Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill

This is a very carefully reworked part of the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill. Subpart 1 empowers Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga to enter into heritage covenants subject to the agreement of relevant parties, and, following on from what Ms Street said a few minutes ago, Subpart 2 deals with the issue of the protection of archaeological sites. It is a very, very important subpart. It protects these sites from being modified or destroyed without an archaeological authority. There are various exemptions to that. Importantly, it establishes the way in which one goes about declaring archaeological sites associated with human activity on or after 1900. It also, importantly, sets out a procedure for the right of appeal to the Environment Court.

Subpart 3—and this is obviously of great importance following on from the Canterbury earthquakes—sets out the process for emergency authorities in the aftermath of a national or local emergency. It will require Heritage New Zealand to determine applications for emergency archaeological authorities in 3 or 5 calendar days. Some people may ask why it is calendar days and not working days. It is not working days because of the emergency context. If I could just stop here to recognise the tremendous contribution that members of the Historic Places Trust made in the aftermath of both the September and the February earthquakes, I am aware of one person whose own home was damaged, but he rushed to the office because he was concerned about the need to carry out his responsibilities as an employee of the Historic Places Trust.

Supplementary Order Paper 444 makes a number of clarifications to this important procedure. What we are trying to do here is recognise that there will be occasions when emergency steps need to be taken. These are, as Ms Street said, incredibly important issues, and it is important that when one is dealing with an application for an archaeological authority, or opposing or appealing it, the law be as clear as it possibly can, and that is the purpose of the Supplementary Order Paper.

The question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 444 in the name of the Hon Christopher Finlayson to Part 3 be agreed to.

Amendments agreed to.

The question now is that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 372 in the name of Catherine Delahunty to Part 3 be agreed to. All those in favour please say Aye, to the contrary, No. The Noes have it? The Ayes have it? It is agreed to.

The question now is that Catherine Delahunty’s amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 373 be agreed to. All those in favour please say Aye, to the contrary, No—

I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I wonder whether this would help Ms Delahunty—and I do apologise to her—but we have actually incorporated these amendments into our Supplementary Order Paper because we thought that that was the tidiest thing to do.

I would also like to clarify that the Minister and I have worked on this in the past, but I was not clear that they had been incorporated. I am happy to accept that. Thank you very much. I withdraw those Supplementary Order Papers.

In that case, then, I just need to say to the Committee that we have actually passed—and we do not really need to because they are already in the bill. So is there any objection to the Committee—what is the wording? I will put the question again, and really what should happen is that they be voted down, right?

💬 Hon Christopher Finlayson: They’re in.

The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson): Because they are already in. Let me put it. All those in favour of Catherine Delahunty’s amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 372 being agreed to. All those in favour please say Aye, to the contrary, No. The Noes have it. The question now is that Catherine Delahunty’s amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 373 be agreed to. All those in favour please say Aye, to the contrary, No. The Noes have it.

Part 3 as amended agreed to.

Part 4 Recognition of places of historical, cultural, and ancestral significance