Mahuta NanaiaHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Associate Minister for the Environment): Thank you for the opportunity to take a call on the Conservation (Infringement System) Bill. I've listened very carefully to the contributions of my colleagues and I too believe that the bill makes some useful steps forward in the way in which the infringement system will operate across a range of Acts to try and get some greater consistency but also to ensure that the infringement is proportional to the offence. I do want to make the point that even in its simplicity it's the type of bill that will I expect garner a lot of interest at the select committee level and we do expect a lot of groups to participate in the select committee process and give a view on the effectiveness and the way in which the infringement system is expected to work but also intentions around implementation and its workability. So we do expect that there will be a broad range of submissions: Fish & Game recreational groups hunters the general public—vigilant lawyers perhaps—landowners and also local government officers because as I say in its simplicity it offers a very practical way of dealing with infringements in a number of areas.There are some aspects that may require further investigation and may urge the select committee to pay some attention to the finer detail. For example I was just looking through the bill and noted that there could arise questions in various contexts around who authorises the offence and who is able to authorise the infringement notice. In some instances it's a ranger and in some instances it's a warranted officer. In relation to reserves it's the director-general or chief executive who warrants a ranger to be able to issue an offence. Now a select committee thinking through the practical application of that and who are the people that we're talking about I think may find or may reveal the way in which in practice this will happen.The other thing is that by and large the infringement system exists within an ecosystem of greater care and respect for the rule of law and the general public have a part to play in this process. Take for example in the conservation estate when people enjoy their part of the conservation estate and see someone who is taking into the estate a dog untethered which runs off and chases a bird. If the general public sees an activity or an infringement like that take place then what actions are they able to take? I think the practical application of what's intended to I guess capture these types of smaller offences but to ensure greater vigilance in the way that we look after our conservation estate are things that the select committee can pursue. And it is useful because after all you do want to know that the laws that we are seeking to ensure have an impact to protect our conservation estate our wildlife our marine mammal protection and the like can actually work.The other issue is how to pay. Now I'm making this comment based on how road tolls are collected but paying an infringement notice isn't that easy actually. If we think about just a couple of weeks ago you go to Waitangi and you pay your toll online—it isn't easy for a lot of people to go through that system. So it's worth investigating just the payment method and whether it's accessible to a range of people who may or may not have access to the internet and online banking services and the like. Now these are all the types of issues that could come through a select committee process and we encourage submitters to think about these issues as they reflect on the intended impact of this particular bill and the way in which it is implemented.I come back to a point that I made earlier around context. Context does matter. The bill covers a range of other Acts and when you think about them in isolation of each other there are different sets of circumstances in reality that apply. Take hunting: there are infringements that apply to hunters there and I have heard certainly in instances where Māori land abuts conservation estate where hunters are kind of on the border there on the periphery they kind of travel a little bit freely and it is the bugbear of landowners. But how do you ensure greater compliance in that space? I'll be interested to see whether that is an issue that comes through at the select committee.I take also the issue of the Wildlife Act and the protection in this area. Now a point was raised earlier around the exemption of Fish and Game not being covered in terms of the extension of the rights to rangers. I think I recall in the House last term that we did debate that very issue and it did come up as to the reasons why they weren't given extensive powers. That may come up again in the submission process this time as well. Suffice to say context will matter. The practical application of how the law is intended to apply and actually will apply—that insight will be gained through the submissions process.I do also note that there is a level of variability in the way in which reserves operate so it will be helpful to local government—the way in which infringements are set out in a more consistent way and apply to reserves. I'm sure that will be a very useful addition to a number of issues that apply on reserves. Now let me read a couple of them: Failure to remove animal vehicle aircraft or boat"—one of them; "Unauthorised entry" into a reserve; "Anchoring or mooring of a boat in breach of notice or permit"; "Damage by fire"; "Altering boundary marks or items issued by Minister Department or administering body"; "Using or receiving items removed unlawfully from [the] reserve". My understanding across reserves in local government is of the level of variability. This will give some consistency to certain matters and will enable councils to practically apply a common standard when it comes to offences setting out offences and the issuing of infringement notices.Lastly can I just say that albeit there is a simple range of amendments to the infringement system I do pick up on the point well made by the speaker before me my colleague Duncan Webb when he said that these are incremental steps that in their totality will make a difference to the better functioning of the way in which we protect our special areas and the way in which the public observe the rule of law and practically our attempt to try and ensure that the infringement is relative to the offence that is being committed.They are very practical amendments. A lot of hard work has gone into preparing the bill that we have before us. I encouraged submitters across a range of community stakeholder and interest groups to make their views known on this bill. We will certainly welcome feedback at the second reading of this bill when it comes to the House.Bill read a first time. Bill referred to the Environment Committee."