Whaitiri Meka: Environmental Protection Authority (Protection of Environment) Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWhaitiri Meka: Environmental Protection Authority (Protection of Environment) Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 24 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4776. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Tēnā koe Mr Deputy Speaker. E ngā mema o te Whare nei tēnā tātou katoa. I move That the Environmental Protection Authority (Protection of Environment) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Local Government and Environment Committee to consider the bill. I am pleased to have the opportunity to introduce the Environmental Protection Authority (Protection of Environment) Amendment Bill and I recommend that the House refers my bill to the select committee for further debate. This bill amends the Environmental Protection Authority Act 2011 by adding the additional objective that the organisation must aim to protect maintain and enhance New Zealand’s environment. When the Act was passed the stated objective of the Environmental Protection Authority contained an important oversight in that it did not actually require the protection of the environment as part of the authority’s role. This bill aims to correct that defect.What this bill does is place the protection of New Zealand’s precious natural environment right at the heart of the law governing the Environmental Protection Authority. This bill does this by cementing in legislation the Environmental Protection Authority’s role in protecting the environment by amending section 12(1) by inserting the following paragraph: “(c) protects maintains and enhances New Zealand’s environment.”—seven small words but very very important words. This bill is especially important in light of media reports this morning saying that staff at the Environmental Protection Authority are struggling to determine what the mission of the organisation is. Whom are they accountable to—the Minister or the public? We do not want a situation in the future where short-term economic thinking is allowed to impinge on the Environmental Protection Authority’s function because the agency’s mission is legally unclear. This bill will help make the Environmental Protection Authority a better-performing organisation by giving it a clear well-articulated mission placing environmental protection at the core of everything it does. There is no ambiguity no confusion.It is an honour to have one’s member’s bill drawn from the ballot. I believe that members who bring members’ bills to the House do so with the utmost honourable intention: to address often very important issues and we strive for clarity and practicality in our bills. For this bill the words “protects maintains and enhances New Zealand’s environment.” are not only very clear but they are also very practical. I hope this fact is not lost on members across the House. This is an uncontroversial bill.New Zealand’s beautiful natural environment is a fundamental part of our natural identity. As a proud member of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti I like many of my people introduce myself by my maunga my mountain; my awa my river; my hapū my subtribe; my iwi my tribe; and my waka which connects tribes to other tribes but more important it connects Māori to our Pacific relations. This is a priceless inheritance we receive from our tīpuna our ancestors before us and we have a responsibility to leave it to our children and grandchildren. My maunga my awa my iwi and my waka is me and I am them. Their protection and preservation are my duty. Their protection and preservation are my responsibility.Our environment is also one of our biggest natural advantages as a country. Our “100% Pure” green image is a boon to our exporters and our tourist industry. But if we do not protect it we will lose culturally socially and economically. We hear often from my colleagues across the House that it is about choice. You can have a thriving economy or you can have a clean environment. In Labour we firmly believe in the balanced approach: a thriving economy from a protected environment. We believe as Gaylord Nelson once said that “The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment not the other way around.” As the Government agency responsible for regulatory management of New Zealand’s environment the Environmental Protection Authority is a vital part of protecting our environment for future generations. The omission in the regulations around the Environmental Protection Authority of protecting the environment is not spelt out in legislation. This bill aims to fix that.If we want to protect our environment for the future we must ensure its legislative safeguards are long-lasting. We have seen just today how a lack of statutory clarity can create problems when multiple internal reviews at the Environmental Protection Authority can lead to confusion over the agency’s mission as we heard on Morning Report today. My bill is a sensible reform that unambiguously has the explicit objective of protecting maintaining and enhancing New Zealand’s environment—seven very small but important words. It will end the confusion of the Environmental Protection Authority and ensure better protection of our environment. This bill will offer more consistency across New Zealand’s environmental legislation as stated under section 6 of the Resource Management Act which requires all persons exercising powers under it to recognise and provide for the preservation and protection of various aspects of New Zealand’s environment. To ensure consistency across New Zealand’s large marine environment it is sensible to make this change to the Environmental Protection Authority Act.If opponents of this bill have drafting concerns the select committee will provide an opportunity to discuss the best approach to inserting a reference to protect the environment in this Act. It will allow for expert evidence to be presented and for a full discussion of how we maximise the protection we give our environment.In closing this bill is very clear. It is very consistent with other legislation and it makes good sense. I commend this bill to the House. I ask that the House support it to select committee and helps us to take steps to give our beautiful natural environment the protection that it deserves in the years to come. Kia ora.