Penk ChrisCHRIS PENK (National—Helensville): Thank you Madam Chair for the opportunity to speak in this the committee stage of the Maritime Powers Extension Bill. I'd like to focus in my contribution on some time frames involved in this piece of legislation starting with the fact that in the title of the bill is of course the word Extension" which is a pretty easy hint that we'll be making some changes—indeed extending powers. So my question to the Minister—it's actually a series of questions that I'd like him to address—is around the time frame of the Act as it will be coming into force which is of course pretty soon being 1 October 2018. Notwithstanding that the word amendment isn't in the title it is effectively a bill that amends other legislation as noted in the commentary specifically the Customs and Excise Act 2018 and the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.One of the things that we discussed in the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee—and I acknowledge various members around the Chamber at the moment who are present now and were present indeed on that committee when we were discussing the bill—was the need for it to pass with various amendments. No doubt colleagues will talk about those in more detail—the timing of the implementation—to understand those amendments and also just the nature of the bill itself which of course is not yet law but in just a couple of weeks appears likely to be.When I spoke at a previous reading of the bill I noted—perhaps flippantly—that offenders or would-be offenders don't need much time for compliance. They don't need much time to get their acts together to be able to comply with this law because what they're doing is of course already illegal and actually what we're talking about is the means of enforcing that which is already prohibited. However what I should have and perhaps could have noted at that time is the fact that compliance will be needed—changes will be needed—to ensure that compliance is done properly by our customs agency and also the other agencies that will be necessary to ensure that the bill has effect. In particular I refer to the navy but I understand that other Government agencies might well be involved in the very sense that this is intended to work which is one of interoperability.In relation to preparing themselves for the new regime that will come into force once this bill is passed the customs agency the navy and so forth will need good advice on the rules of engagement from their legal offices and so forth to ensure that they don't overstep the powers that they've been given. They are extensive powers—that is the very purpose of the bill and it's one that we on this side of the committee support the Government in introducing but the fact that it is such a major issue to enable not only New Zealand - flag ships but also overseas-flag ships and status vessels to be boarded is something that we should take very seriously and get right the first time. While the action out on the high seas or within the exclusive economic zone or wherever it might be can take place in circumstances that don't allow a lot of time for reflection of course courts applying and understanding the nature of alleged offences can be a bit more reactive; so it's really in terms of the agencies that will be fulfilling the aims of this legislation that I am thinking about when I talk about the time frames involved.Essentially my points in relation to this boil down to the question to the Minister where I wonder whether 1 October 2018 is an appropriate commencement date—whether that will give sufficient time for the various agencies to get their heads around the things that will be needed. If there's any doubt about the seriousness of what's involved and therefore the states of compliance and understanding where the rights and responsibilities lie I think it can be found in the fact that as alluded to in the commentary the changes to existing law can be described under a couple of different headings. One is expanding the powers of the New Zealand Customs Service and the other is establishing offences that apply in the circumstances that are set out there. Those are major things because they do impact on New Zealand citizens as well as citizens of other countries and perhaps even Stateless people—analogous to flagless vessels—and so I welcome the contribution from the Minister on that point regarding timing."