens technical protection measures meaning copyright holders can better guard against piracy. 
Technology has vastly improved and our world is vastly different from the world of 1994 when the Copyright Act was passed. Indeed new technologies are changing the way our citizens here in New Zealand and the citizens of the world create share and interact with each other digitally and over the Internet. The ability for new media to be broadcast on the Internet and sent around the globe in seconds has existed for a few years but we are now seeing a real impact from this. Now everyone can broadcast and share new or existing material outside of and away from traditional media. There has been a huge rise in independent media through blogs and online news websites and a huge rise in video and audio across the Internet through websites such as YouTube and others. MP3 players and flash drives are much cheaper easier to use and can hold a great deal more on them. The portability of information on digital media is impressive but copyright holders need adequate protection from piracy. 
However we do not want to make everyday use of digital technology impossible or against the law. A good balance is needed and I believe that this bill strikes that balance but it is not as easy as it sounds. On one hand we have the rights of individuals to use share and copy information and digital media and on the other we have the authors editors and creators of those media who need to be protected and in some cases compensated. Kiwis are not just consumers of digital media; we dream we innovate and we create a great deal of digital music film and other media too. We want to ensure that our creative industries in these areas are adequately protected. Members will recall what happened to  
Sione’s Wedding 
. We do not want a repeat of that.  
Sione’s Wedding 
 reminds us that the digital age is a time not just of great opportunity but also of new and previously unimaginable threats to business. Copyright law is key to this balance and key to this protection. Solid copyright protection promotes investment in creativity arts and innovation. This is good news for creators good news for consumers and good news for the economic transformation of New Zealand’s economy. It is about fair play which is a Kiwi value of our New Zealand society and our national identity as Kiwis and proud Kiwis. 
 One area of this bill of high interest to the public is that dealing with format shifting—for example copying CDs on to an iPod or MP3 player. I am pleased that the Commerce Committee clarified this area and I am enormously grateful that our committee worked hard to address this issue. Amendments were made to clarify that private and domestic use includes personal use in a public place—for example someone using an MP3 player on his or her way to work on the bus a bike or the train. A sunset clause was deleted which clears up any confusion over whether people who purchase older sound recordings can continue to format-shift these in the future. The bill removes a number of compliance costs for libraries and simplifies the use of digital copies of work within libraries and our educational establishments. I know that our librarians and archivists will be pleased with these changes. 
In response to the input of National’s Richard Worth on section 88 I want to say that Maryan Street gave a very comprehensive explanation of this whole issue in her recent second reading speech. The bill had sought to remove section 88 which deals with the retransmission of free-to-air television services. Although the select committee has reinstated section 88 this section does not encourage investment in telecommunications and a Supplementary Order Paper will seek to repeal this section of the Act. 
The bill clarifies the law for the benefit of Internet service providers. It will ensure there is no liability for any copying that takes place as a matter of course as their business Internet service providers. It also means that Internet service providers will have no liability for storing material in the course of their business that may infringe on copyright as long as they act to remove it when they find material that is in breach or they have reason to believe is in breach of copyright. This is a sensible amendment and it will clear up ambiguity in this area. 
Finally I am glad that this bill will be reviewed within 5 years. Given the pace at which technology is changing our world this seems a very sensible idea. What is important is its effective operation. The bill strikes a fair and reasonable balance. It clarifies a number of provisions and updates the Copyright Act 1994 to cater for today’s digital age. 
In summary this law is important because of the increasing emergence of new digital technologies. The use of these technologies is becoming more and more commonplace. We need legislation that will protect copyright holders from piracy. Digital formats and the Internet have made the copying and spreading of pirated material easier. However we do not want ironclad laws that make the everyday legitimate use of digital technology against the law. I thank the Commerce Committee and more important the submitters for participating. I especially thank Judith Tizard for her leadership and her stewardship of this bill. Thank you.