Mahuta Nanaia: Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMahuta Nanaia: Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 15 March 2016. Volume:712;Page:9664. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato): I rise to take a call in this first reading of the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill and to register Labour’s support for this bill to go to the select committee. I want to acknowledge our previous spokesperson Ruth Dyson because she long believed in extending the Kermadec Marine Reserve into the exclusive economic zone well before it was National’s policy. She also believed that it was important if we were going to lead in this space that by having a sanctuary going out into the exclusive economic zone it would send a very clear signal that not only are we a country that is surrounded by water but we believe that the protection of the marine ecosystem is a priority and that we of all countries should take leadership in that space.It would be trite to make that comment in the absence of pointing to some of the aspects of the bill that I think will provide an opportunity for submitters to contribute to improving what is already there. The Minister made comment on the Kermadec Islands and the role of Ngāti Kurī and Te Aupōuri in being represented on the management model. They refer to the Kermadec Islands I understand as Rangitahua. It is an area that is well-known within our navigational stories throughout the Pacific as a place of stopover. It also was a place where migratory mammals—marine species—would often pass and people noted those stories and the times of the seasons.But let us come back to the bill. This will be the first time that an ocean sanctuary has been extended into the exclusive economic zone. As the Minister said all around the world other countries will be looking at this particular model as an opportunity to gain greater understanding about what they could do to take leadership in the area of protecting geological and marine biological diversity. As was mentioned the area includes the world’s longest chain of underwater volcanoes. As I said it is a migratory pathway for marine mammals home to a significant number of threatened and endangered species and also an area where a number of species of fish that are fished commercially are caught.When the bill gets to the select committee it isan opportunity I think to hear some of the concerns. I would just note the concern of Te Ohu Kaimoana with regard to the fisheries settlement and the fact that the Minister is not entertaining any compensation for the loss of rights in fishery management area 10 yet that is in direct contrast to the approach for the marine protected areas discussion document and what it was proposing there. It will lift the recognition and participation of iwi and kaitiakitanga in the greater marine space to a whole other level. Minister you proposed to set up a management committee with representation of iwi which I understand falls a little bit short of what they were hoping for but it is a start in their minds. On that note I want to acknowledge both Rick Wītana and Harry Burkhardt who represent Te Aupōuri and Ngāti Kuri respectively and have made very positive comments in terms of an enduring relationship to promote marine protection from their particular perspective and in their part of the world.The issues around marine scientific research are provided for albeit by way of a process. We are anticipating that there will be submissions in relation to the transitional provisions—in particular on the issues that have been recognised in the departmental disclosure statement. I want to just comment on that. In particular it says that “there is no proposal to protect area-specific Māori commercial fishing interests awarded under the Fisheries Deed of Settlement or any customary fishing interests from the impact of the Sanctuary’s creation. This lack of protection is likely to be criticised as failing to uphold Māori interests protected by the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.” Both Matiu Rei and Peter Douglas have commented on that. However Shane Jones did make the comment that very little fishing is happening in that part of the world. I anticipate that the select committee will be able to ask questions on this particular point and gain some clarity on some of the issues.On the issue of the marine scientific research obviously we believe that the balance of opinion should be in favour of protecting the marine ecosystem but it will come down to the process that is being proposed and that is outlined in Part 2 clauses 13 to 22 of the bill. I anticipate that there will be a lot of discussion around the way in which for example consultation occurs and the information goes to the Environmental Protection Authority before a decision is made.I want to come back to a comment that was made around illegal fishing in the exclusive economic zone and the extent to which it may or may not impact on this bill. The point was well made that unless you are monitoring what is happening wide out in that part of the world anything could happen. So although I definitely applaud the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill including the exclusive economic zone for all the right reasons—and the fact is it is taking a leadership stance and covers 15 percent of our exclusive economic zone so it could be just the start—it really is about how the monitoring and management of that particular area is going to be undertaken with a level of rigour that gives us an assurance that what we think we are protecting is being protected well.With that said Minister I note with respect that many of the issues that affect Treaty rights in particular have not been dealt with very well by you. The housing right-of-first-refusal approach where you totally ignored Treaty interests that were expressed the marine protected areas proposal that cuts across fishing interests and the Kermadec bill in relation to the 1992 fisheries settlement interest are I think all areas where through the select committee again I anticipate that there will be some submissions that address this particular area.Once the bill gets to the select committee it will receive a very robust hearing from all quarters. Labour will be very open to many of those concerns but again I come back to the primary matter of having an ocean sanctuary that extends into the exclusive economic zone. It is a positive step it will lead the world in marine area protection and it has been viewed albeit at its very initial stage as a positive step forward for New Zealand. Kia ora.