Bridges SimonMARITIME TRANSPORT AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Transport): I move That the Maritime Transport Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee to consider the bill. It gives me great pleasure to introduce this bill to the House. The purpose of this bill is to promote maritime safety and marine environmental protection. This bill amends the Maritime Transport Act 1994 which provides the regulatory framework for the maritime transport sector. The bill will set out new international compensation arrangements for maritime incidents causing marine pollution and will manage the risks of alcohol- and drug-impairment in the commercial maritime sector. This bill will also improve the flexibility of empowering provisions for the making of rules under the Act and clarify existing provisions address operational issues and correct some minor anomalies.Turning to the international maritime conventions the bill will give effect in New Zealand law to the Supplementary Fund Protocol to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund which the Government agreed to in December 2014. The original supplementary fund provided an inexpensive global compensation scheme to cover oil spill damage from tankers providing up to $388 million in compensation in the event of a spill in our waters. By acceding to the protocol we increase the compensation available to $1.432 billion.The bill also addresses the limitation of liability for maritime claims. The grounding of the Rena on Astrolabe Reef highlighted the need to update and strengthen our liability limitation regime for maritime claims. That is why this bill provides for the implementation of reservations under the protocol of 1996 to amend the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976. The reservations exclude liability limitation—that is there will not be limitation of liability for wreck removal costs cargo removal costs or damage from hazardous and noxious cargo substances. This will provide more scope for cost recovery by public authorities businesses and the community in the event of another major maritime incident.This is also a bill about what many have called clear heads". One of the most significant proposals in the bill addresses the risks associated with alcohol and drug use in the commercial maritime sector. A new Part 4B to the Act will more effectively manage these risks. Under these new measures all commercial maritime operators will be required to have drug and alcohol management plans to manage the risks associated with drug and alcohol use. The management plans must provide for random drug and alcohol testing of staff who carry out safety-sensitive activities.The Director of Maritime New Zealand will also have the power to undertake drug and alcohol testing in accordance with the testing requirements and operator management plans. This testing may also be done at any time for any reason and is not limited to random testing. In the event of a test result other than a negative result an operator must stop a worker from undertaking safety-sensitive activities until he or she is again safe to do so. Operators will need to implement their drug and alcohol management plans by incorporating them into employment agreements. This is in line with the treatment of drug and alcohol testing under current employment law for employees and contracts for services for contractors.New maritime rules will establish requirements concerning the content of and procedural requirements for drug and alcohol management plans procedural requirements for random drug and alcohol testing and other related matters. Existing offence penalty and cost recovery provisions in the Act will cover enforcement of and funding for the new drug and alcohol management requirements. The bill also contains miscellaneous measures to improve the operation of existing provisions in the Act and to address minor anomalies by way of amendments. This includes amendments to improve the adaptability of maritime rules by allowing the Director of Maritime New Zealand to determine how requirements of the rules are met in response to developments in technology international standards and industry practice. It also includes changes to allow regional councils to retain fees from infringement offence notices issued for breaches of maritime rules providing an incentive for councils to enforce the national rules directly rather than replicating them in local by-laws.The bill will also improve access to shipping services to the Chatham Islands and other offshore islands by easing the restriction on the use of foreign-registered ships to carry freight between these places and mainland New Zealand. The bill will also enable territorial authorities to transfer responsibilities for harbour works to another public authority and to transfer responsibilities for maritime activity to council-controlled organisations and port operators.The proposals in this bill will improve safety outcomes in the maritime system. They will I think significantly improve the compensation regime for marine pollution incidents and ensure that this Act is good law is very serviceable law into the foreseeable future. I commend this bill to the House."