Amy Adams - 24 May,
2012 - Good morning and thank you for inviting
me to speak to you today.
It is a great privilege to be in the company
of such distinguished mariners and lovers
of the sea.
I would particularly like to acknowledge
the work of Captain Bob McKillop and the
Navy League in fostering maritime activities
for young people through the support of
the Sea Cadets.
Today, I would like to outline the Government’s
vision for unlocking the economic potential
of our vast ocean resources.
I wish to make it clear from the outset,
though, that we are committed to doing this
in a way that is both environmentally responsible
and respectful.
But it would be irresponsible if we ignored
the considerable opportunities for New Zealand
to gain much greater value from its marine
resources.
As you will know, the maritime area for
which New Zealand is responsible is enormous.
Our Exclusive Economic Zone is one of the
largest in the world.
Combined with the continental shelf area
for which we also have rights and responsibilities,
we are talking about an area of about 570
million hectares – that’s about 20 times
the size of New Zealand’s entire land area.
So it is no surprise that New Zealanders
have a special affinity with the sea.
For centuries the sea has been our food
basket, our playground, and the source of
much of our wealth.
Our oceans support our $1.53 billion a year
fishing industry, and our small but burgeoning
aquaculture industry which, thanks to recent
reforms, is on track to being worth $1 billion
a year by 2025.
The oceans are our link to the rest of the
world, with more than 99 per cent of our
exports and imports carried by sea freight.
Our oceans and the aquatic life that depends
on them are a major attraction for our $5.8
billion tourism industry.
Our seas are a treasure for the New Zealanders
who harvest them, and enjoy them for diving,
swimming, and boating. Their scenic and
spiritual value is priceless.
For all our sakes, and for future generations,
they must be protected. But we also cannot
ignore the vast untapped potential that
lies beneath them.
Managing the interaction between the economy
and the environment is hugely important
to New Zealanders.
We all understand the need to create a more
competitive and productive economy.
If our natural resources are to be the source
of greater wealth and a better standard
of living for New Zealanders, we all have
a personal investment in making sure they
are used responsibly. Any increase in the
use of our natural resources needs to be
permanently sustainable.
I would like to outline to you some of my
thinking around the kind of policy improvements
we need to capitalise on this economic potential,
at the same time as maintaining our international
reputation as an environmentally responsible
maritime nation.
Right now we have the opportunity to get
the right policies and frameworks in place
before the pressures or competition for
space become more difficult to resolve.
It is vital that we commit the time, resources
and genuine willingness to develop a collaborative
approach to decision-making and management
of our oceans.
It is only through transparent and inclusive
decision-making that we will be able to
effectively address entrenched views, distrust
and perceptions that might currently be
hindering marine resource development.
In particular, we recognise the need to
engage and consult with iwi on how we manage
and develop our marine environment, including
our mineral and petroleum resources.
And of course, we need the best possible
information in order to make good decisions.
New Zealand needs more co-ordinated and
better sharing of information to support
decision-making on marine and mineral resources.
The good news is that we are starting to
make progress on this front.
I’m thinking of the aquaculture reforms,
which have increased the level of data available
to decision-makers for better planning for
aquaculture development.
The Government’s economic growth agenda
is focussing on finding ways of generating
economic growth through making the most
of our natural resources, based on good
science, innovation, and better regulation.
As well as pursuing opportunities to develop
the marine resources to which we have rights,
New Zealand is committed to meeting its
responsibilities in the marine world.
New Zealand is one of the top ranked countries
in the world for responsible fisheries management.
Our law requires catch limits for every
fish stock to be set at levels that will
ensure their long-term sustainability.
The fisheries arm of the Ministry for Primary
Industries monitors the amount of fish caught
against these limits, and financial penalties
are enforced for transgressions.
New Zealand can also be proud of its record
for environmentally-responsible activity
in the oceans beyond our EEZ, in particular
the Ross Sea region.
Antarctica is our backyard. We have a history
of ground-breaking exploration and scientific
discovery there. The Ross Dependency is
the heart of New Zealand’s activities in
Antarctica.
New Zealand has developed a draft proposal
for a Marine Protected Area in the Ross
Sea region which, if successful, will be
the largest Marine Protected Area anywhere
in the world. It will be nine times the
size of New Zealand’s landmass.
The New Zealand proposal protects a full
range of marine habitats - from the ice
edge to the deep oceanic basins.
It protects ecologically important features
and the habitats and foraging grounds of
species such as the Antarctic silverfish
and toothfish, as well as top predators
that compete directly with fishing, such
as penguins, seals and whales.
The New Zealand proposal is based on quality
science, and would provide even greater
opportunities for science, including valuable
climate change and marine ecosystem research.
New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone is
an important part of our environment and
needs protecting. That's why the Government
is introducing new laws to manage the environmental
effects of offshore activities such as petroleum
exploration and mining.
In my view, it is unacceptable that New
Zealand is one of the few jurisdictions
without such protections in place.
As you will be aware, under the United Nations
Law of the Sea, New Zealand has the right
to explore and exploit marine resources
in our EEZ and continental shelf. But we
also have the obligation to preserve and
protect this environment.
In this regard, we have a gap in terms of
the rules and tools available to us. For
something so important to us, it is puzzling
that our EEZ has for so long lacked a comprehensive
environmental management regime.
This gap exposes us to a risk of harm to
the marine environment, a reputational risk
for New Zealand, and a lack of certainty
for industry on the rules and regulations
that may affect their investment in some
of the activities that occur at sea.
The Resource Management Act manages environmental
risks in the territorial sea out to 12 nautical
miles offshore.
Other laws independently regulate activities
like the fishing industry, maritime transport,
the allocation of petroleum resources, and
our response to oil spills.
This multitude of laws is effective in doing
the job they were designed for, but gaps
remain for other activities which are essentially
unregulated.
The EEZ legislation my Government has introduced
will allow us to manage and mitigate adverse
environmental effects of activities such
as seabed mining, seismic surveying, cable
laying, and the construction of structures
for oil and gas exploration.
It is important to reiterate that oil spills
are already effectively regulated and managed
under the Maritime Transport Act, and are
not regulated by the proposed new law.
The EEZ legislation will provide a framework
for classifying certain activities as:
•Permitted, subject to conditions,
•Discretionary, which requires a marine
consent, or
•Prohibited.
Classification will depend on the potential
environmental risks and impacts of the activity
involved, and marine consent applications
will be considered by the Environmental
Protection Authority.
The Government has already suggested – and
industry has accepted - voluntary measures
that are providing environmental protections
in the interim.
The purpose of the EEZ Bill is to balance
economic development with environmental
protection. It requires decision-makers
to favour caution and environmental protection
where there are unknowns or uncertainties.
When read as a whole, the Bill is clearly
environmental legislation and requires far
more than a cost-benefit analysis.
The balancing approach in the purpose of
the Bill is entirely consistent with our
international obligations under the law
of the sea.
Some people have asked why we don’t just
extend the Resource Management Act to include
the EEZ and continental shelf.
I would like to stress that the EEZ Bill
is not, nor is it intended to be, an RMA
of the seas.
The Government’s view is that the complexity
and planning framework of the RMA would
be overkill in our relatively un-crowded
offshore marine environment.
Furthermore, under international law of
the sea New Zealand does not enjoy the full
sovereign rights that we have on land.
It would be very difficult to apply the
RMA in light of the rights, duties and responsibilities
other countries also have in our EEZ and
continental shelf.
On Tuesday, I released a discussion document
on the detail of the proposed regulations.
Consultation will take place over the next
four weeks and I hope you will give us your
views.
The document - Managing our Oceans - is
available on the Ministry for the Environment’s
website.
I’m interested in hearing your views on
how we propose to classify activities.
The Government’s thinking is that activities
with more than minor environmental effects
should require a marine consent. This means
activities with less than minor effects,
such as seismic surveying, will be classified
as permitted, subject to conditions.
Activities with more than minor environmental
effects and requiring a marine consent will
include exploration drilling for oil and
gas and seabed mining.
At present, we are not proposing to classify
any activities as prohibited. This is because
there are no activities likely in the next
five years that we know will have unacceptable
environmental effects. That doesn’t mean
particular activities can’t be banned in
future if necessary.
In my view, the policy proposals for the
regulations reflect the Government’s balanced
approach to environmental management. They
will ensure that processes are in place
to:
•Assess and manage adverse environmental
effects
•Provide greater certainty to investors
and existing interests
•Meet our international obligations, and
•Ensure the costs are proportionate to the
likely environmental effects.
I have released this discussion document
while the Bill is still progressing through
the Parliamentary process so that industry
and others interested in managing the environmental
effects of activities in the oceans can
see the detail of what is being proposed.
The document assesses the effects of activities
that currently occur in the EEZ, or are
likely to in the next five years.
The regulations provide an important opportunity
to improve New Zealand’s environmental system
and our reputation for environmentally-sound
business practices.
It is important to all of us that our EEZ
is well-managed, and it is my view that
this legislation will set the framework
to do just that. It will give us world-best
environmental practice.
Thank you.
+ More
Government welcomes
new fresh water report
David Carter, Amy Adams
- 18 May, 2012 - Primary Industries Minister
David Carter and Environment Minister Amy
Adams are welcoming further progress in
New Zealand’s fresh water management with
the release today of the Land and Water
Forum’s second report.
The report on fresh water governance and
setting limits continues the work on water
reform initiated by the Government in 2009
and builds on the Forum’s first report released
in 2010.
“This second report will help establish
clearer national direction on how councils
set objectives and limits for fresh water
quality and quantity, in line with the National
Policy Statement introduced by the Government
last year,” Mr Carter says.
“The Forum’s report also considers how communities
can have more say on setting those objectives
through the greater use of collaborative
processes.”
Ms Adams says the Forum has made excellent
progress in finding agreement on some of
the complex issues around fresh water management.
“We thank the Forum for its work so far.
We are impressed with the way the members,
who represent very diverse interests, have
worked together to tackle often highly contentious
issues,” she says.
“There is plenty to consider in this report,
including how the recommendations could
be progressed within the wider work the
Government is doing to reform the resource
management system.”
Mr Carter and Ms Adams say they will now
carefully consider the report, and also
look forward to receiving the Land and Water
Forum’s third report later in the year.
“The Government will then be in a position
to develop durable policies on fresh water
management, based on the complete package
of recommendations,” the Ministers say.
The Land and Water Forum Report can be viewed
at www.landandwater.org.nz
