Goff Phil: Depleted Uranium (Prohibition) Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Goff Phil: Depleted Uranium (Prohibition) Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 27 June 2012. Volume:681;Page:3462. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Labour—Mt Roskill) 
: 
 That was a disappointing speech from Mr Hayes because it deliberately misrepresents a number of things. I just want to address a couple of comments that he made in his very brief speech. 
We are not worried about the fact that there might have been depleted uranium in the ailerons of the Skyhawks. That is not going to be a health hazard. We are not worried that there might be depleted uranium in the ballast on an aircraft although I notice that commercial aircraft are now phasing that out. What we are worried about is when depleted uranium is used as a munition and when it explodes at a very high temperature and creates a dust that is chemically toxic. Mr Hayes is not so silly that he does not know that. That is why that speech was a misleading speech because he was creating a straw man and knocking it over when that is not the point of the matter at all. 
We are sufficiently concerned about the impact of depleted uranium when our troops serve in areas like Iraq as part of the peacekeeping group there and in Afghanistan that every single New Zealand service person is tested for the effects of uranium in their urine when they come home. That is how concerned we are about it. We know that it is a hazard. We know that it can cause damage to the kidneys and to the lungs. We know that it is a toxic chemical and that is the concern that we have. 
The second thing that Mr Hayes said that is absolutely wrong is of course that it would create criminals he alleged out of New Zealand service personnel operating with the military forces of other countries that use depleted uranium. No Mr Hayes you know that is simply not correct. It is no more correct than the allegation that because New Zealand actually led the charge against cluster munitions had the Wellington conference and was one of seven countries that led to the breakthrough on the convention of cluster munitions—we say that we will not use those ourselves and appropriately so—that New Zealand is prevented from serving alongside the United States which does use cluster munitions. 
We will use all of the power in our persuasion to ensure that cluster munitions be banned and that landmines be banned but it has never stopped the interoperability of New Zealand service personnel with other countries that have not signed up to the Ottawa Convention or to the Oslo convention in that regard. It is absolutely wrong and if the only ground for the opposition of the National Government to this legislation is what Mr Hayes has said then that shows that National is a party that has not done its homework that has not thought this through and that is not prepared to subject this bill to a select committee process where people can come in and pass on their expertise and their evidence about it. 
This bill is a very moderate bill. What it says is that we should ban the possession use sale manufacture testing and transit of uranium in all conventional munitions and armour within New Zealand—Mr Hayes within New Zealand—and by agents of the New Zealand Government. That follows a precautionary principle. We know that depleted uranium and the dust caused by the use of munitions involving depleted uranium is carcinogenic. We know that it is damaging to health. We are worried about the impact of that and the Governor-General and former Chief of Defence Force has made that statement himself. This is something to be concerned about. And it is something to be concerned about not because of the fact that there is not yet all of the conclusive evidence there but because we worry about the long-term effects of this. 
I remember the age when the military said that agent orange in Viet Nam was nothing to worry about—it was nothing to worry about. They did not know—they simply did not know. It makes sense that when we do not know what all the impacts of depleted uranium munitions might be but we do know that the immediate impact is dangerous and damaging to health that we take a precautionary policy. 
Yes we support the work that is ongoing with the United Nations Environment Programme. They have found that depleted uranium munitions do contaminate soils and groundwater. We know that there are concerns around the potential of this as a cause of birth defects. There are birth defects in areas where it has been used that are unaccounted for. The direct lines of connection have not yet been proved conclusively but there is enough to worry about to say that this is a likely cause of damage to unborn children and to children who are born and therefore we should have nothing to do with it. 
New Zealand does not have to make big sacrifices in order to adopt the principles in this bill. But we can show leadership in the world just as we showed over cluster munitions and just as we showed over landmines through our leadership and support before those causes became fashionable. I say to Mr Hayes and the National Government: think again at least send this bill to a select committee enable the evidence to be put up there enable the debate to be had and do not simply try to close down the debate because it is not convenient to you. This is a bill that has been carefully worked through. I think it will have a lot of support in the wider population of New Zealand and I hope that all of the political parties in this House send it to a select committee so a proper examination of the consequences of the use of depleted uranium can be worked through.