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Natural Environment Bill

Enforcement and other matters - Enforcement - Penalties

283: Liability and defences in relation to dumping and incineration of waste or other matter in coastal marine area

You could also call this:

"Rules about being responsible for dumping waste in coastal areas"

Illustration for Natural Environment Bill

If you are charged with dumping or incinerating waste in a coastal marine area, you don't have to have meant to do it for you to be guilty. You can defend yourself if you can prove that what you did was necessary to save lives or prevent danger to people. You also have to show that what you did was a reasonable thing to do and would cause less damage than doing nothing. You can also defend yourself if what you did was necessary to protect a ship, aircraft, or offshore installation from a serious threat. This includes if the weather was so bad that you had to take action to keep people safe. You have to prove that you took the action in a way that minimised harm to people and marine life. If you can prove all these things, you may not be guilty of the offence, which is set out in section 278(2) of the proposed Natural Environment Bill. You have to be able to show that what you did was the best option at the time. This is a proposed change to the law, which is part of the Natural Environment Bill.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1530172.

This page was last updated on 14 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Environment and resources > ConservationCrime and justice > Criminal law

282: Strict liability and defences, or

"What happens if you're accused of doing something wrong to the environment without meaning to"

284: Liability and defences for discharging harmful substances, or

"Defending yourself if you're accused of releasing harmful substances into the environment"

Part 6Enforcement and other matters
Enforcement: Penalties

283Liability and defences in relation to dumping and incineration of waste or other matter in coastal marine area

In any prosecution for an offence set out in section 278(2) it is not necessary to prove that the defendant intended to commit the offence.
It is a defence to prosecution for an offence of contravening or permitting a contravention of section 278(2) if the defendant proves that the act or omission which is alleged to constitute the offence—
was necessary—
1. to save or prevent danger to human life; or
2. to avert a serious threat to any ship, aircraft, or offshore installation; or
3. in the case of force majeure caused by stress of weather, to secure the safety of any ship, aircraft, or offshore installation; and
was a reasonable step to take in all the circumstances; and
was likely to result in less damage than would otherwise have occurred; and
was taken or omitted in such a way that the likelihood of damage to human or marine life was minimised.