Seabed Minerals Amendment Act 2020 passed in Parliament

In-camera session with Parliament, led by Brown along with Commissioner Alex Herman and SBM Advisor Chris Brown

On 30 June 2020, the Seabed Minerals Amendment Act 2020 (Amendment Act) was passed by Parliament.   

Previously, the Seabed Minerals Amendment Bill 2020 (Bill) had been released for public consultation, and a public presentation led by the responsible Minister for seabed minerals, Deputy Prime Minister Mark Brown, along with the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority (Authority) was held.

As a result of the submissions received on the Bill, further revisions were recommended. These were to address minor corrections and also to clarify certain provisions of the Bill. An in-camera session with the Members of Parliament enabled Brown and the Authority to further explain the revisions to the Bill, and address issues raised by Members. 

Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Brown

An Information Note setting out the key issues raised in submissions and Government’s responses has been prepared.

One of the issues raised by stakeholders was the use of ‘national interest’ over ‘public interest’, with a concern that national interest might be too narrow. The Government’s rationale for this is set out in more detail in its Information Note. 

Brown explained in Parliament that the national interest as set out in the Act, more than satisfies the  concerns raised that elements of the public interest were not covered. He further added “The right for public input in consultation remains enshrined in the Act, and the use of national interest within the Bill was to ensure consistency and certainty on the application of the Act to those specific provisions”.

In opening the debate on the Bill, Brown said: “This Amendment Bill is really our next step towards the transformation of our future for the Cook Islands. If done properly this will secure our economic future and the prosperity of this and future generations of all Cook Islanders.”

Leader of the Opposition, Tina Browne

There was healthy debate from both sides of the house on the Bill, as well as the development of the seabed minerals (SBM) sector with statements made by the following Members: Henry Puna, Mark Brown, Robert Tapaitau, George Angene, Tingika Elikana, Albert Nicholas, Tina Browne, Nooroa Baker, Selina Napa and Agnes Armstrong.

Leader of the Opposition Tina Browne thanked Brown for allowing further consultation on the Bill, as well as an in-camera session. Browne went on to refer to examples of where resources were not managed properly overseas, and said that everyone would agree that the Cook Islands would not want to end up that way. She urged the house to “tread carefully, look at all the research, the data that has been conducted, have a look and see what all the scientists say about it”. Her views were supported by other Members of her party.

Prime Minister, Henry Puna

Prime Minister Henry Puna weighed in saying, “We have our people to think of, and that should be our priority”. Puna recalled previous Cook Islands leaders, such as Sir Albert Henry, whose vision and actions in the 1970s enabled the Cook Islands to have its nearly two million km2 EEZ today. He also mentioned Sir Terepai Maoate, who was a strong advocate for the SBM sector, reminding the house that SBM is an issue that has been talked about by leaders for nearly 50 years, and urged that this was the time to get on and do something. Puna concluded by saying “The world is ready for us. And we need to be ready for the world”.

Brown rounded off the debate by also speaking to the long journey that the country had undergone to get to the current point. He spoke of our forefathers who, when their islands ran out of resources, got on their vakas and sailed through the horizon, using their knowledge to be able to identify new lands. And that they harvested the resources on that land, knowing that if they didn’t do so, their people would perish. Turning back to seabed minerals, Brown saw the current exploration phase as giving “us the knowledge to take that step to sail our vaka through the ocean, to a place that nobody has been before.”

Information Note is available here. Seabed Minerals Amendment Act 2020 is available here.

Enquiries relating to this release can be sent to: [email protected].

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