Bennett DavidMARITIME CRIMES AMENDMENT BILLSecond ReadingHon DAVID BENNETT (Minister of Veterans' Affairs) on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs: I move That the Maritime Crimes Amendment Bill be now read a second time. I would like to thank the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee for its careful consideration of the bill. The committee has recommended that the bill proceed with a number of amendments.This is an overview of the bill: the purpose of the bill is to amend the Maritime Crimes Act 1999 to implement two maritime counter-terrorism conventions. The first is the Protocol of 2005 to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation and the second is the Protocol of 2005 to the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf. The 2005 protocols were adopted to take account of the increasing risks to maritime navigation by acts of terrorism. The protocols amend the original 1988 Rome convention and Rome protocol to introduce new offences relating to the use of ships and fixed platforms. This bill is necessary to implement the 2005 protocols into New Zealand law and once enacted would enable New Zealand to ratify the protocols. These changes which reflect international best practice will provide law enforcement agencies with clear and effective tools to respond to contemporary threats to maritime security and will enable New Zealand to play its part in the international framework for countering maritime terrorism. The bill adds new offences to the Act in line with the 2005 protocols. These are serious offences that relate to the commission of serious offences against ships or using ships; the illicit transportation of weapons of mass destruction nuclear material and equipment; the transportation of terrorist fugitives by ship; the commission of serious offences against fixed platforms or using fixed platforms; and death or injury that occurs when committing or attempting to commit an offence against the Act. The Attorney-General's consent is required for any prosecution under the Act providing a safeguard to ensure that only appropriate cases proceed to a prosecution. The bill also introduces a maritime boarding regime consistent with existing international law to facilitate enforcement in relation to offences under the Maritime Crimes Act.The committee received 150 submissions on the bill with the majority centred on the offences relating to ships and terrorism. Many submitters were concerned that peaceful protesters could be prosecuted as terrorists under the bill. Although that was not possible under the bill as introduced the committee was of the view that aspects of the bill could be clarified. The committee has recommended a number of changes to the bill which I believe appropriately respond to submitters' concerns while ensuring that the bill effectively implements the 2005 protocols it is intended to.I would like to highlight the main amendments proposed most of which are minor changes aimed at providing greater clarity. First the committee has proposed an avoidance-of-doubt clause to make absolutely clear that peaceful acts of protest or industrial action would not be by themselves a sufficient basis for criminal liability under the Act. A similar provision is found in the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002. The bill implements the 2005 protocols and establishes serious offences relating to the use of ships or fixed platforms either to commit terrorist acts or to enable terrorist acts. It was not intended in any way to criminalise peaceful protest activity and could not have done so in practice. This new clause further reinforces this policy intent not to criminalise peaceful protest under the legislation.Secondly the use of the word terrorism" has been omitted from the headings to the offences involving ships and fixed platforms in response to submitters' concerns about the use and scope of the term. Although the bill has a terrorism context the offences do not need to be stated to be terrorism offences.Thirdly a minor change is recommended to further clarify in each relevant offence in the bill that the threshold for criminality is serious injury or serious damage. This makes even clearer that the threshold for damage is high and that minor damage could not be captured.Fourthly a minor change is recommended to clarify in the offences relating to the use of a ship that the person must intentionally cause death serious injury or serious damage through the use of the ship. This makes clearer that unintentional conduct would not be captured by this offence.Lastly I would like to note that a further consequential amendment has been added to the bill adding an amendment to schedule 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 to list the new offences in the bill as category 4 offences consistent with the existing Maritime Crimes Act offences. This will mean that the usual mode of trial for prosecutions under this legislation will be before a jury in the High Court.In conclusion this bill and ratification of the 2005 protocols will strengthen New Zealand's support for global counter-terrorism and non-proliferation efforts and will ensure that New Zealand's domestic maritime security framework is consistent with international best practice. I commend the Maritime Crimes Amendment Bill to the House."