Lee Melissa: Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Lee Melissa: Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
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MELISSA LEE (National) 
: 
 I rise in support of this first reading of the Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill. It is lovely to see that there is multiparty support for this bill. 
Advancement in technology has made breaking the law easy. I mean that online copyright infringement is a problem for everyone. But I take this opportunity to speak for the creative industry which I came from prior to entering Parliament. Without wanting to repeat some of the things that previous speakers have said I tell the House that the creative industry has experienced a significant decline in revenue as file sharing has become prevalent. It is cheap to produce multiple copies of programmes or movies copies that are indistinguishable from the original. Of course the Internet speeds up the process and distribution. It was said previously by my colleague Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga that 200000 movies and television files are shared each month in this country—and I believe that that amounts to more than 2 million in a year—according to the New Zealand Federation Against Copyright Theft. I have heard stories of people who have travelled overseas and returned home with dozens of pirated DVDs. I have heard stories of people downloading movies yet to be released in New Zealand from overseas websites as the previous speaker from the Opposition has also said. 
I am appalled by this behaviour but with the advent of faster broadband I fear the problem may just continue to grow unless we do something about it. As a screenwriter in my previous life knowing how long it takes to develop a script and to screen it and the time and effort it takes for a film to be made I know that this kind of theft is something that we need to stop. I fear for the cultural industries. 
The recording industry is another industry that has been affected by illegal downloading. As an example of how prevalent and blasé people have become about this illegal downloading let me share a story that I heard last night. I seem to have been at the same event that Grant Robertson was at in the Banquet Hall last night at which one of my favourite bands Opshop played. During a conversation with the Opshop boys I admitted that I had at least three copies of their CDs which I had bought because I liked them so much. They then told me that they have had people come up to them and tell them to their face that they had burnt copies of their CDs. Opshop could only say to them that if they so much liked the CDs that had been burnt they could actually just go and buy them. People are so blasé that they will actually admit to the people who own the copyright that they have burnt or illegal copies of their work. Illegal copying of content happens everywhere and we can expect the problem to be an epidemic in this country. I am sure that everyone in this Parliament will have heard a piece of music or seen a movie—inadvertently mind you—that has been illegally copied or downloaded. 
The previous Labour Government tried to fix this problem but section 92A of the copyright legislation caused a public outcry. It resulted in Internet users launching the Internet Blackout week between 16-23 February last year. The campaign also drew support from famous actors from around the world including Stephen Fry whose tweet read: “I’m blacked out: Stand up against ‘Guilt Upon Accusation’ for New Zealand”. This came about because Labour’s section 92A of the legislation would have led to the termination of an Internet account without evidence or opportunity for a user to provide a defence. As a result the National-led Government did not bring section 92A into force and ordered a review; this bill is the result of that process. The bill puts the mistake of the original section 92A passed by the previous Labour Government behind us and allows for a workable regime that will reduce copyright infringement in New Zealand. 
I take this opportunity to acknowledge the Minister the Hon Simon Power for bringing this bill to the House for consideration and for taking the time to consult with stakeholders. I look forward to the submissions through the select committee process. Thank you.