Smith Nick: West Coast Wind-blown Timber (Conservation Lands) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSmith Nick: West Coast Wind-blown Timber (Conservation Lands) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 26 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18981. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Conservation):I move That the West Coast Wind-blown Timber (Conservation Lands) Bill be now read a second time. I want to thank members for their contributions during the first reading of this bill. It comes down to a very simple question: whether we should allow timber that was blown down in huge quantities in Cyclone Ita to be recovered. That is the issue. What I have found extraordinary—particularly in the contributions from the Opposition—is that I have heard a whole lot of personal abuse I have been called every name under the sun and I have heard all sorts of comments about Solid Energy and all sorts of things but what members did not fundamentally address was whether it make senses to recover the wood that has fallen over in great volume in Cyclone Ita. Members on this side of the House are absolutely clear—Andrew Little: That’s not the issue and the Minister’s knows it.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: —in our position that it is sensible. The member is interjecting. I have to say that I have been in this House for 24 years and what we have just witnessed was something quite extraordinary: not one but two members voting against their own party. What that shows is the level of dysfunctionality and the extent of division within a party that in just 3 months’ time seeks to be the Government of this country.If they cannot resolve their position on something as simple as being able to use dead trees on the West Coast for some jobs how on earth are they going to be able to resolve the complex issues involved in the governance of this country? They are in disarray. They are in a mess. They do not have a bolter’s hope of being able to run a sensible Government.I do want to note and comment on a few of the issues of substance. The first of those is why it is necessary for Parliament to move at pace if we are to sensibly recover this wood. Well it is very simple. It is called sap stain and it is called borer. It starts in spring. That is just 8 weeks away. Equally so every member of this House would know that the recovery of wind-blown logs is an exercise that needs to be done with care and with safety and every day that this House delays it halts the work that needs to be got on with and done around how this timber can be sensibly recovered and recovered before it deteriorates. That is why this House is dealing with this matter quite properly under urgency.I quite deliberately provided a termination clause. This is not a permanent change to the Conservation Act—it is not. What I have said is that we are going to commission research as a consequence of this extraordinary event—independent research—to enable us to compare those areas that timber is recovered from with those areas that timber is not recovered from and on the basis of that we may make a better-informed decision about whether on a long-term basis we should allow such recovery.One of the most extraordinary features of the debate is an amendment that has been tabled by the member for West Coast - Tasman.Chris Auchinvole: What does it say?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The amendment says that only companies from the West Coast - registered area should be allowed to have access to the timber.Chris Auchinvole: That’s odd.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: That is odd. There is a large company—in fact the largest sawmill is owned by a company called Westco Lagan. Its registered office is in Christchurch—Chris Auchinvole: Always has been.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: —and always has been as my colleague from the West Coast says. Well what an extraordinary law to get into the business of saying: “Oh well that company”—which has backed the Coast and has employed people on the Coast—“is going to be discriminated against on where Labour stands.” I am just gobsmacked. Are we really going to have members saying that the natural gas that comes out of Taranaki can be used only in Taranaki or that we cannot dare move the dairy products that are produced in one district to another district? Are we going to be telling the people of Nelson that the apples that are produced in Nelson can be used only in Nelson? If you want to wreak havoc on the economy—Andrew Little: That would work if the apple-pickers were spread around the countryside but they work in one area. This is about sending the work out of the regionHon Dr NICK SMITH: If you want to wreak havoc on the economy Mr Little that is the sort of loopy parochialism and protectionism that you would put into law. I cannot believe—I cannot believe—that a party that seriously wants to be considered for the governance of this country would even table such a foolish amendment.I want to deal specifically with the Resource Management Act provisions in the bill. What we could do is pass this bill allow the Director-General of Conservation to be able to give authorisations then require those participants that want to recover the timber to then have to go to both the regional council and the district council to get a resource consent and then they would have to publicly notify those consents. They would be subject to appeals to the Environment Court.Let me give a simple example. We know that a member of the Greens opposed the Bathurst Resources mine. For how long under the Resource Management Act have they been able to slow down consents? Well I will tell you how many times. There have been 32 court hearings—Hon Chris Tremain: 32?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: —32 court hearings—over the application by Bathurst Resources to mine on conservation land on the West Coast. Are members on this side of the House prepared to allow that sort of circus to occur in respect of the recovery of this timber?Hon Damien O’Connor: You were the Minister. What did you do about it?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The member Mr Damien O’Connor says that I was the Minister. Well let me remind him. The application for Bathurst Resources to mine the Denniston Plateau was lodged prior to our becoming the Government and this Government has repeatedly tried to amend the Resource Management Act—Hon Damien O’Connor: Five years as Minister—nothing.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: —and the member who is screaming who pretends to stand up for the West Coast has opposed every single one of those Resource Management Act reforms. I am not prepared to make a joke of this legislation by misleading the people of the West Coast saying that they are going to be able to recover this timber and then have them tied up in months of bureaucracy and red tape because of the Resource Management Act.I have confidence that the Department of Conservation as it is required to do under this bill will ensure that the recovery of that timber is done by minimising those environmental effects. Those who oppose these provisions are effectively saying that they have no confidence in the Department of Conservation staff. They are wrong—they are wrong. It will be done well. This is a sensible bill. This is a sensible response to an urgent situation and again I commend the bill to the House.