Mitchell Clayton: Wildlife (Powers) Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMitchell Clayton: Wildlife (Powers) Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 29 March 2016. Volume:712;Page:9992. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CLAYTON MITCHELL (NZ First): I rise to take a call for New Zealand First on the Wildlife (Powers) Amendment Bill and I sing in a chorus of support for this bill to go to the select committee. We would certainly look forward to hearing from submitters on what they have got to say. Although the intent of the bill is commendable the achievement is something that might fall short of the intention of the bill which is what I really want to speak about today.I think this Wildlife (Powers) Amendment Bill certainly does suggest that we need some changes. It has been over 63 years of the current legislation which needs to be looked at with regard to its enforcement capabilities. We see that in 2013 there were some changes made to the Wildlife Act that increased the penalties and that was very much a necessity because we have seen over the years a large increase in our wildlife being shot and killed or traded in black market operations and certainly many many times—right up until recent weeks—we have seen high-profile cases of this sort of nature going on with our very very precious and rare species that we can find only here in New Zealand. So it is great that we are actually having this bill put in front of us for a discussion today and we are certainly looking forward to having it pulled apart and put back together at the select committee stage.We in New Zealand I think are all very very proud of our “100% Pure New Zealand” brand and that brand has been held in high regard around the world. We are seeing record numbers of tourists coming to this country because of our beaches our walks our rivers our mountains and our wildlife. Given the ease with which people can come to this country to see that it is absolutely paramount that we keep it in the best and most pristine condition that we possibly can. I think what has resonated with me most strongly apart from Maggie Barry’s wonderful voice—which does sound like the late-night love songs radio show; that was very resonating I have to say to Ms Barry as she sinks down into her chair—was Kevin Hague’s discussion with regard to the resourcing of the DOC or I should say the lack of resourcing for the DOC.We have seen a degradation in support by this Government that has had a massive impact on our tourism our ecotourism and our ecology of this country. If we do not do something about it now we are going to see masses of problems for our future and the problem that unfortunately if it is not dealt with we will never get back to the state that it once was in. I am talking about our beautiful kiwi our kākāpō the kererū the takahē the tūī the pūkeko the morepork—which is my favourite. In fact over Easter we took our kids away for the weekend and they actually came across some very rare green bell frogs up in the Bay of Plenty. It was great to see them out there but if we do not look after the environment that they are in we are certainly going to lose them.I am also coming to the point with regard to the fact that I think this bill is quite timely. We saw 2 weeks ago the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill being put into place and there were questions by New Zealand First to the Minister at question time with regard to how the Government is going to enforce this 620000 square kilometres of land. Of course we did not get a satisfactory answer but now in hindsight on reflection I can see that the answer is right here in front of us. This new enforcement that it is going to give the three DOC rangers on Raoul Island in the Kermadecs will actually be enough to secure the wildlife that we have got there because now some of these rangers will of course be able to arrest people and hold them for a certain amount of time. I do not know exactly how that is going to work—whether they are going to put them in handcuffs if they get given those or maybe they will just be tied up in flax bushes and held in mānuka cabins until the police can get there. Of course that takes about 20 hours by the time they get their helicopters fuelled up and get over there.We are going to see some major problems because we have even seen our police force funding being drastically cut and we are having difficulties even in terms of the respect that New Zealanders have towards the police. In the Bay of Plenty last week we saw—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Order! No that is not part of this.CLAYTON MITCHELL: I am getting to my point. We are seeing Department of Conservation (DOC) rangers who are being expected to do more for less. My point is that the police are unable to do the work they have got with the number of people they have. We have got people pulling guns on police officers so what is going to happen to our DOC rangers when they have been given the power to go and arrest somebody who is involved in potentially illegal activity? The point is that we are putting our rangers and our DOC staff at serious risk by doing this and not having a strategy because saying “Stop or I’ll say stop again.” does not work when you are talking about potentially locking somebody up for up to 2 years with a $100000 fine. It has not been working for the police and it certainly will not work for the DOC rangers if this is the only power and this is the only tool they have got to use against this crime of poaching etc.We have seen in the 2015 Budget cut that operational funding was dropped by $8.7 million and we also saw the cut to the Natural Heritage Management System of $7 million but on top of that $7 million cut we had $11.2 million taken out of that which was dedicated to the growth in the kiwi population. So you could actually say it is around about $27 million in funding not to mention the hundreds of jobs that DOC workers have seen—and again putting their lives in danger and at serious risk if they are asked to do more for less.To the bill. I think there are a number of good parts to the bill and I think there are some sensible parts to the bill. Expanding the powers that enforcement officers have with regard to making sure that when they are asking for somebody’s date of birth and their address they give verified proof of that is sensible because there is no point showing up to the courts waiting for judgment and of course the person does not show up because they gave you false details. It would certainly be a big help to get that small matter dealt with promptly and efficiently as the police have the same ability to do so.The power to intervene to prevent or to stop offending is common sense. If they see something that is taking place those DOC workers should have the power to react to stop that from happening or to prevent it from happening whether it be from trap-setting or potential behaviour. The ability to stop those people in their tracks and hold them is a good power also. Of course we have heard tonight from Scott Simpson in relation to the modern world that we now live in with phones with computers and with iPads etc. and with telephones’ capabilities of taking photos etc. It would be very very pertinent to ensure that those DOC rangers and workers can see some of those materials whether it be money or otherwise go towards building a case against a perpetrator or a potential offender. So that is certainly well supported. We do however get back to the main issue of getting our DOC workers who are already under stress and who are underfunded to do more for the little amount that they are getting.In terms of the degradation of our tracks which are some of the best track walks we have got in the world as we go around the country in the North Island and in the South Island—although they are absolutely fantastic to see they will be reduced. I just want to point out before I finish my contribution that the Office of the Auditor-General’s published report in relation to what I am talking about here said that the department was prioritising work and working with partners to manage biodiversity and the report made eight recommendations. However the follow-up audit shows the department has made limited progress on these recommendations. The 2012 report recognised the DOC for its leading conservation methods and practices but said it was not “winning the battle against the threats to New Zealand’s indigenous species in the habitats they live in”. It also stated that “at best efforts to date are merely slowing the decline of biodiversity in New Zealand which is a cause for concern”.In Budget 2016 we would like to see more money put into our conservation ensuring that our natural habitat is looked after for the future generations of our children. Thank you.