8. Hon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson) Link to this
to the Minister responsible for Climate Change Issues
What changes will the Government be prepared to make to the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill to ensure it passes?
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister responsible for Climate Change Issues) Link to this
The bill, as reported back from the select committee, is in very good shape. Talks with other parties are continuing.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
How successful are the discussions progressing with New Zealand First and what are the changes being contemplated to secure its support?
Moana MackeyWhat reports has he seen on the emissions trading scheme in the light of recent Australian announcements?
I have seen a Sunday Star-Times report that states National’s “ ‘wait-for-Australia’ stance has crumbled beneath it.”, given that the Australian Government intends to proceed with a similar scheme to ours. Yet National still finds excuse for delay. Its members tell different stories to different audiences but consistently oppose every meaningful step we take.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
On how many occasions has the Minister met with New Zealand First to resolve issues over this bill, and when was the latest meeting?
A number of meetings have been held. In respect of parties other than New Zealand First, I note that the same article from the Sunday Star-Times I quoted from went on to say: “Now Nick Smith, its spokesman on climate change, says National ‘has no real issue’ with 80% of the emissions bill.” It went on to say: “If it has a scrap of self-respect left, it will resume co-operation on … the emissions trading bill”. But, of course, it does not; there are just more excuses for delay.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
What is the Minister’s current estimate of the prospect of this legislation being passed prior to an election, noting that 8 weeks ago Ministers were saying 70:30 were in favour, 4 weeks ago they were saying the figure was 50:50, but last week Ministers were saying the figure was 70:30 against—and is this not just code for saying the Government does not have the numbers?
The member was not quoting me. If he had, he would have said that I had previously said that I was optimistic, and I remain optimistic.
Dr Pita SharplesTēnā koe, Madam Speaker. Does the Minister stand by his statement to the Local Government and Environment Committee that the fact that the emissions of the Ministry for the Environment have risen by 22 percent in the past year “reflected the importance of sustainability to the Government’s work programme”; and when will we actually see progress made on an emissions reduction programme?
I cannot recall offhand whether the statistic read out was the exact figure. I accept that growth in the number of people in the Ministry for the Environment is a consequence of this Government’s focus on sustainability issues, and that emissions from that department have increased. However, I would also note that we have ambitions and programmes running across Government to reduce governmental emissions. One of those projects, for example, is to reduce Government department transport emissions by 15 percent by 2010 or 2012—I forget the exact date.