Street Maryan: Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Street Maryan: Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:649;Page:17720] 
Hon MARYAN STREET (Minister for ACC) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister for the Environment 
: I move  
That the Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I will move that the bill be referred to the Primary Production Committee with an instruction that the committee present its final report on or before 25 August 2008 and that the committee have the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during questions for oral answer and during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House despite Standing Orders 192 and 195(1)(b) and (c). 
This bill amends the Aquaculture Reform (Repeals and Transitional Provisions) Act 2004 the Resource Management Act 1991 the Fisheries Act 1996 and the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004. The aquaculture industry is sustainable; it has tremendous capacity for growth. Since 2001 there has been a 56 percent increase in the size of the area approved for the industry from 9086 hectares in November 2001 to 14188 hectares today with most—that is 11723 hectares—in known productive inshore areas. It is important to ensure that this growth occurs with proper planning. 
Since the aquaculture reforms were enacted in December 2004 a number of issues with the legislation have arisen. The issues dealt with in this bill relate to a May 2006 decision of the Environment Court in the case of  
SMW Consortium Ltd v Tasman District Council 
. This could have the effect of blocking the allocation of space to iwi under the terms of the aquaculture settlement in the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004. It could also create problems in processing other applications and in developing aquaculture management areas. It is therefore necessary to clarify the policy intent of the aquaculture reform legislation which is that applications to occupy space for aquaculture activities can be made only in relation to aquaculture management areas included in operative regional coastal plans. These issues need to be progressed quickly as they are subject to ongoing litigation. We cannot allow a loophole to block the aquaculture settlement obligations being met. 
The bill also amends the Fisheries Act 1996 and the Aquaculture Reform (Repeals and Transitional Provisions) Act 2004 to ensure that the Ministry of Fisheries is not prevented from carrying out an assessment of any undue adverse effects on fishing. The SMW Consortium decision has highlighted a small number of consequential issues that provisions in the bill also address. 
The bill also makes amendments to the Resource Management Act to ensure that councils cannot grant coastal permits for non-aquaculture activities in an aquaculture management area except to the extent that the activity is compatible with aquaculture activities. It will also ensure that applications for coastal permits for non-aquaculture activities will not prevent councils from tendering or otherwise allocating space in an aquaculture management area for aquaculture activities. 
The bill also makes an amendment to the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004 to ensure that applications that are not cancelled do not prevent an allocation of space to the trustee. It further makes amendments to the provisions relating to the assessment of undue adverse effects and the definition of “new space” in the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004. I commend this bill to the House.