Smith Nick: Subantarctic Islands Marine Reserves Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSmith Nick: Subantarctic Islands Marine Reserves Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 30 January 2014. Volume:696;Page:15740. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Conservation): I moveThat the Subantarctic Islands Marine Reserves Bill be now read a third time. We have just adjourned the debate on the Prime Minister’s statement. In that speech the Prime Minister noted this Government’s ambition to create a record number of marine reserves in New Zealand this year. This bill provides for three very large new marine reserves in the Antipodes Islands in the Bounty Islands and in Campbell Island covering a huge area of nearly 400000 hectares. It shows the progress this Government is making in conserving those things that make New Zealand so special.I want to say that this bill feels for me personally like finishing business that was started a long time ago. In 1998 I was involved in putting the case toUnesco for the recognition of those Subantarctic Islands with World Heritage status. New Zealand has only three areas for World Heritage: the TeWāhipounamu—or Fiordland—South West New Zealand World Heritage Area the World Heritage area around the Tongariro National Park and this third area in the Subantarctic Islands. At the time of getting that registration for these special islands mention was made that we needed to make progress on recognising the marine environment that surrounds those Subantarctic Islands. People may not be aware that in the immediate area of the Bounty Islands the ocean very quicklysteepens to go to a depth of 3000 metres. That is sort of like a reverse of Mount Cook. The deepest ocean anywhere in New Zealand’s territorial sea is adjacent to the Bounty Islands. Nor do I think that people appreciate that in all the debate about protected species 80 percent of the endemic protected species within New Zealand—meaning things that exist only in New Zealand—are actually out in the ocean environment rather than on land. Thus the importance this Government puts on marine reserves.I am very proud of the fact that it was a National Government in 1971 that passed the Marine Reserves Act. It was the very first total protection zone provided anywhere in the world. It was a National Government that created New Zealand’s very first marine reserve at Leigh in 1976. In the intervening period 34 marine reserves have been created around New Zealand most of them by National Governments. It is truly ambitious when the Prime Minister has set out a schedule—34 marine reserves in over 40 years—and we are looking to create 10 more marine reserves in this very year showing just the sort of progress that this Government is making in a balanced way around our marine environment.I do want to acknowledge the hard yards that my colleagues Kate Wilkinson and Phil Heatley as the previous Minister of Conservation and the previous Minister of Fisheries respectively put into getting the agreement—a consensus in fact—across all of the competing groups around these three new marine reserves. A really important part of National’s blue-green view is that we are going to make better progress around the environmental challenges that New Zealand faces not with divisive polarising arguments but actually collaboratively bringing different groups together to try to find agreement. We have done so very successfully with the Land and Water Forum in getting progress on those challenges our country faces around water. I have to say that in the marine reserves area you need only to look at Akaroa where for 30 years there has been a very divisive argument around marine protection and look at the approach that has been taken in the Subantarctic Islands of actually getting the commercial fishers of getting iwi and of getting conservation groups to work together on a conservation proposal is the right way forward. That is what has taken—Hon Ruth Dyson: Who sorted Akaroa? You did—well done.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Well in 2008 the process was set up for the collaborative forum that has been able to deliver these three very large marine reserves.I also want to note that in the Subantarctic Islands we have over a dozen species that are endangered. Actually they are one of the very last areas to have contact with humans. Whether it is species like the southern royal albatross—I could bore the House all evening with some of the things that exist only in those Subantarctic Islands—Andrew Little: Do it anyway.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No I am not going to make members of the House suffer. I simply say there are a whole lot of species down there that exist nowhere else and this Parliament has a special responsibility to ensure that they are conserved and protected.This 400000 hectares of new marine reserve does involve a prohibition on the development of minerals and resources in that area and that is sensible. You see if you look back to the early days of this Parliament there were big arguments around the use of our terrestrial environment: what areas should we conserve and what areas should we develop for providing an economic wealth for this country. Actually the debate this century is going to be about the use of the ocean environment and how we should do so there. Again this National Government takes a very balanced view. There are economic resources in that ocean environment. It would be economically foolhardy for us to say that we are going to lock up and have no development economically of that huge ocean area that New Zealand has. But equally we say that we do need to protect some areas and that just as on land we have no-go areas equally in the ocean environment we need to have no-go areas and this Subantarctic Islands Marine Reserves Bill is about saying that about 400000 hectares of ocean are no-go areas.There is a special tweak in this bill in respect of enforcement. We all know that the Subantarctic Islands—you in the Chair Mr Deputy Speaker more than any—are a long way away and that there are not too many Department of Conservation officials down there to be able to enforce a marine reserve. So this bill provides for our naval officersto be able to have the powers of our Department of Conservation rangers to ensure that these provisions are enforced. I would also note in this bill that we are making provision for a review. I commend the Local Government and Environment Committee so ably led by Nicky Wagner for the changes that were made to the bill that said: “Hang on a sec. Let’s bring that review forward. Let’s make it a tighter review.” There is speculation about the potential for a crab fishery in one of the areas. There is provision in this bill for that reserve to be expanded but on a tighter time frame and that too is to be commended.This is a good bill. I want to acknowledge the support of all of the parties in the House for this legislation and for this additional marine protection. This is a very special albeit very remote part of New Zealand. It is entirely appropriate after the World Heritage status was acquired in 1998 for us now to be taking statutory steps to protect the marine environment around these three islands. I want to stress that it is part of our Government’s broader programme of expanding marine reserves. I have set the target that we might be able to achieve a record number of marine reserves this year and these three will be a good first and big start.I also want to note the challenges that members have given for reform of the Marine Reserves Act. That is an ambition of this Government. We have got work going there. We will have more to say in that space. Our ambition is that just as in the terrestrial environment New Zealand is a world leader in the responsible way in which we use our ocean environment. That does involve setting aside areas as no-takes. These three new large marine reserves are a conservation initiative that all New Zealanders can take pride in.