Tamihere John: Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Tamihere John: Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:609;Page:6931] 
Hon JOHN TAMIHERE (Associate Minister of Commerce) 
: I move  
That the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Amendment Bill be now read a second time 
. The Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee carefully considered the bill and reported it back in April. The purpose of the bill is to amend the Import Control Act in order to provide for the making of export control regulations that will enable New Zealand to ratify the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. This bill together with certain amendments to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act will also enable ratification of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The bill will also give effect to any other international obligation that is or will become binding on New Zealand that provides for restrictions on or the prohibition of the exploitation of certain chemicals products organisms wastes or other substances that pose a risk to human health or to the environment. 
New Zealand signed the Rotterdam convention on 11 September 1998 and the Stockholm convention in May 2001. The Rotterdam convention requires information about trade in hazardous chemicals to be exchanged between parties before any trading takes place. Once parties are informed of potential trade and their attention is drawn to any related health or environmental risks they may consent to importation with or without conditions or not consent to the trade at all. The Stockholm convention seeks to protect human health and the environment by banning the production use or trade of certain persistent organic pollutants. These persistent organic pollutants—or “POPs” as they are called—are highly toxic. These pollutants can accumulate in living tissues and pose a threat to the quality of food particularly meat products. 
The key measure in this bill mirrors the Import Control Act’s import control mechanism and provides for the Governor-General by Order in Council to make regulations that prohibit the exploitation of specified goods. The bill also includes provision for export controls to be made to meet the requirements of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal and of the Waigani Convention to Ban the Importation into Forum Island Countries of Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes and to Control the Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within the South Pacific Region. New Zealand ratified the Basel convention in 1994 and the Waigani convention in 2000. Currently export controls to meet New Zealand’s obligations under these conventions are in place through an Order in Council under the Customs and Excise Act that must be reviewed every 3 years. The bill provides a more durable mechanism to meet the obligations under those conventions and will consolidate these existing export controls with those required to implement the Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions. 
The select committee considered an amendment to clause 6 to incorporate the trade ban amendment to the Basel convention. The trade ban amendment would ban hazardous wastes exports for final disposal or recycling from what are known as OECD countries to non-OECD countries. Currently a study is being undertaken—which New Zealand supports within the Basel convention process—that is considering the likely social economic and environmental impacts of the trade ban amendment. There is an expectation that the question of whether to ratify this amendment can be presented to the Government once the study is completed at the end of 2004. This bill is not the place to determine the issue and as the Associate Minister of Commerce I do not intend to enter into the debate. I would however draw the attention of the House to paragraph (c) of section 2(1) of the principal Act in clause 6(1) which automatically includes any amendments to the conventions when they become binding on New Zealand. Therefore by supporting this legislation the House is putting in place a framework that would facilitate a decision either way. 
In conclusion the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Amendment Bill together with certain amendments to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act will enable New Zealand to ratify the Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions thereby adding value to efforts to protect the health of New Zealanders and the quality of our food and demonstrating a commitment to multilateral solutions to global problems. The bill provides a durable mechanism to meet the obligations in these conventions and consolidates export controls for implementing international obligations relating to certain chemicals products organisms wastes or other substances that pose a risk to human health or to the environment. 
Finally I wish to thank the members of the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee for their work in considering this bill. I would also like to acknowledge the submitters of submissions both written and oral. I commend the bill to the House. More particularly I commend members of the Opposition who in the first reading debate and in the select committee supported this bill without amendment. It is great to stand up in Parliament and note that everyone is of one mind on this bill and it will be passed rapidly. Kia ora.