Clause 3 states the purpose of the Bill, which is to preserve the Sanctuary in its natural state.

Clause 4 contains the definitions.

Clause 5 provides for the transitional provisions set out in Schedule 1 as follows:

• no compensation is payable by the Crown for the enactment of this Bill (which will prohibit the use of fishing permits, quota, customary fishing, and other existing consents or use rights in the Sanctuary). As a consequence, no compensation will be payable for loss of the value of quota in Fishery Management Area 10, any loss of expectancy, or any other adverse effect on any rights or interests:

• all activities under existing permits and authorisations and processing of applications must stop immediately on the Bill’s commencement. There is an exception for marine scientific research if it is a “permitted activity” under the EEZCS Act. That research can continue under that regime for a 1-year transitional period:

• the Auckland Conservation Board will cease to have jurisdiction over the Kermadec area (which is the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary, Kermadec marine reserve, and Kermadec Islands) once the Kermadec Conservation Board is established. The existing parts of the relevant conservation management strategy for the Kermadec marine reserve and the Kermadec Islands will continue to apply until a new conservation management strategy is approved for the Kermadec area.

Clause 6 provides that the Bill binds the Crown.

Clause 7 disapplies the Bill to Crown activities necessary for reasons of national security (as certified by the Minister of Defence) and to ships and aircraft of the New Zealand Defence Force and foreign States. These provisions are consistent with those already applying under the EEZCS Act.

Clause 8 establishes the Sanctuary over the area described in Schedule 2. The Sanctuary is in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone and excludes the marine reserve established by the Marine Reserve (Kermadec Islands) Order 1990.

Clause 9 prohibits fishing, mining activities, disturbance of the seabed and removal of non-living material from the seabed, dumping, and the causing of vibrations likely to have an adverse effect on marine life (for example, from seismic surveying) in the Sanctuary. These activities (Kermadec prohibited activities) would usually be permitted and regulated (in the case of fishing) under the Fisheries Act 1996 or (for the other activities) under the EEZCS Act. The effect of this Bill is to close the Sanctuary to these activities.

Clause 10 permits marine scientific research to be carried out despite the prohibitions in clause 9 if the researcher obtains an authorisation from the EPA and the research activity is carried out in compliance with any conditions set by regulations. In addition, the prohibitions do not apply to the following activities (to which other regulatory regimes apply):

• specific activities that continue to be regulated by the EEZCS Act, such as the laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and seismic surveying for the purposes of marine scientific research:

• specific activities that continue to be regulated under the Maritime Transport Act 1994.

Clause 11 sets out how the prohibitions in clause 9 interact with other marine management regimes, particularly the EEZCS Act and the Fisheries Act 1996. Kermadec prohibited activities are not permitted activities under the EEZCS Act (and no consent can be issued for them) and are not lawful fishing under the Fisheries Act 1996. Separate amendments to those Acts (see Part 3) make it an offence under the Fisheries Act 1996 to take or possess fish, aquatic life, or seaweed in the Sanctuary and an offence under the EEZCS Act to carry out any other Kermadec prohibited activity. No other permission (for example, a permit under the Wildlife Act 1953) can override the prohibitions in the Bill.

Clause 12 clarifies that this Bill imposes prohibitions and obligations that are additional to (and not a substitute for) other regimes. As a result, the usual prohibitions that apply in the exclusive economic zone under the EEZCS Act will also apply to the Sanctuary.

Clauses 13 to 20 set out the process for obtaining an EPA authorisation for marine scientific research if it involves any of the prohibited activities. The key elements of this process are that,—

• before an application may be made, the applicant must engage with the trustees of Te Rūnanga Nui o Te Aupouri Trust and the trustees of the Te Manawa O Ngāti Kuri Trust (the Kermadec iwi authorities) by informing them of the authorisation application and giving them an opportunity to provide views:

• the application to the EPA must include a copy of the Kermadec iwi authorities’ views and set out any changes that have been made to the application as a result of that engagement. The application must state whether or not (and in what ways) it is consistent with the Kermadec conservation management strategy and why the activity is necessary for the purposes of the research:

• if the EPA considers that the application does not contain enough information on which to make a decision, it must refer it back to the applicant for resubmission with the additional information. The EPA must seek advice from the Director-General of Conservation, and may seek advice from others, for the purpose of informing its consideration of the application:

• the EPA may refuse the application only if certain listed activities will be carried out in undertaking the research and it considers that those activities are not necessary for the purpose of the research.

Holders can transfer authorisations by written notice to the EPA under clause 21. They may also apply to change the activities authorised by using the same process as the process for the initial application (clause 22).

Clauses 23 to 26 establish a statutory Conservation Board over the Kermadec area and provide for the appointment and replacement of its members. The Board is made up of—

• 1 nominee from each of the Kermadec iwi authorities:

• 1 nominee from the Minister of Māori Affairs for the purpose of representing other iwi interests in the area:

• 4 members appointed by the Minister of Conservation after following a public process calling for nominations and being satisfied as to each person’s skills, knowledge, and experience.

The Kermadec Conservation Board will operate under the usual Conservation Act 1987 provisions in carrying out its functions.

Clause 27 enables regulations to be made to support the process for granting authorisations for marine scientific research and to impose conditions on how the marine scientific research must be carried out. The regulations must be made on the joint recommendation of the Minister of Conservation and the Minister for the Environment, after having regard to New Zealand’s rights and obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In addition, regulations may impose fees or charges on applicants for marine scientific research authorisations in relation to the EPA’s functions in considering those applications.

Clause 29 amends the Biosecurity Act 1993 to ensure that eradication or management of organisms that is exempted from the EEZCS Act is also exempted from the additional prohibitions that apply under this Bill.

Clauses 31 to 33 amend the Conservation Act 1987. The effect of the amendments is to enable the Sanctuary to be managed under the Conservation Act 1987, including by establishing a conservation management strategy over the Sanctuary.

Clauses 35 to 43 amend the EEZCS Act. The key change is to ensure that a breach of the additional prohibitions in the Bill will constitute a breach of, and an offence under, the EEZCS Act (other than the fishing prohibition, which is instead enforced under the Fisheries Act 1996). This also has the effect that the enforcement powers under the EEZCS Act may be used to enforce this Bill.

Clause 45 amends the Environmental Protection Authority Act 2011 to include this Bill in the list of Acts under which the EPA carries out functions.

Clauses 47 and 48 amend the Fisheries Act 1996 by inserting a new offence for taking fish, aquatic life, or seaweed from the Sanctuary, or for possessing fish, aquatic life, or seaweed taken, to reflect the fishing prohibition in the Bill.

Consequential amendments to the Maritime Transport Act 1994 and various regulations under the Fisheries Act 1996 are made by clause 49 and Schedule 3.