Whaitiri Meka: Environmental Reporting Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWhaitiri Meka: Environmental Reporting Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 05 March 2014. Volume:696;Page:16371. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Tēnā tātou katoa. I am privileged to take a short call on the Environmental Reporting Bill. I heard comments from across the House that members were not clear on Labour’s reason as to why we are opposing this bill. Can I make it really clear that we are opposing it because it needs strengthening we are opposing this piece of legislation because it falls well short and it is our role as parliamentarians in this House that when we feel that legislation is weak at the knees we need to apply our might to strengthen it.The purpose of the bill is to create a national-level environmental reporting system to ensure that reporting on our environment occurs on a regular basis and can be trusted by the public as independent fair and accurate. I join with my learned colleagues the honourable Moana Mackey and the Hon Ruth Dyson in their contributions on this bill. From our end the key parts that they raised in terms of their concerns with this bill are quite clear. On reading the bill I want to add my weight in highlighting those critical areas that I believe need strengthening. Like Moana Mackey I also want to say to the Minister for the Environment that national reporting national standards need to be commended but the rubber hits the road when we go to implementation. That is one of the concerns I have in reading this bill and also in looking at the behaviour of the National-led Government in putting across similar bills.Can I highlight a couple of areas that previous speakers on this side of the House have raised. When I look at the purpose of the bill again we talk about requiring “regular reports on the state of New Zealand’s environment as a whole:” and I have got no issue there. We “require regular reports on the state of the air atmosphere and climate freshwater land and marine domains:”—again I have no issue there. To “ensure that producers of environmental reports act independently and produce fair and accurate reports:”—well I start worrying about how independent those reports will be.The other point we talk about in the purpose of this bill is that it is to “ensure that the expertise of government departments is utilised in producing environmental reports:”. Again we have seen in this House particular ministries—the Department of Conservation and the Ministry for the Environment—being shut down by this National-led Government around the Tukituki catchment proposal. Again I doubt that we willhave that true independence and contestable advice from those particular Government departments.Of course the fifth part of the bill’s purpose clause talks about affirming “the role of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in reporting on environmental reports and the processes that produced the reports.” Again having been witness to the report that the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has provided on water quality and land use where that goes to one can only guess but there are some clear recommendations that she has made and I have yet to see them surface via this National-led Government.When I look at the parts of this bill the bits I want to focus on that give me grave concern are when we talk about the synthesis reports. The Minister for the Environment mentioned them in her opening address. In terms of both the synthesis reports and the domain reports what I have a particular issue with is the use of the words “reasonable efforts”—“reports information that cannot be obtained by using reasonable efforts.” I think you can drive a truck through that terminology—“reasonable efforts”. Again colleagues on this side will work at the Local Government and Environment Committee to strengthen this. That is one area that I would like strengthened—“reasonable efforts”. We should not allow that discretionary clause because this is a serious matter in terms of protecting our environment.The other area in this bill talks about national and international standards. I have yet to see any standards or targets in this bill when it comes to the environment. Of course we are still waiting with bated breath for freshwater quality management but I am sure the Minister is dealing with that in due course. Again these are the concerns that I have when I look at this bill. Is it strong enough? Does it give us the protection of our environment that it so deservedly needs? Again I wait on the performance of this National-led Government that the proof is in the pudding and I think there is still a lot more that can be done to this bill.The other concern that I have in reading the bill is around the role of both the Secretary for the Environment and the Government Statistician. I actually know the current Government Statistician. She is a lovely woman by the name of Liz and I have worked with her previously. The concern is not about the person but again it is around the over-interference by Ministers on their chief executives in identifying those target areas. Again if we are to be true to setting robust legislation in this House this independence not only has to be seen to be delivered but has to be delivered and I have grave concerns about Ministers directing chief executives in setting these targets. Like I say I am joining this side in saying that if we work at the select committee level to strengthen that I am sure that would abate that concern I have.Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the 2nd GLOBE Climate Legislation Summit in Washington DC. I have actually just got back in the early hours this morning after a 26-hour flight. For the purpose of this House can I read out what the global organisation is about: “The Global Legislators Organisation (GLOBE International) is an international organisation comprising national parliamentarians from over 80 countries” who are committed to finding legislative solutions to the challenges posed by climate change and sustainable development. GLOBE supports legislators in over 40 national chapters which provide economic political and policy capacity to develop and advance legislation as well as monitor its implementation. One of the key points that came out of the many learned deliverances at this conference was that it is not the quantity of legislation that countries produce; it is the quality of legislation.So I stand on this side of the House and say that we cannot support this bill but we will work hard in due course when it gets to the select committee. Kia ora tātou.