Brooking RachelHon RACHEL BROOKING (Labour—Dunedin): Thank you Madam Chair. I'm standing here and hopefully you and the Minister can see me. I'm just looking for the Minister's indication because I do have a series of questions on most of the clauses in Part 1 and I think it would be simpler if I go clause by clause and we have a good discussion process with the Minister. I think there was a nod there. There is a nod—excellent. So I won't be taking full calls but I would like to ask the Minister a number of questions because of course this is not going to select committee and this is our opportunity to get on the Hansard what is meant and what is not meant by this bill.Starting then at clause 4 which is amendments to the principal Act. If we go to the principal Act the purpose is confined—sorry I'll just flick on to this—at section 3 of the Act. The purpose is to encourage waste minimisation and a decrease in waste disposal in order to—(a) protect the environment from harm; and (b) provide environmental social economic and cultural benefits." Then there is another purpose in Part 3 of the Act and Part 3 is the waste disposal levy. So at section 25 there is a purpose of that Part 3 and that is "to enable a levy to be imposed on waste disposed of to—(a) raise revenue for promoting and achieving waste minimisation; and (b) increase the cost of waste disposal to recognise that disposal imposes costs on the environment society and the economy." So what we have here in clause 4 is that the purpose of Part 3 that I just read out is included in the overall purpose section. That seems fine and I'm not asking any questions on that except that the Minister can confirm that I've not got anything wrong there. That raising revenue part of the purpose is "the promotion and achievement of waste minimisation;" and then there's a number of other clauses. I'm going to come back to subparagraph (ii) but there's subparagraph (iii) which is to do with "local authorities to manage emergency waste". I do have a question on this that relates to some other clauses as well and the question on the local authorities is for the Minister to clarify that this purpose section and subsequent sections only really relate to the Government half of the levy. The broadening of the purpose doesn't apply to how the local authorities can spend their money that they collect through the levy; it only applies to the money that they spend via the central government's collection of the levy. I have no problems with this emergency waste addition at new subparagraph (iii).Then at subparagraph (iv) it's that the Minister can undertake functions and duties—"the Ministry" sorry—in relation to waste minimisation and hazardous substances. I just have a very small question on this and it's just around the gramma. So it's "in relation to waste management and minimisation and hazardous substances;". Do those hazardous substances have to relate to waste management and minimisation? Should there be—if you listen to Chris Finlayson or not—another comma in there? A small point but one that I'm sure the officials can help with. Then at subparagraph (v): "projects that provide for the remediation of contaminated sites;". A small question on this point is around what's happened to that contamination fund—the separate fund that didn't come through the levy. That's the second question.Then at paragraph (b): increase the cost of the waste disposal levy. That's unchanged from what we've got in the Act at the moment.Going back then to subparagraph (ii) that is "activities that reduce environmental harm or increase environmental benefits;". I might just pause here and come back to it if the Minister is agreeable so that she can answer my grammatical question on subparagraph (iv) and if there are any comments on subparagraph (iii) about local authorities and that connection to emergencies being through the central fund and that I've described the purposes appropriately."