Smith Nick: Kaikōura (Te Tai-o-Marokura) Marine Management Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSmith Nick: Kaikōura (Te Tai-o-Marokura) Marine Management Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 22 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19358. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Conservation):I move That the Kaikōura (Te Tai-o-Marokura) Marine Management Bill be now read a second time. Over the adjournment I took my children to the Ōhau Point area where the New Zealand fur seal exists in a truly beautiful spot. There were in a small creek over 100 visitors—families with children—watching a group of about 50 baby seals playing in a pond in a waterfall. That was that classic New Zealand visitor experience that is highlighted as one of the wonderful experiences in New Zealand in Lonely Planet’s guidebook. That visit reinforced for me the value in this Kaikōura (Te Tai-o-Marokura) Marine Management Bill. It provides for a New Zealand fur seal sanctuary at Ōhau Point. It provides for a whale sanctuary over that remarkable piece of coastline and ocean adjacent to the community of Kaikōura. It provides for a new and significant marine reserve the Hikurangi Marine Reserve. It provides for five customary fishing areas for Ngāi Tahu and the local rūnanga. It also provides for a tightening of and more sustainable approach to the recreational fishing along that treasured Kaikōura Coast.I want to begin by acknowledging the hard work of Te Korowai o Te Tai o Marokura. This is a process that has gone on for 20 years. The tensions were sufficiently strong 20 years ago in the early discussions when this community was at loggerheads over proposals for marine protection in Kaikōura. I want to pay tribute to every one of the members of Te Korowai who have come together with the proposals that are in this bill. I also want to acknowledge Colin King the member of Parliament for Kaikōura. He advocated for these marine protection measures as a candidate and it is fitting that on a day on which he gives his valedictory speech this Kaikōura marine management bill is to make further progress through the House.David Shearer: What did you push him out for? He was a good guy.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Well unlike the Labour Party the National Party is rejuvenating Mr Shearer. We are bringing new bright talent through the ranks and that—David Shearer: Why are you still here then Nick Smith?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Well I am substantially younger than those members opposite. I have not hit the grand old age of 50 yet and I can promise members opposite that there will be a lot more good bills like this one in my name as we make progress not just on marine conservation but on other issues.I do want to acknowledge the work of the Local Government and Environment Committee and its former member Ruth Dyson; Labour which has been very supportive; and the members of the Green Party who are supporting the bill. I am not surprised by their typical rhetoric that it is never enough but I do want to acknowledge their support and the agreement that has been reached to enable us to be able to progress this bill forward. I particularly want to acknowledge both those parties for their cooperation in allowing this bill to be progressed during the term of this Parliament. I actually think there is a pretty strong consensus across this Parliament that New Zealand has more work to do in respect of marine conservation and protection. I think it is the maturity of this Parliament that enables this bill to be progressed given the long debate that has occurred.In respect of some of the specific changes that have been made by the select committee in its hard work I want to acknowledge both Nicky Wagner and Maggie Barry for their hard work in bringing this bill back through. Firstly there is the proposal to change the name of the group that will have an ongoing oversight of these new marine protections tools on the Kaikōura Coast to guardians. We have guardians for Lake Wānaka we have guardians at Manapōuri and we have guardians in areas like the Fiordland coastline. I think it has been a good choice of the committee to use that term to aptly describe the ongoing role of the group that will be involved in providing an oversight of these new marine protection measures. I have also got to acknowledge that the select committee has tightened up the definition of the areas of the whale sanctuary the New Zealand fur seal sanctuary customary fishing and the marine reserve. It is a sign of technology that previously we have not defined a boundary to less than 10 metres but the select committee has said that actually with GPS technology today we can get a greater degree of accuracy even in an ocean environment. So that is being tightened up with the definition down to just 1 metre for the boundaries of these new marine protection measures. The amendments by the select committee also clarify the role of the Minister quite sensibly and they provide a broader role for the guardians in education around the marine environment. That I think is also important and is valued.I do note in the minority report that the Green Party has made the point that it would like the marine reserve to be bigger and that is a view I understand. But I also say that where you have these collaborative processes and where you have a community that is heavily divided over marine protection I think this Parliament needs to respect the trade-offs the gives and gains they have made. That is why the Government is not prepared to arbitrarily overrule that process and make the sorts of changes to the boundary of the marine reserve that the Green Party has promoted in its minority report.The bill as reported back from the select committee provides for a review of these marine protection tools after a period of 25 years. This was done in a pragmatic and in my view actually pretty cooperative way in discussions with the Labour Party and the Green Party. It is my intention to introduce a Supplementary Order Paper during the Committee stage to bring that down to a period of 10 years. I have discussed that with Sir Mark Solomon the chair of Ngāi Tahu. He too is happy for that compromise which enables us to be able to progress this bill.Much has been said about the Kaikōura area. Few members recognise that the richness of the marine life in the Hikurangi Trench has been measured by scientists to be the most abundant marine life at depths greater than 1500 metres anywhere in the world. In fact the truly remarkable figure is that it has about 100 times more species than the second-next area with the most abundant marine life. That I think reinforces the value of this marine protection tool. I also want to note this measure in the context of the debate around regional development. If you ever wanted to see a rural town that was 25 years ago quite economically challenged and a town that was struggling turn into a town that has truly blossomed it is Kaikōura with its opportunities that the whale-watching and other marine tourism experiences have added to this community.This bill is good for the environment. This bill is good for the economy. This bill sets a good precedent for the way in which we develop marine protection. It is provides for the very first whale sanctuary that we have in New Zealand and the very first New Zealand fur seal sanctuary. It is also one that fishermen have already agreed on. They are practising the reduced recreational catch limits. It is a real model that other communities around New Zealand need to look to as we take greater care of the ocean environment. I commend the bill to the House.