An Act to establish in New Zealand a Nuclear Free Zone, to promote and encourage an active and effective contribution by New Zealand to the essential process of disarmament and international arms control, and to implement in New Zealand the following treaties:

The South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty of 6 August 1985;
The Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water of 5 August 1963;
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1 July 1968;
The Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Sea-bed and the Ocean floor and in the Subsoil Thereof of 11 February 1971;
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction of 10 April 1972.

( 8 June 1987)

Contents

1. Short Title This Act may be cited as the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987. 2. Interpretation In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
"Biological weapon" means any agent, toxin, weapon, equipment, or means of delivery referred to in Article 1 of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of their Destruction of 10 April 1972;
"Foreign military aircraft" means any aircraft, as defined in section 2 of the Defence Act 1971, which is for the time being engaged in the service of or subject to the time being engaged in the authority or direction of the military authorities of any state other than New Zealand;
"Foreign warship" means any ship, as defined in section 2 of the Defence Act 1971, which-
(a) Belongs to the armed forces of a state other than New Zealand; and
(b) Bears the external marks that distinguishes ships of that state's nationality; and
(c) Is under the command of an officer duly commissioned by the Government of that state; and
(d) Is manned by a crew under regular armed forces discipline:
"Immunities", in relation to any ship, aircraft, or crew member, means immunities enjoyed under international law by ships, aircraft, or crew members of a class which that ship, aircraft, or crew member belongs;
"Internal waters of New Zealand" means the internal waters of New Zealand as defined by section 4 of the Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone Act 1977;
"Nuclear explosive device" means any nuclear weapon or other explosive device capable of releasing nuclear energy, irrespective of the purpose for which it could be used, whether assembled, partly assembled, or unassembled; but does not include the means of transport or delivery of such a weapon or device if seperable from and not an indivisible part of it;
"Passage" means continuous and expeditious navigation without stopping or anchoring except in as much these are incidental to ordinary navigation or are rendered necessary by distress or for the purpose of rendering assistance to persons, ships, or aircraft in distress;
"Territorial sea of New Zealand" means the territorial sea of New Zealand as defined by section 3 of the Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone Act 1977. 3. Act to bind the Crown This act shall bind the Crown. 4. New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone There is hereby hereby established the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone which shall comprise;
(a) All the land, territory, and inland waters within the territorial limits of New Zealand; and
(b) The internal waters of New Zealand; and
(c) The territorial sea of New Zealand; and
(d) The airspace above the areas specified in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this section.

Prohibitions in Relation to Nuclear Explosive Devices and Biological Weapons 5. Prohibition on acquisition of nuclear explosive devices (1) No person, who is a New Zealand citizen or a person ordinarily resident in New Zealand, shall, within the Nuclear Free Zone,-
(a) Manufacture, acquire, or possess, or have control over, any nuclear explosive device; or
(b) Aid, abet, or procure any person to manufacture, acquire, possess, or have any control over any nuclear explosive device.
(2) No person, who is a New Zealand citizen or a person ordinarily resident in New Zealand, and who is a servant or agent of the Crown, shall, beyond the New Zealand Free Zone,-
(a) Manufacture, acquire, or possess, or have control over, any nuclear explosive device; or
(b) Aid, abet, or procure any person to manufacture, acquire, possess, or have any control over any nuclear explosive device. 6. Prohibition on stationing of nuclear explosive devices No person shall emplant, emplace, transport on land or inland waters or internal waters, stockpile, store, install, or deploy any nuclear explosive in the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone. 7. Prohibition on testing of nuclear explosive devices No person shall test any nuclear explosive device in the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone. 8. Prohibition of biological weapons No person shall manufacture, station, acquire, or possess, or have control over any biological weapon in the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone. 9. Entry into internal waters of New Zealand (1) When the Prime Minister is considering whether to grant approval to the entry of foreign warships into the internal waters of New Zealand, the Prime Minister shall have regard to all the relevant information and advice that may be available to the Prime Minister including information and advice concerning the strategic and security interests of New Zealand.
(2) The Prime Minister may only grant approval for the entry into the internal waters of New Zealand by foreign warships if the Prime Minister is satisfied that the warships will not be carrying any nuclear explosive device upon their entry into the internal waters of New Zealand. 10. Landing in New Zealand (1) When the Prime Minister is considering whether to grant approval to the landing in New Zealand of foreign military aircraft, the Prime Minister shall have regard to all relevant information and advice that may be available to the Prime Minister including information and advice concerning the strategic and security interests of New Zealand.
(2) The Prime Minister may only grant approval to the landing in New Zealand by any foreign aircraft if the Prime Minister is satisfied that the foreign military aircraft will not be carrying any nuclear explosive device when it lands in New Zealand.
(3) Any such approval may relate to a category or class of foreign military aircraft, including foreign military aircraft that are being used to provide logistic support for a research progamme in Antartica, and may be given for such period as is specified in the approval.
11. Visits by nulear powered ships Entry into the internal waters of New Zealand by any ship whose propulsion is wholly or partly dependant on nuclear power is prohibited.

Savings 12. Passage through territorial sea and straits Nothing in this Act shall apply to or be interpreted as limiting the freedom of -
(a) Any ship exercising the right of innocent passage (in accordance with international law) through the territorial sea of New Zealand; or
(b) Any ship or aircraft exercising the right of transit passage (in accordance with internation law) through or over any strait used for international navigation ; or
(c) Any ship or aircraft in distress. 13. Immunities Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as limiting the immunities of -
(a) Any foreign warship or other government ship operated for non-commercial purposes; or
(b) Any foreign military aircraft; or
(c)Members of the crew of any ship or aircraft to which paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of this section applies.

Offences 14. Offences and penalties (1) Every person commits an offence against this Act who contravennes or fails to comply with any provision of sections 5 to 8 of this Act.
(2) Every person who commits an offence against this Act is liable to conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years. 15. Consent of Attorney-General in relation to offences (1) No information shall be laid out against any person for -
(a) An offence against this Act; or
(b) The offence of conspiring to commit an offence against this Act; or
(c) The offence of attempting to commit an offence against this Act, -
except with the consent of the Attorney-General:
Provided that a person alleged to have committed any offence mentioned in this subsection may be arrested, or a warrant for any such person's arrest may be issued and executed, and any such person may be remanded in custody or on bail, notwithstanding that the consent of the Attorney-General to the laying of an information for the offence has not been obtained, but no further or other proceedings shall be taken until that consent has been obtained.
(2) The Attorney-General may, before deciding whether or not ot give consent under subsection (1) of this section, make such inquiries as the Attorney-General thinks fit.

Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control 16. Establishment of Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control There is hereby established a committee to be called the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control.. 17. Functions and powers of Committee (1) The functions of the Committee shall be -
(a) To advise the Minister of Foreign Affairs on such aspects of disarmament and arms control matters as it thinks fit;
(b) To advise the Prime Minister on the implementation of this Act;
(c) To publish from time to time public reports in relation to disarmament and arms controlmatters and on the implementation of this act;
(d) To make such recommendations as it thinks fit for the granting of money from such fund or funds as may be established for the purpose of promoting greater public understanding of disarmament and arms control matters.
(2) The committee shall have all such powers as are reasonably necessary or expedient to enable it to carry out its functions. 18. Membership of the Committee (1) The Committee shall consist of nine members, of whom -
(a) One shall be the Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control, who shall be the Chairman;and
(b) Eight shall be appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
(2) Each member of the Committee appointed under subsection (1) (b) of this section shall be appointed for such term not exceeding 3 years as may be specified in the instrument of appointment, but may from time to time be reappointed.
(3) Any such member may be removed from office for incapacity, neglect of duty, or misconduct proved to the satisfaction of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, or may resign by notice in writing to that Minister.
(4) The functions and powers of the Committee shall not be affected by any vacancy in its membership. 19. Procedure of Committee - Subject to an directives given by the Minister of Foreign Affairs,the Committee may regulate its procedure in such manner as it thinks fit. 20. Remuneration and travelling expenses- (1) The Committee is hereby declared to be a statutory Board within the meaning of the Fees and Travelling Alllowances Act 1951.
(2) There shall be paid to the members of the Committee, renumeration by way of fees or allowances, and travelling allowances and expenses, in accordance with the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly. 21. Money to be appropriated by Parliament for purposes of this Act- All fees, salaries, allowances, and other expenditure payable or incurred under or in the administration of this Act shall be payable out of money to be appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.

Amendments to the Marine Pollution Act 1974 22. Interpretation-Section 2 (1) of the Marine Pollution Act 1974 is hereby amended by insertingin paragraph (a) of the definition of the term "dumping", after the word "sea", the words "or into the seabed or the subsoil of the seabed". 23. Application of Part II of the Marine Pollution Act 1974- Section 20 (1) of the Marine Pollution Act 1974 (as substituted by section 4 of the Marine Pollution Amendment Act 1980) is hereby amended by repealing paragraph (b), and substitutingthe following paragraph:
"(b) All ships and aircraft that dump waste or other matter-
" (i) in New Zealand waters; or
"(ii) Into the waters of the exclusive economic zone of New Zealand (as described in section 9 of the Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Act 1977); or
(iii) Into the waters above the continental shelf of New Zealand; or
(iv) Into the seabed or the subsoil of the seabed below any waters described in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) or this paragraph:". 24. New sections inserted The Marine Pollution Act 1974 is hereby amended by inserting, after section 21 (as enacted by section 4 of the Marine Pollution Amendment Act 1980), the following sections:
"21A. Offence to Dump Radioactive Waste (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, the persons mentioned in subsection 2 or the section commit an offence if -
"(a) Any radioactive waste or other radioactive matter is, for the purpose of dumping, taken on board any ship or aircraft-
"(i) in New Zealand; or
"(ii) in New Zealand waters; or
"(iii) at any offshore installation or fixed or floating platform or other artificial structure to which this Part of this Act applies; or
"(b) Any radioactive waste or other radioactive matter is dumped from any ship or aircraft-
"(i) Into New Zealand waters; or
"(ii) Into the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone of New Zealand ( as described in section 9 of the Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone Act 1977) ; or
"(iii) Into the waters above the continental shelf of New Zealand; or
"(iv) Into the seabed or subsoil of the seabed below any of the waters described in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) of this paragraph; or
"(c) Any radioactive waste or other radioactive matter is dumped into the sea from any offshore installation or fixed or floating platform or other artificial structure to which this Part of this Act applies; or
"(d) Any radioactive waste or other radioactive matter is dumped from any New Zealand ship or home-trade ship or New Zealand aircraft into the sea, other than a Part of the Sea within any of the waters described in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) of this paragraph; or
"(2) The persons who are guilty of an offence under subsection (1) of this section are as follows:
"(a) In any case to which paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) or paragraph (d) of that subsection applies, the owner and the master of the ship, or ( as the case may be) the owner of the aircraft and the person in possession of the aircraft:
"(b) in any case to which paragraph (c) of that subsection applies, the owner of the offshore installation or fixed or floating platform or other artificial structure and the person having control of its operations.
"(3) for the purposes of this section and section 21 (b) of this Act, waste or other matter (including sewage sludge, dredge spoil, fly ash, agricultural waste, construction and building material and ships) shall be regarded as non-radioactive if it -
"(a) has not been contaminated with radionuclides of anthropogenic origin; or"(b) has been contaminated with radionuclides or anthropogenic origin but those radionuclides result exclusively from the dispersal of global fallout from the testing of nuclear explosive devices; or
"(c) is not a source of radionuclides which occur naturally and which offer a potential for commercial utilisation; or
"(d) has not been enriched in natural or artificial radionuclides.
"(4) Every person who is guilty of an offence under this section -
" (a) Is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000; and
"(b) Is also liable to pay such amount as the Court may assess in respect of the expenses and costs that have been incurred or will be incurred in removing or cleaning up or dispersing the waste to which the offence relates.
"(5) Nothing in paragraphs (a), (b), and (d) of section 22 (1) of this Act or in paragraph (a) of this section 22 (2) of this Act applies in respect of the dumping of radioactive waste or other radioactive matter. "21B Offence to Store Radioactive Waste- (1) Every person commits and offence who stores radioactive waste or other radioactive matter-
"(a) In New Zealand waters; or
"(b) In the waters of the exclusive economic zone of New Zealand ( as described in section 9 of the Territorial Sea And Exclusive Economic Zone at 1977); or
"(c) In the waters above the continental shelf of New Zealand; or
"(d) In the seabed or in the subsoil of the seabed below any of the waters described in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this subsection.
"(2) Every person who is guilty of an offence under this section-
"(a) Is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000; and
"(b) Is also liable to pay such amount as the Court may assess in respect of the expenses and costs that have been incurred or will be incurred in removing or clearing up or dispersing the waste of the matter to which the offence relates." 25. Permits (1) Section 22(b) of the Marine Pollution Act 1974 (as enacted by Section 4 of the Marine Pollution Amendment Act 1980) is hereby amended by inserting, after subsection (4), the following subsection:
"(4a) The Minister may require that any application for a permit shall be accompanied by a certificate from the Director of the National Radiation Laboratory that the waste or other matter which is the subject of the application is non-radioactive within the meaning of section 21a(3)
of this Act."
(2) Section 22(b) of the Marine Pollution Act 1974 (as so enacted) is hereby further amended by inserting, after subsection (6), the following subsection:
"(6a) Notwithstanding anything in this Act, no permit shall authorise the dumping of radioactive waste or other radioactive matter."

Amendments to Other Acts 26. Amendment to Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act 1968 The Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act 1968 is hereby amended by inserting, after section 10, the following section:
"10A Facilitation of international inspectors under disarmament treaties-
The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council,-
"(a)Confer upon any persons who are appointed as inspectors pursuant to any international agreement on disarmament or arms control to which New Zealand is a party all or any of the privileges and immunities specified in the Third Schedule to this Act; and
"(b) Make provision (subject to and consistent with any other international obligations and committments binding upon New Zealand) for any such persons so appointed to have access to all such information and to all such places in New Zealand as may be relevant to enable those persons to carry out their official duties." 27. Amendment to Official Information Act 1982- The Official Information Act 1982 is hereby amended by inserting in the First Schedule, in its appropriate alphabetical order, the following item:
"Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control". 28. Amendment to Foreign Affairs and Overseas Service Act 1983- The First Schedule to the Foreign Affairs and Overseas Service Act 1983 is hereby amended by inserting, after the item relating to the New Zealand Government Property Corporation Act 1953, the following item:
"The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act 1987." There are "Schedules" that are appended to the Act but these have not been included.
They are available at New Zealand Government Bookshop's.