New Zealand Legislation: Bills

6 Interpretation

• (1) Section 4(1) is amended by repealing the definitions of inventory agency, Minister, Minister responsible for the inventory agency, and Minister responsible for the Registry.

  (2) Section 4(1) is amended by inserting the following definitions in their appropriate alphabetical order:

  “animal material has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Animal Products Act 1999

  “animal product has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Animal Products Act 1999

  “approved overseas unit means a unit, other than a Kyoto unit,—

  • “(a) issued by an overseas registry; and

  • “(b) prescribed as a unit that may be transferred to accounts in the Registry

  “associated person has the meaning given to it by section 4(3)

  “chief executive, in relation to a Part, means the chief executive of the department that is, with the authority of the Prime Minister, responsible for the administration of the Part

  “chief executive responsible for the administration of this Act means the chief executive of the department that is, with the authority of the Prime Minister, responsible for the administration of this Act

  “coal has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Crown Minerals Act 1991

  “conversion account means an account in the Registry used for the purpose of converting New Zealand units into assigned amount units

  “convert, in relation to a New Zealand unit, means the transfer of the unit to a conversion account in the Registry with the effect specified in section 18CA(5)

  “Crown land has the meaning in section 2(1) of the Crown Minerals Act 1991

  “dairy processing, in relation to milk or colostrum, means the first occasion on which the milk or colostrum is made subject to heat treatment, freezing, separation, concentration, filtering, blending, extraction of milk components, and the addition of other material, including (but not limited to) food, ingredients, additives, or processing aids as defined in the Food Standards Code

  “deforest, in relation to forest land, means to convert forest land to non-forest land

  “disposal facility means any facility, including a landfill,—

  • “(a) at which waste is disposed; and

  • “(b) at which the waste disposed includes organic waste; and

  • “(c) that operates, at least in part, as a business to dispose of waste

  “dispose, in relation to waste,—

  • “(a) means to deposit the waste into or onto land set apart for that purpose; and

  • “(b) includes incinerating the waste

  “document means a document in any form whether signed or initialled or otherwise authenticated by its maker or not; and includes—

  • “(a) any writing on any material:

  • “(b) any information recorded or stored by means of any tape recorder, computer, or any other device; and any material subsequently derived from information so recorded or stored:

  • “(c) any label, marking, or other writing that identifies or describes any thing of which it forms part, or to which it is attached by any means:

  • “(d) any book, map, plan, graph, or drawing:

  • “(e) any photograph, film, negative, tape, or other device in which 1 or more visual images are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced

  “emissions, in relation to an activity listed in Schedule 3 or 4, means carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of greenhouse gases from the activity

  “emissions return means—

  • “(a) an annual emissions return submitted under section 65; or

  • “(b) a final emissions return submitted under section 106; or

  • “(c) an emissions return submitted under section 167; or

  • “(d) an emissions return submitted under section 168

  “entity, in relation to a group, means a reporting entity or reporting entity’s subsidiary, within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Financial Reporting Act 1993

  “exempt land means pre-1990 forest land that has been declared to be exempt land—

  • “(a) under section 159; or

  • “(b) under section 160 and in respect of which the conditions in section 160(6) have been met

  “exotic forest species means forest species that are not indigenous forest species

  “Food Standards Code has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Animal Products Act 1999

  “forest land—

  • “(a) means an area of land of at least 1 hectare that has, or will at maturity have, tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 30% in each hectare and in which—

    • “(i) the trees are forest species; and

    • “(ii) the forest consists of—

      • “(A) closed forest formations where trees of various storeys and undergrowth cover a high proportion of the ground; or

      • “(B) open forest; and

  • “(b) includes an area normally forming part of a forest that is temporarily unstocked as a result of human intervention or natural causes but that is expected to revert to forest; but

  • “(c) does not include—

    • “(i) a shelter belt where the tree crown cover at maturity has, or is expected to have, an average width of less than 30 metres; or

    • “(ii) an area of land where the tree crown cover at maturity has, or is expected to have, an average width of less than 30 metres, unless the area is contiguous with other forest land

  “forest species means tree species capable of reaching at least 5 metres in height at maturity in the place where it is located

  “group means a group as defined in section 2(1) of the Financial Reporting Act 1993

  “indigenous forest species means forest species that occur naturally in New Zealand or have arrived in New Zealand without human assistance

  “international transaction log means an international log established and maintained by the Secretariat to confirm the validity of transactions, including the issue and transfer of Kyoto units between registries and between accounts in the Registry

  “inventory agency means the chief executive of the department that is, with the authority of the Prime Minister, responsible for the administration of Part 3

  “Kyoto units means all of the unit types specified in, or in accordance with, the Protocol (namely, assigned amount units, certified emission reduction units, emission reduction units, long-term certified emission reduction units, removal units, and temporary certified emission reduction units)

  “landowner,—

  • “(a) in relation to Crown land, means the appropriate Minister (as that term is defined in section 2(2) of the Crown Minerals Act 1991); and

  • “(b) in relation to land other than Crown land, means—

    • “(i) the owner of a freehold estate in the land; or

    • “(ii) if the land is Maori customary land (as defined in section 4 of Te Ture Whenua Act 1993), the person or persons who have title to the land as determined under Te Ture Whenua Act 1993

  “Maori land has the same meaning as in section 4 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993

  “merchantable timber means timber from the stem of a tree greater than 10 years old, other than—

  • “(a) the stump; and

  • “(b) wood that is decayed or grossly distorted; and

  • “(c) wood that is less than 10 centimetres in diameter excluding the bark

  “mining has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Crown Minerals Act 1991

  “Minister, in relation to a Part of this Act, means the Minister who is, under the authority of any warrant or under the authority of the Prime Minister, responsible for the administration of the Part

  “Minister responsible for the administration of this Act means the Minister who is, under the authority of any warrant or under the authority of the Prime Minister, responsible for the administration of this Act

  “natural gas means—

  • “(a) all gaseous hydrocarbons produced from wells, including wet gas and residual gas remaining after the extraction of condensate from wet gas; and

  • “(b) liquid hydrocarbons, other than condensate, extracted from wet gas and sold as natural gas liquids, for example, liquid petroleum gas; and

  • “(c) coal seam gas

  “New Zealand unit means a unit issued by the Registrar and designated as a New Zealand unit

  “obligation fuel means any fuel specified as obligation fuel in regulations made under this Act

  “obligation jet fuel means any jet fuel specified as obligation jet fuel in regulations made under this Act

  “organic waste means any waste that includes matter that is or was alive

  “participant means a person who is a participant under section 54

  “public notice means a notice published in a daily newspaper in each of the cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and on the Internet site of the entity giving the notice

  “post-1989 forest land means forest land that—

  • “(a) was not forest land on 31 December 1989; or

  • “(b) was forest land on 31 December 1989 but was deforested between 1 January 1990 and 31 December 2007; or

  • “(c) was pre-1990 forest land—

    • “(i) that was deforested on or after 1 January 2008; and

    • “(ii) in respect of which any liability to surrender units arising in relation to an activity listed in Part 1 of Schedule 3 has been satisfied

  “pre-1990 forest land means forest land—

  • “(a) that was forest land on 31 December 1989; and

  • “(b) that remained as forest land on 31 December 2007; and

  • “(c) where the forest species on the forest land consisted of exotic forest species

  “registered forestry right means a forestry right registered under the Forestry Rights Registration Act 1983

  “registered lease,—

  • “(a) in relation to a lease in respect of land registered under the Land Transfer Act 1952,—

    • “(i) means a lease registered under that Act; and

    • “(ii) includes a lease registered under the Land Transfer (Computer Registers and Electronic Lodgement) Amendment Act 2002:

  • “(b) in relation to a lease in respect of land that is not registered under the Land Transfer Act 1952, means a lease registered under the Deeds Registration Act 1908

  “removal activity means an activity that is listed in Parts 1 or 2 of Schedule 4

  “removals, in relation to a removal activity, means carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases that are, as a result of the removal activity,—

  • “(a) removed from the atmosphere; or

  • “(b) not released into the atmosphere

  “surrender means the transfer of a unit to a surrender account in the Registry with the effect specified in section 18CA(2) or (4)

  “surrender account means an account in the Registry for the purpose of holding units that account holders have surrendered

  “year means a calendar year ending on 31 December”.

  (3) The definition of assigned amount unit in section 4(1) is amended by omitting “(or AAU)”.

  (4) The definition of cancel in section 4(1) is repealed and the following definition substituted:

  “cancel, in relation to a unit, means the transfer of the unit to a cancellation account in the Registry with the effect specified in section 18CA(1)”.

  (5) The definition of carbon dioxide equivalent is amended by omitting “metric” in each place where it appears.

  (6) The definition of certified emission reduction unit in section 4(1) is amended by omitting “(or CER)”.

  (7) The definition of commitment period reserve in section 4(1) is amended by inserting “Kyoto” after “number of” in the first place where it appears.

  (8) The definition of emission reduction unit in section 4(1) is amended by omitting “(or ERU)”.

  (9) The definition of holding account in section 4(1) is amended by omitting “retired or cancelled” and substituting “retired, surrendered, converted, or cancelled”.

  (10) The definition of independent transaction log in section 4(1) is repealed.

  (11) The definition of long-term certified emission reduction unit in section 4(1) is amended by omitting “(or lCER)”.

  (12) Paragraph (a) of the definition of overseas registry in section 4(1) is amended by adding “ or any other prescribed registry”.

  (13) Paragraph (b) of the definition of relevant commitment period in section 4(1) is amended by inserting “Kyoto” after “account or”.

  (14) Paragraph (b) of the definition of removal unit in section 4(1) is amended by omitting “(or RMU)”.

  (15) The definition of retire in section 4(1) is repealed and the following definition substituted:

  “retire, in relation to a Kyoto unit, means the transfer of that Kyoto unit to a retirement account in the Registry with the effect specified in section 18CA(2)”.

  (16) The definition of retirement account in section 4(1) is amended by inserting “Kyoto” after “of holding”.

  (17) The definition of temporary certified emission reduction unit in section 4(1) is amended by omitting “(or tCER)”.

  (18) The definition of units in section 4(1) is repealed and the following definition substituted:

  “unit means a Kyoto unit, a New Zealand unit, or an approved overseas unit”.

  (19) Section 4 is amended by adding the following subsections:

  • “(3) A person is an associated person in relation to 1 or more other persons if—

    • “(a) each person is a body corporate and each of them—

      • “(i) consist substantially of the same members or shareholders; or

      • “(ii) are under the control of the same persons; or

    • “(b) any of them has the power, directly or indirectly, to exercise, or control the exercise of, the rights to vote attached to 25% or more of the voting securities of the other.

  • “(4) For the purposes of the definition of pre-1990 forest land, land that was forest land on 31 December 1989 is to be treated as forest land on 31 December 2007 if, on 31 December 2007, the land had—

    • “(a) any standing exotic forest species (dead or alive), other than a strip of standing exotic forest species that had, or was expected at maturity to have, tree crown cover of an average width of less than 30 metres that was not harvested because of restrictions imposed on it by any enactment; or

    • “(b) any other merchantable timber from exotic forest species.”