12. JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) Link to this
to the Associate Minister of Energy
When he told the House on 19 July this year that “a significant gas discovery in the Great South Basin … will actually help in terms of our thermal generation” and that he would “much rather have our existing thermal power stations fuelled by natural gas than by coal”, was he proposing that the gas from the Great South Basin be used at the Huntly Power Station; if so, how was he proposing it get there, given the lack of pipelines in the South Island and Southern Ocean?
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN (Associate Minister of Energy) Link to this
It is unlikely that gas from the Great South Basin would ever be economic to use at Huntly for power generation.
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
Has the Minister read the Government’s draft New Zealand Energy Strategy, which shows there is 4,500 megawatts of new renewable electricity generation available at less cost than liquefied natural gas; if so, why did he suggest to the House earlier that the main benefit of gas in the Great South Basin would be the replacing of coal at Huntly?
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN Link to this
The answer to the first part of the question is yes, of course I have. The answer to the second part of the question is that it is worth noting that the question put down on the Order Paper today was assembled from comments taken out of order and out of context from the ninth and sixth supplementary questions to question No. 4 on 19 July. The general thrust of what I was saying is that for the world environment it is much better to be using gas for generating electricity rather than either oil or coal.
Maryan StreetCan the Minister assure the House that appropriate environmental protections are in place in the development of the Great South Basin?
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN Link to this
Yes. Under the Maritime Transport Act 1994 the operator of an offshore installation, such as a drilling rig or a production platform, will be responsible for the full costs of any oil spill response, clean up, and/or restoration activities.
Peter BrownDoes the Minister agree with me that if there is a sufficient find of gas in the Great South Basin—and it is recovered, of course—then it makes very good sense to establish a gas-fired power station down there for New Zealanders rather than to export the gas to some other country so that it can have a gas-fired power station?
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN Link to this
It is likely that if there were a significant gas find in the Great South Basin, it would be of such a scale that liquefied natural gas would be the most likely outcome, in which case any gas or oil found in the Great South Basin would be sold at world prices. We are much better to concentrate on the direct use of gas than on converting gas to electricity. I have to agree with Jeanette Fitzsimons that thermal electricity is vastly less preferable for the planet than the use of renewable resources. I remind the member that New Zealand is ranked third in the world in terms of the use of renewable resources for electricity generation.
I thank the Minister for that answer, and ask whether he will agree with me that if there is a gas find of a sufficient quantity in the Great South Basin, then we can expect pipes to be installed and at least South Island New Zealanders to have gas-fired fires and cooking facilities; can we expect that?
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN Link to this
It is early days yet. The prospectivity of the Great South Basin is, apparently, very high by world standards, but it is also a very expensive field to develop. We will have to wait and see what the outcomes are, but I look forward to the developments, as I am sure the member does.