Wagner Nicky: Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Wagner Nicky: Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 28 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4791. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
NICKY WAGNER (National—Christchurch Central) 
: 
 I am very pleased to support this Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Bill at its third reading. It is very interesting listening to Gareth Hughes talking about the bill. It sounds like it is a totally different piece of legislation because this is a really important bill and it has been a long time coming. We have probably been talking about it for nearly two decades. 
As we know our exclusive economic zone is enormous. It is 20 times larger than the land mass of New Zealand and it is one of the largest and most diverse exclusive economic zones in the world. We have control over it. It is ours because of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. That convention gives us both rights and responsibilities: the right to access resources in that area and there are significant resources there that can be important to our economic future but also the responsibility to look after our marine environment. 
The purpose of this bill is to promote the sustainable management of natural resources in this area—the sustainable management. That is what Kiwis embrace. Kiwis love the ocean and I do agree with Gareth Hughes—that is absolutely true. Mostly we interact with our coastal oceans but our deep-sea ocean for a country that is a small speck is incredibly important and we embrace the fact that it must be managed sustainably. This bill will give us the framework to do just that. The bill provides a framework for environmental management to ensure that any activities in this area—and we do not expect a large number of activities; maybe up to a dozen consents a year—must use best practice. They must avoid or remedy or mitigate any possible environmental damage. 
We believe that this legislation does indeed meet our international obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as believe our advisers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade which has been involved in negotiations around the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Certainly it meets those obligations much more than when Labour was in Government for 9 years and did nothing to legislate in the marine environment although during that time it drilled 16 deep-sea wells. We are far better off with this legislation to protect our environment than we were under Labour which did nothing. 
The activities that will be covered under this legislation include petroleum exploration and production including structures; seabed mining; marine scientific research; submarine telecommunication cables; and any other activities that may arise in the future. That is an important catch-all because technology is changing significantly and we must err on the side of precaution when dealing with these new technologies for any work that is done in this area. 
The legislation aligns with the Resource Management Act—and that was an important discussion because the first 12 miles of our ocean are covered by the Resource Management Act. There is a transition between those 12 miles and the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. This legislation uses the same type of characterisation and categorisation: permitted discretionary and prohibited activities. But the default in this case is for a discretionary activity. Unless that activity is categorised or deemed as permitted or it has a consent it must go through that process. 
Parliament has been working on this bill for months—actually we have been talking about it for years—and there have been many changes and much debate. There has been much debate in the Local Government and Environment Committee and with the Minister for the Environment. It was very pleasing when Dr Jan Wright the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment put out a press release saying that she felt “This is important legislation and the Government is to be congratulated on bringing it into existence and doing so by way of a wider conversation.” She also said in that press release that she is satisfied that the legislation will provide significant protection for New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone. 
I would like to thank everybody who worked on this bill. I would like to thank the two Ministers who were involved: the previous Minister for the Environment the Hon Dr Nick Smith who formulated this legislation over a long time and our present Minister the Hon Amy Adams who has brought this bill through the House. I would also like to thank all the advisers and the drafters and the Clerk of the House and her team and finally all the members of the select committee for robust debate. We worked hard on this bill and I think we improved it so I am delighted to see it passing today. I believe that it will protect the marine environment of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf and that it is something that New Zealanders are very keen to support. 
I am really disappointed that some parties will be voting against this bill because voting against it means that the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf will have no protection and nothing to look after that very special and diverse marine environment. New Zealand is in a far better position with this legislation than it has ever been in the past or would ever be in the future without it. Thank you.