Prosser Richard: Marine Legislation Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Prosser Richard: Marine Legislation Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 20 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8752. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
RICHARD PROSSER (NZ First) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to follow Mr Sabin and his unique brand of jocular sincerity. I am pleased to rise to take a call on this the second reading of the Marine Legislation Bill. New Zealand First supports this bill. We supported it at its first reading with some reservations. I have had to consult the  
Hansard 
 to discover what those reservations were. Apparently they centred on the  
Rena 
 and the effects of the fuel oil that leaked from that now infamous vessel on to the pristine beaches of the Bay of Plenty. I was uncertain as to the nature of our reservations because during the first reading New Zealand First was represented by the now independent member from Tauranga. The independent member from Tauranga was very concerned about the oil on the beaches and rightly so. We are very concerned about oil on the beaches as well. We remain concerned despite his absence from our caucus. He did not take that concern with him. I look forward to hearing the independent member from Tauranga speaking on this bill again. I look forward to his speech as I am sure it will add to the powerful contribution he is making in his new role as New Zealand’s most effective independent MP. I wish him well with that. As one of my old teachers used to say as my old chemistry teacher at high school used to say when we were facing exams as he used to remark to those of us who were about to be examined I wish him the success that he deserves. But I digress perhaps just a little. 
New Zealand First supports this bill. We are happy to support good legislation as and when we encounter it. If we have any criticism it is perhaps that it has taken this long for this legislation to reach this stage of its passage through the House and that it will be some time yet—some not inconsiderable time yet—before it becomes law. The longer it takes before this bill becomes law the greater the chances will be that another  
Rena 
 disaster may be visited upon us. We may be faced with yet more oil on the beaches. The independent member from Tauranga may be forced or at least feel compelled to avail us of yet more photos on his iPad of oil on the beaches. I can think of little else that I would wish to see less than pictures of oil on the beaches on the iPad of the independent member from Tauranga or indeed anything else that may be on it. I suppose I should be grateful that at least he did not sing. Or perhaps he did—perhaps he did sing. I cannot be sure as I confess that I did not read the  
Hansard 
 in its entirety. If it is indeed the case that the now independent member from Tauranga did burst into song about the oil on the beaches I am sure that some honourable member who was present at the time will remind me of it unless of course they have blanked that occurrence from their memory. It is possible that that happened and perhaps understandable. Again I am digressing. 
New Zealand First is happy to support this bill and we are glad about the various concerns that it will address. The Minister for Building and Construction Mr Williamson made references to the broad aims of the bill during the earlier debate and we agree with those broad aims. He said that “The purpose of this bill is to promote maritime safety and marine environment protection.” and we support that aim. The Minister said much else with which we agree. He remarked that “The bill also transfers the regulation of waste dumping and discharges from ships and offshore installations involved in seabed activities in the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf from Maritime New Zealand to the Environmental Protection Authority. This change is achieved through amendments to the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012. … It seeks to promote safety in maritime transport protect the marine environment and implement New Zealand’s obligations under international maritime conventions.”—the main issues and benefits of this are of course those very international conventions—“The bill enables New Zealand to accede to three international conventions to protect New Zealand’s maritime interests.” 
The  
Rena 
 disaster has “highlighted the need to update New Zealand’s liability limitation regime for maritime claims. The bill will enable New Zealand to accede to the 1996 protocol to amend the International Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976. … The bill also enables New Zealand to ratify the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage 2001 which makes shipowners strictly liable for bunker oil spills. Claims for pollution damage from ships’ bunker oil will be treated as a separate category of claim. The increased liability limit established by the 1996 protocol will apply to such claims. This arrangement provides a more certain remedy for parties facing economic loss or clean-up costs because of bunker oil spills. Thirdly the bill enables New Zealand to accede to the Protocol Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Pollution by Substances other than Oil 1973. This will help protect New Zealand’s environment in the event of a shipping accident involving hazardous or noxious substances.”—such as perhaps that which occurred with the  
Rena 
—“The bill also implements amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers 1978 that establish an internationally applicable alcohol limit for merchant seafarers.” I note that other members have made mention of the alcohol limit and how it differs from that which applies to road users in New Zealand. Mr Lees-Galloway I think could be reassured that masters of container ships operating on our roads will indeed be subject to lower alcohol limits. 
“The bill establishes clear functions duties and powers to complement the voluntary guidelines of the New Zealand Port and Harbour Marine Safety Code 2004 and maintains the division of central and local government responsibilities. These measures provide a stronger regime for the management of port and harbour and navigation safety. The bill also contains miscellaneous amendments to improve enforcement modernise penalty levels and clarify the application of the Maritime Transport Act. … The bill also amends rule-making provisions in line with amendments already made to the rule-making provisions of the Civil Aviation Act 1990 and the Land Transport Act 1998. Transfers of discharge and dumping functions from Maritime New Zealand to the Environmental Protection Authority are covered. The bill transfers regulation of waste dumping except emergency dumping and certain discharges within the exclusive economic zone and over the continental shelf from Maritime New Zealand to the Environmental Protection Authority. This will enable discharge and dumping applications to be considered entirely within the new exclusive economic zone regime”. 
In short this is a good and necessary piece of legislation and we commend the Government for advancing it although I reiterate we are not entirely happy about how long it has taken for it to be implemented. New Zealand First supports this bill.