Mackey Moana: Crown Minerals (Protection of Public Conservation Land Listed in the Fourth Schedule) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Mackey Moana: Crown Minerals (Protection of Public Conservation Land Listed in the Fourth Schedule) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 04 April 2012. Volume:679;Page:1703. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
MOANA MACKEY (Labour) 
: 
 I just wonder whether the member who has just resumed his seat Paul Goldsmith understands that not all Department of Conservation land is in schedule 4. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: He doesn’t know that. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: Oh so all Department of Conservation land is in schedule 4. Oh dear! I mean if that is the level of knowledge in the National Party and the depth of understanding of this bill the Crown Minerals (Protection of Public Land Listed in the Fourth Schedule) Amendment Bill then no wonder it is voting against it. National members clearly have no idea what it actually does. The Minister of Energy and Resources is actually in the House. I am disappointed he did not take a call. I know he is gutted that he was on House duty while one of the bills in his portfolio area was going through on a members’ day. Two bills in his portfolio area are going through on a members’ day and he has had to sit there and listen to the kind of drivel that has come from Government members who clearly have no idea what they are talking about. However in saying that he did admit that he drafted their speeches so I think that also speaks volumes.  
I want to congratulate the Green member Metiria Turei who brought this bill to the House and Eugenie Sage who spoke to it at the first reading. But I do have to say that it is actually a little bit sad that we even need to be passing this legislation. Although Labour will be supporting it it is actually really disappointing that we have now got to a position where we no longer have the kind of cross-party agreement that says this land is so deserving of being protected that it is in schedule 4 and it is not going to be touched particularly for processes and activities like mining. That consensus has now been broken by the National Party and here we are putting legislation in place to do everything we can to protect this land which has high conservation value. We should not have to be here doing this.  
The National Party can try to rewrite history once again and say it was only “putting it out there for feedback” around mining on schedule 4 land but everyone knows that is not true and everyone knows the only reason that plan did not go ahead had nothing to do with the National Party listening had nothing to do with the National Party seriously taking on board the concerns of New Zealanders and had everything to do with 50000 people marching up Queen Street saying “It is not yours to mine. It is not yours to mine.”  
Denis O’Rourke 
: That’s how they do their consultation. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: Well exactly and apparently that is the kind of consultation that the National Party requires.  
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: They have focus groups as well.  
MOANA MACKEY 
: That is true; Mr Mallard says “They have focus groups as well.” But the reality was that 50000 people should not have had to take to the streets of Auckland to protect land that was put into schedule 4 for a reason.  
Scott Simpson 
: It was only 30000 a few minutes ago. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: Oh so now apparently there were not enough people marching up the street and we are undermining even that community activity. That shows the arrogance of the National Party on this particular issue.  
National says that this bill is unnecessary because it has listened. Well if National has listened and if we do not have to worry because it is not going to go there ever again then why not pass the bill into law? Why not pass it into law and say to the people of New Zealand: “We are quite happy that these kinds of decisions have to go before Parliament in order for them to go through.”? Have the actual conviction to put that in place and say that we are prepared to do that instead of doing it through a process that is far less transparent than coming through this Parliament and that is not often widely notified. Anyone who has served on the Regulations Review Committee knows you get these complaints that come to the Regulations Review Committee because the Order in Council process has been abused—because it has been used to try to keep controversial issues away from Parliament and to keep controversial issues away from having to be put to a vote and be debated in the House of Representatives.  
If we really have nothing to fear then what is the harm in sending a strong message to the people of New Zealand that the Government has listened it does recognise that this land is highly valued by New Zealanders and it does not have further plans to mine on the schedule 4 land? The reason is that we cannot have confidence that the National Government does not have further plans. There is currently a review of the Crown Minerals Act under way and schedule 4 land will be part of that. When you have the Minister of Conservation handing over half the responsibility for the protection of the Department of Conservation estate to the Minister of Energy and Resources that sends you a very very strong message about how the current National Government views the value of that conservation land. Does the Minister of Energy and Resources not have a conflict of interest when dealing with these applications given his role in rapidly promoting oil and gas exploration? Just that image of the energy Minister of the time Gerry Brownlee sitting there with the diminutive Kate Wilkinson next to him trying to convince us that somehow she had equal power in this decision when she was not allowed to speak at the press conference—she did not say anything and Gerry Brownlee completely took charge—spoke volumes about the priorities of this Government.  
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Mr Speaker— 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The number of calls has expired but the member in charge of the Crown Minerals (Protection of Public Conservation Land Listed in the Fourth Schedule) Amendment Bill does have a right of reply should they desire it. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Oh! 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: You should call then. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Just in case there was a spare slot. It wasn’t a takeover Eugenie. Better me than a Tory.