Minister for the Environment - Hon Marian Hobbs
The New Zealand Portrait Gallery, 6.00pm Thurs August 28
We are here this evening to mark the transfer of explosives from the old Explosives Act to controls made under the HSNO Act. It is the first transfer and it has been sometime in the making. So there is reason to celebrate this milestone. (Given the location of this function perhaps November 5 would have been a more appropriate date for the celebration)
Firstly though I want to recall some of the history of explosives controls.
On April 16, 1947, in Texas City Port, about 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate caught fire on board the French vessel Grandcamp. About an hour and a quarter after the fire was reported, the vessel blew up causing great damage to the port area.
In an adjacent slip, another vessel, the High Flyer was carrying an additional 1,000 tons of ammonium nitrate. About 15 hours after the Grandcamp blew up, the High Flyer also blew up, just as it was being towed out of the port because it too had caught fire. Hundreds of people were killed in what was generally considered the worst industrial accident in US history. That terrible disaster reminded the world of the dangers of explosive substances and resulted in world wide action to improve the controls on the storage and handling of explosives substances.
The New Zealand Explosives Act was passed in 1957 and two years later the Explosives Regulations were passed. It was a time, it's worth noting, when New Zealand had 'public magazines' as well as 'public libraries'. There was a specific provision in regulations to deal with the quantity of coal permitted on any floating hulk used as a private magazine - it has a decidedly Dickensian ring to it.
In 1977, the regulations were amended to reflect New Zealand's conversion to the metric system. In 1978 we banned bangers from the range of fireworks able to be sold to the public. (And I still get the odd letter today asking for them to be brought back!)
1978 was also the year when the Explosives Act was amended so that the British Explosive Substances Act of 1883 no longer applied as part of New Zealand law - an interesting hang over from colonial times.
The explosives legislation served us well. However, international developments leading up to the 1992 Rio Earth Summit signalled it was time to update this and other hazardous substances legislation.
So in July 2001 we brought the HSNO Act into force for hazardous substances and ERMA began the consultation process for the transfer of explosives to the new regime. With the Ministers of Labour and Transport, I approved the policy for fireworks transfer under a special delegation in April 2002. Drafting was underway when ERMA and the Ministry for Environment found their work slowed significantly by legal constraints around how to make the transfer regulations. That prompted discussions about amendments to the Act to simplify the transfer process, and you'll be pleased to hear that these amendments will be introduced into Parliament this year.
This year, with the help of a group that included industry participants, other broader issues with HSNO were identified and options were put forward for putting those right too. As a result, in June I was able to announce the Hazardous Substances Strategy.
The strategy is part of my commitment to improving environmental decision-making. And while it supports Government's growth and innovation objectives through sustainable development fundamentally the strategy is about getting the Act working more effectively and efficiently. In this particular case - clearing the way for the transfer of explosives to HSNO controls.
Tonight marks the completion of the first part of the hazardous substances strategy and marks another step along the road of the safer use of explosives - both good reasons to celebrate.
I would like to thank the many industry people who assisted with submissions during the consultation on the explosives transfer regulations.
I was very pleased to hear that people from industry are actively learning about the HSNO controls. I am advised that you turned up in sizeable numbers to ERMA's explosive forums to acquaint yourselves with the new form of regulations. I also acknowledge the more recent OSH training courses for enforcement staff. At the end of the day it's not the wording of regulations that protect people and the environment from dangerous explosives! It is skilled and knowledgeable people.
My thanks to all involved from the ERMA, OSH and the Ministry for Environment for seeing this part of the transfer through to fruition. Let the pyrotechnics begin!