Hon DAVID PARKER (Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs): On behalf of the Minister, yes, I stand by that statement. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is mandated under international law to develop rules to regulate deep-sea mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Rules that apply only in exclusive economic zones (EEZs) do not protect the high seas. At the most recent ISA meetings, which concluded last week, New Zealand, alongside a group of other States, strongly advocated our position that mining in international waters should not be legal in the absence of strong environmental safeguards. This must include robust and comprehensive regulations that embed the precautionary approach. If the international negotiations at the ISA do not result in rules which achieve the effect of protection of the marine environment, as required by international law, New Zealand will be calling for no deep-sea mining to occur.