Williams Andrew: Subantarctic Islands Marine Reserves Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWilliams Andrew: Subantarctic Islands Marine Reserves Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 11 February 2014. Volume:696;Page:15821. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First): I take a call on behalf of New Zealand First and in my address I hope to take the politics out of it and get back to the basis of this debate which is all about the environment and about these very special islands in the subantarctic.This bill the Subantarctic Islands Marine Reserves Bill represents a 400000 hectare area that will be protected under law as a result of this bill going through the House tonight and when it is signed off by the Governor-General. These three sets of islands—the Antipodes Islands the Bounty Islands and Campbell Island—off the south-east coast of the New Zealand mainland are a very special part of New Zealand. The Antipodes Islands some 860 kilometres south-east of Stewart Island were first discovered in 1800 by Captain Henry Waterhouse on the HMSReliance. So we are talking about one of the very early discoveries several hundred years ago in terms of the island mass of New Zealand.It is also now one of three World Heritage status areas in New Zealand. We have Fiordland as one of our World Heritage status areas we have Tongariro National Park up in the North Island and then this third one the Subantarctic Islands which in 1998 were accorded World Heritage status. So it is a very important third part of our World Heritage collection. In having World Heritage status we are effectively the guardians onbehalf of the citizens of the world for this particular location. Therefore it is very special and it is incumbent on us as New Zealanders to ensure that this area is protected.The sea around the Bounty Islands is the deepest in New Zealand’s territorial waters. It is some 3000 metres deep. So it is an extraordinary piece of ocean in New Zealand’s territorial waters. Eighty percent of endemic protected species in New Zealand—meaning that they exist only in New Zealand—are found out in the oceans around New Zealand. Over a dozen species in these Subantarctic Islands are endangered such as the southern royal albatross.We are very fortunate that New Zealand now has 34 marine reserves and that this will become the latest marine reserve. It is very special when you do visit some of them such as the original one at Goat Island up near Leigh which now has wonderful fish life. It is wonderful for schools and universities and the public to go and to visit to see what has happened as a result of that marine reserve and to go to the likes of the Akaroa marine reserve that has now been provided and other marine reserves around the coast where fish species fish life and marine life have been preserved as a result of making areas protected.The Local Government and Environment Committee considered a great deal of evidence on this bill. It was one of the more pleasing bills in that the whole committee was in agreement with what was required to put this through into legislation. The committee agreed on a shorter review time in terms of what was originally in the legislation. Again we felt that it was appropriate that the review period be reduced because of the special nature of these islands. It was a very good cordial agreement by the Local Government and Environment Committee to achieve a good outcome for this bill.It is pleasing to see that this week the HMNZSWellington set sail from Devonport naval base yesterday heading to the Subantarctic Islands. It will be picking up the Minister of Conservation Nick Smith somewhere on the way as it travels south. The Minister will be on there. So by the time this bill is enacted and perhaps signed off by the Governor-General in the next couple of days and is in force the Minister will actually be arriving in these islands to make the appropriate announcement. I am sure the National Party will make sure that that is heard loud and clear in all available media.More especially on board the HMNZSWellington there are 12 Sir Peter Blake Trust young leaders. They left from Auckland. They have been selected as some of the top young leaders that this country has. They are going down there to the Subantarctic Islands. In the spirit of Sir Peter Blake and all the great work that he has done out on the oceans around the world and in the marine environment those 12 young New Zealanders are going for a 13-day expedition to look at the Subantarctic Islands with representatives from the Department of Conservation from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research from Otago University and from a number of other organisations and hosted of course by the Royal New Zealand Navy.The group while they are there looking at the islands will be drafting a feasibility plan for a world-leading subantarctic research station which is hoped to be completed by 2015. The station will allow New Zealand scientists and worldwide agencies to study the effects of ocean and climate change and also the effects on many of those endangered species wildlife marine life and the southern oceans around the islands. This has again huge potential for the outreach of New Zealand into a special part of the oceans that surround New Zealand. We certainly commend those young people for the good work they will be doing over the next 13 days on board that naval ship—with the naval officers and the many other Government support people and scientists who are in support of them—to come up with some good recommendations as to how that station will be established.In closing it is not often that we have unanimous support in this House but this is one of those occasions. This is a special occasion because this will be our most far-reaching outpost in terms of a marine reserve for New Zealand as a nation. It is very special and it shows that New Zealanders as a whole place a high priority on the environment and conservation and on ensuring that we do our very best for the natural environment. So New Zealand First is very happy to support and commend this bill.