3. KEVIN HAGUE (Green) Link to this
to the Minister of Conservation
Does she agree with Forest and Bird that “many endangered species will meet a watery death, or be rudely shunted from their homes”, if the Mōkihinui dam is given the green light?
Hon KATE WILKINSON (Minister of Conservation) Link to this
In the resource consent hearing the Department of Conservation submitted that the dam would involve significant disruption to threatened native wildlife. I have seen no reason to doubt the department’s analysis.
Can she confirm that the public conservation land that would be flooded by the dam is home to 16 species of threatened indigenous birds, four species of threatened lizards, three subspecies of threatened land snails, and several species of nationally threatened plants?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
I can confirm that the area referred to by the member has some threatened native wildlife, but I emphasis that there is currently no application before the Department of Conservation.
Can she confirm that the dam will not be able to proceed unless she agrees to swap the Mōkihinui land for some other land of higher conservation value?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
I say again that there is currently no application before the Department of Conservation. As the potential decision maker, it is not advisable for me to make public comment on the merits or otherwise of any hypothetical proposal that might be put to the department.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The point of the question was whether the Minister agrees that her consent is required for the dam to proceed. She did not address that point in her answer.
Mr SPEAKERIt appeared to me that the Minister was saying that it was not in the public interest for her to comment further on the specificity of the issue. It is solely for the Minister to judge on that matter. I cannot overrule a Minister if he or she argues that it is not in the public interest to comment further on a specific matter.
Does the Minister accept the Department of Conservation’s advice that the public conservation land within the Mōkihinui River has such high value that it is most unlikely to be suitable for exchange at all; if so, why wait for a revised proposal from Meridian Energy before ruling out a land swap?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
It would be inappropriate to answer that question because, in effect, it may prejudge the merits of an application if, indeed, an application is made. There is no such application at the moment.
If she will not rule out a land swap now, will she at least ask her colleague the Minister for State Owned Enterprises to encourage our company Meridian Energy to make its land swap proposal before the matter comes up in the Environment Court next year, saving us all a lot of time and money?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
There is no land swap or land exchange application at the moment. If there is one in the future, it will be considered under the usual provisions of the Conservation Act, the Conservation General Policy, and other relevant statutory documents such as the West Coast Te Tai o Poutini Conservation Management Strategy. Until an application is made, I cannot comment further.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am not asking the Minister to comment on a land swap proposal; I accept that she will not do that. My question was about a conversation with her colleague the Minister for State Owned Enterprises, and she has not addressed that point, at all.
I apologise to the honourable member, but, again, it is difficult for me to ask the Minister to be more specific when the member is asking a hypothetical question. Until she knows what might happen, she cannot tell the member whether she feels the need to have a conversation with a colleague in the future. I think the member has to be reasonable. When asking hypothetical questions, it is very difficult to pin down a Minister because the circumstances are not precisely known.
The question is not hypothetical, at all. It does not require a land swap proposal to be on the table; it is simply recognising the legal fact that the Minister’s consent will be required at some point. Therefore, a conversation with her colleague the Minister for State Owned Enterprises makes sense now to obviate the need for an Environment Court proceeding.
That may be the member’s view, but it may not be the Minister’s view. When asking this type of question, there is no specific answer. The member may be seeking a particular answer, but I cannot ask a Minister to give a particular answer to a hypothetical question like that. Really, the Minister has a fair bit of freedom as to how she answers that question and she has covered the issue. I accept fully that she has not satisfied the member, but I cannot assist with that kind of question.
Is the Minister familiar with Hydro Developments Ltd’s Stockton hydro scheme, which would be enough to make the West Coast self-sufficient in power, and can she comment on its likely conservation impact compared with that of the Mōkihinui dam?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
I am aware of alternative possible hydro schemes. I am not a hydro scheme expert. It is very difficult to comment on a hypothetical application that does not exist. It is difficult, indeed, to consent to an application that does not exist.
How does the Minister think New Zealanders will feel to learn during Conservation Week that our own company Meridian Energy may flood 300 hectares of pristine conservation land, putting at risk more than 20 threatened species, when there is a perfectly good alternative scheme that would meet the West Coast’s power needs?
Hon KATE WILKINSON Link to this
I think that for a rowi, one of our rarest kiwis, to have been hatched at the beginning of Conservation Week—he was unscathed by the earthquake and is now named Richter—will put a smile on the faces of many New Zealanders as to the importance of conservation in New Zealand.