Wagner Nicky: Conservation (Natural Heritage Protection) Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Wagner Nicky: Conservation (Natural Heritage Protection) Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 14 November 2012. Volume:685;Page:6637. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
NICKY WAGNER (National—Christchurch Central) 
: 
 I am very pleased to support the Conservation (Natural Heritage Protection) Bill in the name of Jacqui Dean. I would like to congratulate Jacqui Dean on having two bills in the House this afternoon. It is great work and she is a hard-working member for Waitaki. 
I think we are all concerned that New Zealand’s unique plants and animals are at risk and we want to be able to protect them better. Our plants and animals are exceptional. They are totally unique highly desirable and greatly prized and a real temptation to the collectors of the world who are always looking for the unusual the beautiful and particularly the unobtainable. Unfortunately there are many collectors globally who are happy to pay big money for these creatures. They will pay for the skinks for the geckos for our birds and really for anything that is unique and different and that comes from the other side of the world. We have also seen a dramatic increase in violence against creatures as well as the poaching the stealing and the smuggling. New Zealanders all find these behaviours abhorrent because we are proud of our country we are proud of our plants birds and reptiles and we want to make sure that they stay here. We want to protect our natural spaces and the birds and creatures who live in them. 
This bill introduces bigger fines and longer jail sentences for people who endanger our wildlife or damage our protected natural habitats. We need to have a consistency across the 5 Acts amended by this bill. It was interesting that the Hon Ruth Dyson mentioned the lack of consistency. That is what this bill is driving at: consistency and penalties that deter unacceptable behaviour. We are serious about this. We are serious about deterring this type of crime. It is not just a crime against our flora and fauna; it is also a crime against the people of New Zealand. So we are introducing a maximum fine of $10000 or a 2-year jail sentence for offences conducted in both reserves and national parks. 
I was horrified to find out that collectors from Asia and from Europe are particularly interested in our unique reptiles particularly creatures like the jewelled geckos that as Jacqui Dean has mentioned live in Banks Peninsula and Otago. These fetch enormous prices overseas I have heard of up to $25000 each. They are actually relatively easy to catch in the remote parts of New Zealand and they are quite easy to transport as well. Dozens of endangered lizards disappear from their native habitats every year. Many are in the hands of suspected organised criminal groups who sell them on the internet. New Zealand geckos are particularly prized because they give birth to their young live so if you get a pregnant one you actually get a whole lot of free geckos as well. 
In the past 3 years seven people have been caught smuggling protected geckos and skinks out of the South Island. One group including a German from Uganda who was sentenced to 15 weeks in jail was caught with 16 jewelled geckos. They were packed in tubes; others put them down their pants or in their clothing. But these 16 geckos were valued at over $200000 and at least nine of them were pregnant. The geckos usually end up on a German website where traders claim that they have been bred in captivity. It is not true and it is not right. I know that the Department of Conservation and Wildlife Enforcement Group are working very hard to protect these geckos and skinks. I support this bill because it does show how seriously we are taking these issues and how much we value our birds and reptiles. I commend this bill to the House.