Horan Brendan: Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill — Referral to Commerce Committee In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHoran Brendan: Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill — Referral to Commerce Committee In Committee[Sitting date: 10 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9268. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]BRENDAN HORAN (Independent): New Zealand has a proud tradition of democracy. We have fought in wars—World War I World War II the Korean War Viet Nam Iraq and we had representatives in Afghanistan. We fought for democracy. Then along comes the honourable member from Tauranga and he decides “Let’s just redefine democracy shall we? Let’s just tear it up.” If that member has his way then people like Lucy Lawless ofXena: Warrior Princess would be languishing in jail for a peaceful protest. That is what democracy also means because our forefathers fought for the right to peacefully protest. I wonder why the member would try to enact this Supplementary Order Paper 205. Then I thought about theRena that pimple on the rock which is still on the rock from over a year and a half ago. Actually it is more like a festering sore that is polluting and still leaking oil and who knows what else into our pristine beautiful ocean. Did you know that the divers who go down off Astrolabe Reef have to wear special dive suits for protection? We wonder what chemicals still lie at the bottom of the ocean. But democracy has not been served here because neither you nor I could go out and dive on Astrolabe Reef today or tomorrow because of the exclusion zone that they have. So it is no wonder that that member from Tauranga thinks that he can tear up the word “democracy” or redefine it with that Supplementary Order Paper.So I ask what the real reason is: is it drilling for oil? Well it cannot possibly be because this Government has proved that we cannot remove or clean up oil from a ship that is on a rock let alone oil that would leak from 1500 metres below sea level or dare I say 3000 metres below sea level in earthquake-ridden areas. So what is it about our mineral wealth? Do the people of New Zealand really understand just how much mineral wealth we have? I think not because it has accumulated over millions of years and it is down very deep. But this Government has decided to just give that away and to give it away not necessarily to the highest bidder but to companies such as Rio Tinto which has a licence to mine there. And while we are talking about Rio Tinto perhaps the Minister for State Owned Enterprises would like to apologise to New Zealand for being so helplessly and hopelessly outmanoeuvred when it comes to Tīwai Point and Rio Tinto.But there is also Trans-Tasman Resources which is about to start exploration and who is the ex - National Party Prime Minister who is on that board?Hon Ruth Dyson: It’s that woman isn’t it? The woman.BRENDAN HORAN: Yes Jenny Shipley. Is she still getting $1500 a day for the rebuild of Christchurch by the way? That person is on so many boards that I get splinters just thinking about the amount of boards. There we have a company that is going to bring its ship and it is going to take what it says is iron ore but what is it that it is really taking? And where are the checks and balances for that? And what is New Zealand going to get out of that—out of giving our mineral wealth away? Within that iron ore we have gold and we have titanium which is far more valuable than gold. We have all sorts of minerals that New Zealand could take and process itself with onshore facilities. But no this Government would rather give it to a company that will take itaway to a foreign country and then somehow the company is going to tell us what its net profit is and give us 1 percent. That sort of reminds me of the Tui ads really does it not? But I will speak more on that later.What I would like to do is say that when I heard the honourable member from Tauranga speak in his flagrant cliché-ridden abuse of the English language that member did speak of employment. I would like to help that member—[Bell rung] Mr Chair.The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson): I call the honourable member Tim Horan.Hon Ruth Dyson: Brendan.The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson): Brendan.BRENDAN HORAN: Mr Chair I wish I could play rugby as well as that player.The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson): Well you might be able to one day.BRENDAN HORAN: I hope that with my return to the Parliamentary Rugby Team I may get that opportunity yet but I fear it is a pipedream. What was I talking about? I was speaking about an error-ridden twist a juxtaposition of puns and clichés from the Minister of Energy and Resources Simon Bridges. But hidden beneath that dense foliage was the word “employment”. I would move that clause 12 of the Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill be amended by replacing the proposed new section 7(g) with the words: “ensuring that all activities conducted on land or at sea under this Act are only done so with at least 50% of the people working (whether employees contractors or otherwise) being New Zealand citizens or permanent residents” and also by adding new section 7(h) with the words: “ensuring that all activities conducted on land or at sea under this Act are only done so with at least 50% of the payments made to people working (whether as employees contractors or otherwise) being payments made to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents”. This amendment would provide for 50 percent local content of labour working on all prospecting and mining under the Crown minerals legislation so that at least some value will go back to New Zealand and the downstream of the dollar and that the areas from which the minerals are raped and pillaged from our oceans have at least some benefit going back to some New Zealanders. Thank you.