Marcroft JennyCONSERVATION (INFRINGEMENT SYSTEM) BILLFirst ReadingDebate resumed from 1 February.JENNY MARCROFT (NZ First): Kia ora and thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to stand and speak on behalf of New Zealand First on the Conservation (Infringement System) Bill. Much of New Zealand's taonga exists within nature's stores. The lure of New Zealand for many lies in the environmental uniqueness of our national parks and reserves our native wildlife and our outdoor culture. Unfortunately though these treasures are vulnerable to corruption and misuse and people do take advantage of this. So personally I am pleased to see the Conservation (Infringement System) Bill in the House today. It is good to address this issue and it will give the Department of Conservation (DOC) the ability to issue infringement notices for minor offending. Currently we have a system where someone who breaks the law either goes through the costly court system for a major offence—and I'd like to make a note of the example of the kererū crimes that hit the headlines a couple of years ago when a certain matua a whanaunga from the North tried to smuggle the birds out under his coat after a hunting trip in Ngāi Tahu. Now of course there was no other option but the full force of the law to come down hard. However at the other end of the scale the minor end of the scale where maybe say a tourist drops rubbish as they're walking or mountain biking around the redwoods in Rotorua—should they get caught all they get slapped with is a wet bus ticket. This bill will tidy up the law and those who commit an offence at the minor end of the scale will face real consequences in the way of an instant fine. From the Bills Digest the purpose of the bill is to create systems of infringement offences for less serious offending under the following Acts which are administered and enforced by the Department of Conservation and local authorities: Conservation Act 1987; Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978; Marine Reserves Act 1971; National Parks Act 1980; Reserves Act 1977; Trade in Endangered Species Act 1989; Wild Animal Control Act 1977; and Wildlife Act 1953." It's important to note that the bill doesn't create any new offences and the penalty is to be set by regulation and must not exceed more than $1000. From DOC's regulatory impact statement I note "The Department of Conservation (DOC) administers about one third of New Zealand's land area (more than 8 million hectares) 44 marine reserves and 6 marine mammal sanctuaries (totalling 4115669 hectares) for the purposes of conservation. In addition DOC also protects conserves or manages native freshwater fisheries recreational freshwater fisheries and protected native wildlife and controls harmful species of introduced wild animals and regulates the hunting of these animals." As we can see this is a vast area that DOC is responsible for and for such a vast area it's imperative that there is a better system to allow DOC to carry out their work. The Conservation (Infringement System) Bill hopes to fix the anomaly where the Department of Conservation is the only major Government agency that lacks the power to use such a system in enforcing laws within their jurisdiction. It's not a new concept at all. These systems exist already in many other areas of law certainly for traffic offences and more relevantly in the Fisheries Act. This bill will bring conservation legislation in line with similar Acts and it creates consistency across our legislation. Now what are some of these activities that would be treated as an infringement offence? Well currently there would be breaches of the whitebait regulations—they're some of the most numerous prosecutions currently for illegal fishing in marine reserves—and also offences relating to the Taupō trout fishery. This bill would also enable DOC to manage littering in public conservation land through the infringement offence. And what about those who foul our special natural spaces—freedom campers who leave behind their nasty business? Well I do note that the Freedom Camping Act 2011 already contains separate infringement offences and so DOC can use those. So this bill doesn't actually affect freedom camping. Now overall the bill seeks to make conservation and protection efforts more effective as actions previously inappropriate for prosecution will have more of a consequence than just a warning—just a shake of the head and a wag of the finger and a "Tut tut!" The scale of the infringement system means that penalties will be better matched to the degree and seriousness of the offence. Since its beginning DOC has had to deal with offenders in one of two extremes by way of either a warning or an official prosecution. Warnings are the equivalent of a slap on the wrist and do little to deter people from continuing and committing further offences. They rarely have the desired effect of changing people's behaviour. DOC currently issues around 200 warnings a year and are concerned that the numbers will increase as minor offences continue to occur without a specific remedial penalty. The bill will remove unnecessary costs to the judicial system as fewer of the minor offences will need to be addressed in the courts. This will be beneficial for Kiwis also as well as tourists as this is a difficult process to manoeuvre and can have lasting impacts on future endeavours. Currently the prosecutions take time and resources from both DOC and the court system. It's also a huge impediment to individuals who commit minor offences and who must endure the hassle of the court system and the lasting impact that any criminal conviction has on their future on their life and on their future rights and freedoms. There are a number of examples where we can see the need for a better system. In 2016 in the Kāweka Forest Park two hunters were found without permits. They were trespassed. A couple using a campfire at the Mangatūtū hot springs were given a verbal warning from a DOC officer only to be discovered again with another fire. They were then trespassed. Now these kinds of infringements are very real breaches of the law but a warning or even a trespass notice may not cause the offender to change their behaviour in a way that a fine might. Now even though the fines won't be paid directly to DOC it is a way for DOC to recoup some losses they encounter as a result of offending. Minor offences can have an impact on the environment and on the resources available to DOC. By using infringement notices for these minor and medium offences some of this will be accounted for and DOC's resources can be better spent on improving conservation rather than on repairing damages caused by these offences. I'd just like to note New Zealand First is concerned about the safety of these warranted officers that will be carrying out this work. DOC maintains a nationwide network of warranted officers who are formally trained and who hold official warrants to undertake compliance and enforcement activities. New Zealand First would like to see that these DOC warranted officers are suitably trained and equipped with the appropriate safety gear for the work that they have to carry out. As at December 2017 111 incidents of threat harassment intimidation or assault to DOC workers had been recorded since 2006 when records first started being kept. We must ensure their safety. I'd also like to just note that concerns may come from the public around introducing such a system. They may think it's in fact a way of gathering revenue. There are no new offences being added to this piece of legislation and the fines will be capped at $1000. Essentially the main focus of DOC is the protection and conservation of our natural taonga. It's the responsibility of DOC to carry that out in the best way possible and they have a duty to ensure this. However they absolutely need the proper tools to carry out this programme. The Conservation (Infringement System) Bill will give the department that tool. Human activities are among the contributing factors that lead to the degradation of our natural environment—our natural heritage. If we tread with heavy footsteps then at the very least we need to ensure that we mitigate the effects and that some form of compensation is made to reset the balance. A lack of respect for Papatūānuku our precious taonga our nature stores—which we are all kaitiaki of—must not be allowed to continue without consequence. An infringement system is long overdue and New Zealand First will support this bill. Kia ora koutou."