Natural Environment Bill

Committee of the whole House

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’m really interested in going to new clause 219A, in Amendment Paper 710. This is about the delegation of functions by the Minister to the Environmental Protection Authority. This is about the function to actually monitor the implementation and effectiveness of this Act, and that includes regulations in force under it and national instruments. I’m really interested to hear from the Minister responsible for RMA Reform, because I was quite surprised to see this clause in here. It is a new clause that has come in in the Government’s last-minute amendments.

Hon Chris Bishop: Which clause?

LAN PHAM: Clause 219A, on page 174. Why I’m interested in this is because earlier—and I can’t remember where in the bill, but earlier in the bill—there is a function for the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport to assess the effectiveness and the efficiency of the bills. I’m interested as to what the differences are here, because there’s very little detail, and when you’re sort of further splitting these things across both MCERT and the Environmental Protection Authority, I think it would be really helpful to understand, particularly when it comes to the assessment of the effectiveness and implementation, why there has been this division and where they have landed on.

Committee of the whole House

I’m advised it’s a carry-over from the Resource Management Act (RMA), so it just clarifies the delegation to the Environmental Protection Authority. It’s a carry-over from existing provisions in the RMA.

Committee of the whole House

I’m interested in that, because is that, therefore, unnecessary duplication? Like, what is actually the function of this versus what the chief executive of the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport has now been tasked with in quite some detail about the functions and efficiencies? I think that, if there is going to be this role for the Environmental Protection Authority—which, again, is another agency that we know is under considerable constraints—why? I think we should be able to answer that and understand that, rather than just chuck it in here.

Committee of the whole House

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’m moving further forward, and this is related to the transfer of powers—wherever that is—at clause 232. I’m on page 179 of the Minister’s Amendment Paper 710. I want to talk briefly about the transfer of powers and the joint management agreements, and then iwi participation agreements. These are at the back end of Part 5.

For a long time, there have been these provisions—section 33 and the joint management provisions in the Resource Management Act—that can include going to an iwi authority. Now, they’re not included in these powers before us. That’s gone. Also, the Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements that are more recent, that came in under the Hon Nick Smith, are also gone. The Minister will say the legislation has changed remarkably after the select committee process happened—he came to think that—but the iwi participation agreements are now included.

So, simple question: do the iwi participation agreements allow for the equivalent of section 33 of the Resource Management Act transfer of powers, now in clause 232, and joint management agreements in clause 236? It’s a simple question; I think I know the answer, and it’s a very sad day.

Committee of the whole House

Oh, I’ve just dropped my good blue pen. My apologies.

CHAIRPERSON (Barbara Kuriger): Do you want one?

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: No, no, I’m good. Thank you. In relation to clause 219A, I’m not really sure what the member Lan Pham’s getting at. Clause 219A is a carry-over from the Resource Management Act. It’s a “may”, it’s not a “must”; it’s a “may delegate to the EPA”. It needs to be read in the light of clause 219, which is the delegation of functions by Ministers and chief executives. Both of these provisions are standard provisions when it comes to complicated statutory schemes and regulatory schemes.

In relation to Rachel Brooking’s question, she is right that iwi authorities are excluded from the transfer of powers, and no, the answer is that iwi participation agreements cannot authorise the transfer of powers.

CHAIRPERSON (Barbara Kuriger): Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan—very short one. I’m just looking at the clock, because some of us have to go to bed, and you have to write more policy! I’ll take a quick question.

Committee of the whole House

OK. Just following on from the previous question, I want to check, in this case, just clarifying: with the joint committee appointed under clause 30 of Schedule 7 of the Local Government Act 2002—so this is clause 231(c). This might be a basic question: are they elected, or can they also be appointed?

Committee of the whole House

No, they’re elected.

CHAIRPERSON (Barbara Kuriger): Members, the time has come for me to leave the Chair. The committee will resume at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Sitting suspended from 11.55 p.m. to 9 a.m. (Friday)