Street Maryan: Conservation (Natural Heritage Protection) Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeStreet Maryan: Conservation (Natural Heritage Protection) Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 04 September 2013. Volume:693;Page:13285. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour): It gives me pleasure to rise to speak to Jacqui Dean’s bill the Conservation (National Heritage Protection) Bill. I add my congratulations to those of other colleagues to her on advancing this bill.We have seen in the last few years numerous pictures on our televisions of the senseless clubbing of seals and the smuggling offshore of creatures that are precious to our country and that are unique to our country. I think there were a number of incidents that provoked Jacqui Dean into bringing this bill forward and they cause as much anger amongst other members of the public apart from those who seem to perpetrate these acts.I am absolutely certain of what the vast majority of New Zealanders would consider about anybody who takes to doing that—even if they are a famous rugby player a well-known hooker. Most New Zealanders would see the kind of senseless act of killing and maiming animals defenceless animals as something that needed serious serious penalties to act as a deterrent for that kind of behaviour. If there are still some people in our country—and there would appear to be given a court case that is on the moment which I will not refer to any more—who do not seem to understand that harming animals harming livestock and harming birds says a lot about their own attitudestowards people this bill might have at least some corrective effect so that we do not see so many of those bloody scenes on our televisions where animals have been senselessly butchered and maimed by people who really have trouble relating to human beings and so vent their wrath and their anger on creatures that are more vulnerable than they are. I cannot think of any other reason why somebody would do these things. I understand hunting so I am not criticising that in any way. What I am criticising is the senseless attacks particularly on protected species but on any animals.This bill as Phil Heatley has just catalogued proposes a two-tier penalty arrangement for people who offend. It does take into account that there might have been unintentional offences. You did not mean the dog to get loose and savage that seal on the beach. You did not mean something to happen in quite the way it did. But even so if a person did not intend to commit an offence they are still liable to imprisonment for 1 year and a fine of up to $100000 or both depending on the severity of the incident. Bodies corporate that might inadvertently or otherwise commit offences against the animals protected under this legislation would be fined up to $200000. If people are continuing to do it on a daily basis then they are fined $10000 per day. That is something of a deterrent.I am pleased however that we have gone a little bit further with the intentional offences where people senselessly go to theKaikōura Coast track down those little baby seals that have gone up to the waterfall—and have been a delight to many visitors who have gone past and to tourists who have stopped and been told about these seals up on land—and they bludgeon those animals to death. There is no excuse. Although the financial penalties remain the same those people are liable for an imprisonment period of up to 2 years.The other ones that really disturb us are those shots we have seen on TV recently where people take tuatara geckos skinks and other small creatures that are unique to New Zealand and are amongst our protected fauna and they strap them to various parts of their anatomy and try to smuggle them out of the country. Sometimes they might put them in tubes in suitcases. But however they do it their intention is to smuggle them out of the country for commercial gain. The penalty for those people acting as individuals is up to 5 years in prison and up to $300000 in fines or both and for bodies corporate it is a fine of up to $300000. The fine for a continuing offence happening more than once is up to $20000 per day. So here are some deterrents against this reprehensible behaviour.One of the things I am really pleased about is the way the Local Government and Environment Committee under the chairpersonship of Nicky Wagner addressed some of the issues behind this legislation. I think collectively across the committee we made some improvements to the bill but one of the things I am most pleased about is the possibility of expanding the coverage of the bill to cover the Marine Mammals Protection Act of 1978 and also the Wildlife Act of 1953. The Wildlife Act is amended by removing from section 67 a fines provision that sits in that Act. The amendment takes that out and makes the fines provisions in that legislation consistent with this bill which I hope we will advance further this evening. So there will be a consistency of approach across all of the penalties. It is entirely possible for the people who bludgeon seals for fun to get off with a lesser penalty depending on the piece of legislation under which they have been brought to court and that does not seem fair.I was pleased to engage with the Minister of Conservation Nick Smith and to ask him about the application of the Marine Mammals Protection Act and the Wildlife Act and how they might be put into this piece of legislation. He was very pleased to make that recommendation to Jacqui Dean because it was her bill but he was onside with that. Jacqui Dean was onside with it the select committee was onside with it and as aresult we have got a consistent framework across all pieces of protective legislation in this area and the select committee passed it unanimously. Thank you.