Stewart Barbara: Protected Objects Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Stewart Barbara: Protected Objects Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:631;Page:2969] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First supports the second reading of the Protected Objects Amendment Bill. As has been pointed out New Zealand First did not have a member on the Government Administration Committee and that is a shame because the committee obviously deals with some very interesting legislation. We are very pleased to see that this bill has returned to the House because as a country we must ensure that our New Zealand objects are protected. Basically they are fundamental to our cultural heritage. 
 All our artefacts and art objects everything that we value and everything that makes us unique as New Zealanders must be protected. We do not want to see historical objects exported overseas as it usually takes a huge amount of time to ever have them returned to our New Zealand shores. I think we have seen this over the last few years in relation to the return of Maori human remains and the shrunken heads that were talked about earlier. 
We do understand that sometimes objects will be temporarily sent overseas to be included in exhibitions and galleries for a short amount of time but the very best aspect of this is that the objects are returned to New Zealand after a specified time. We definitely like that. We do not want to see any of our culture lost to New Zealanders or to New Zealand. New Zealand First was very pleased to see the setting up of a register of protected New Zealand objects that people have been refused permission to export and that is exactly as it should be. We must compliment the Government Administration Committee on promoting that aspect. We do not want nor can we afford to lose any objects of cultural importance particularly those that we sometimes hear about that have been exported illegally overseas never to be available to the New Zealand public again. It is essential to maintain our treasures here in New Zealand. 
I note that under section 15 of the Antiquities Act the Museum of New Zealand is already required to maintain a register of artefacts and that is exactly as it should be. We note that the time threshold for protected objects has been reduced from 60 years to 50 years. New Zealand First would have preferred the age threshold to remain at 60 years although we note that both Canada and the UK have a 50-year threshold for protected objects so we will be following that area with a lot of interest. 
We want to see a reduction in illegal exports and we are hoping that this bill will provide some workable solution to the problem. We note from the commentary on the bill that the bill enables New Zealand’s participation in the Unesco and International Institute for the Unification of Private Law conventions which prohibit the import of unlawfully exported protected foreign objects and provide for the forfeiture and return of those objects. It is really important that New Zealand is able to participate in this type of convention. 
So New Zealand First is happy to see the bill back in the House. We hope it will provide a workable solution and ensure that protected objects remain in New Zealand. We will follow the bill’s progress through the House with interest.