Horan Brendan: Marine Legislation Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Horan Brendan: Marine Legislation Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 11 September 2012. Volume:683;Page:5091. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
BRENDAN HORAN (NZ First) 
: 
 I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to speak on the Marine Legislation Bill. New Zealand First will support this bill through the first reading but with reservations. The New Zealand First stance on firm regulation for the safety and protection of our shipping harbours and environment is robust and well documented. How sad it is that if it was not for the deregulation of our shipping industry by the National Government in the early 1990s a disaster such as the  
Rena 
 would never have occurred. As I said we will support the first reading but based on increasing the damage liabilities and enforcing alcohol limits. 
There is a question mark about our processes. We need look only at the petition by the people of Gisborne—the good people of Gisborne. They wonder about our Transport and Industrial Relations Committee’s effectiveness in fair robust discussion and dissection of submissions because you see the people of Gisborne were ignored. There were 10800 signatures on a petition but the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee ignored them. So New Zealand First is very concerned about the nature and fair determination of that select committee. The question has to be asked whether this committee is up to asking the hard questions of submitters and to going with what is fair and true rather than party majority - based outcomes. 
You know I found it very interesting listening to “Mr Fait Accompli” earlier—that is the chair of the select committee David Bennett. You see I was there at the select committee when the soft wet-towel questions were asked of Maritime New Zealand. It was little more than Government propaganda. That is what we have had from this Government regarding the  
Rena 
. It has been interesting listening to people talking about the  
Rena 
 disaster as if all the oil is cleaned up but it is not. There are still at least 10 tonnes or more of oil in the  
Rena 
. I have been talking to the experts about that. 
 You know let us now consider some of the propaganda. Do you remember the week before the election when Mr Joyce came out and said that all the oil had been cleaned up? Do you remember that? It was a week before the election. I have an iPad here with photographs. I can pull them up if you like. I will do that because it is interesting. Listen up you National backbenchers over there. Cast your eyes on this. Hold on—it takes a little while to pull them up sometimes. It is just like the National Government and how the people of New Zealand are pulling you up [ 
Interruption 
]—you see they are waking up! Here we go. So here we have a picture of oil on the beach. I have got here a picture of an Irish tourist at Christmas with oil all over her feet. I have in here a picture of my daughter who is 6 years old off Papamoa beach in January with oil in her hair and her ears. I have in here pictures of locals who had to even make tools to collect tonnes of oil off the beach. 
You know it is just amazing because one would never think we would have such propaganda in New Zealand that anybody would get away with it or that they could block the media from going out to that boat. You see I probably know more about the  
Rena 
 because at night I went to where those foreigners who were cleaning up the  
Rena 
 the salvagers were going for their dinner and their drinks all on the taxpayer. So I found out exactly what they knew about how much oil was taken off the  
Rena 
 and about the processes involved which this country was kept in the dark over. Even now when we ask the Government how much of the taxpayers’ money has been spent on this clean-up members over there come up with a figure like $38.9 million. But we know that it is much more than that. You see we in Tauranga know about the “spillionaires” who have been created. We know about the relatives of certain members who have these massive crane contracts. We know all about that. 
You know when this Government is asked about the true cost to the taxpayer of New Zealand and the people of Tauranga why do you not include the lost jobs the devastation on the businesses and the thousands who have left Tauranga because of the devastating effect that the  
Rena 
 has had on tourism? And while we are at it where is the associate transport—oh I should not say that. Is it not amazing how the Associate Minister of Transport has managed to avoid this bill? We needed Simon Bridges to be standing up for the people of Tauranga through this bill—you know the squeaky-voiced one. It is amazing his voice is so squeaky because it should be a whole lot smoother for the amount of oil that has spilt on the Tauranga beaches which he has done nothing about. It should be smooth like Mr Joyce’s. But I will say— 
Jonathan Young 
: This is shameful. 
BRENDAN HORAN 
: No what is shameful is the woeful inadequate effort that this Government has made for and the woeful inadequate service that this Government has given to the people of Tauranga and the people of New Zealand over the most devastating oil spill that we have ever had in this country. 
But I will say that this bill does have some potential because this bill does set out to give regional councils powers to appoint harbour masters and enforcement officers and to establish navigation by-laws. It empowers regional harbour masters and enforcement officers with the authority to issue infringement notices for breaches of maritime rules. It also almost doubles the liability limits for maritime claims for loss of life injury property damage etc. So there are a few things in here that are very good. 
However I am concerned when we look at changing the Maritime Transport Act so that the director of Maritime New Zealand has the power to take action when port management poses a risk to shipping and/or the environment. I am concerned about that because unlike the backbenchers of National over there I live in Tauranga and I was there. I was there when we had 5 days of beautiful weather and the National Government did nothing. It sat on its haunches. Then on the 6th day when the weather started to get bad and it realised that it better do something it held a public meeting and it was at Tauranga Boys’ College. It was in the hall. Those National members were there with the national appointee this director of Maritime New Zealand. And what did they organise in this hall that fits about 800 people? They organised a very small video screen which nobody could see. They could not even organise a sound system that would work for all the people who were in there so nobody really heard anything much from that day. 
I remember asking the question of Simon Bridges who was chairing that meeting “What are you going to do on Thursday when the winds turn west by north-west?”. The answer was “Oh we are hoping for a change in the weather.” You see a person of the sea or that area should have known and would have known that when the winds turn west by north-west there that oil was heading down to Maketu to devastate the endangered dotterel population. 
You know there is a lot to be said about this bill. It is pretty big. Here it is. Is it not big? We might end up with some legislation in here to punish polluters of a maritime nature but where in this bill are the safeguards of oil and pollution response? Sadly this bill lacks the essential ingredient: it lacks the preventive cure. Thank you.