4. JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) Link to this
to the Minister for the Environment
Which conclusions in draft chapter 13 of the state of the environment report was he referring to when he reportedly said on Monday that the chapter had been scrapped because it made a series of conclusions that were not strictly supported by the facts?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister for the Environment) Link to this
Peer review of the draft chapter made it clear that the qualitative nature of some of the statements in draft chapter 13 was not in line with the factual nature of the report. One such example is: “the sheer scale of existing pastoral land-use in New Zealand combined with recent record dairy returns mean that intensification of land use is likely to continue to pose a significant challenge to our environment for some time, even if stringent pricing and regulatory regimes are agreed and put in place.” The report did not contain quantitative analysis to support the statement. No such economic analysis of dairy returns had been undertaken in the report. The report contains no analysis of the effect of pricing and regulatory regimes on land use. Such interpretation extends beyond the scope of a retrospective, facts-based report.
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
Is not that very example the one I put to him in my question yesterday, and he agreed vehemently that he agreed with that conclusion?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
Yes, we can agree with an argument. It is a different thing for a department to present an argument as a fact.
Hon Marian HobbsHon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
In the foreword of the state of the environment report I state that this issue, especially around water quality, is a real problem. The Labour-led Government is taking leadership in the area under the Sustainable Water Programme of Action, and a national policy statement for the management of freshwater management is in development. In addition, there is a raft of national environmental standards. There are other initiatives, including $22 million a year invested in freshwater research through the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. Since its inception, the Sustainable Farming Fund has provided over $22 million to project teams working on tools and techniques to improve environmental performance in the primary sectors. The Government has committed $36.7 million as its share of the Lake Taupō water quality protection programme. And much of the $175 million over 5 years allocated to the sustainable land management and climate change plan of action will enable work that provides further impetus to reduce sediment and nitrogen discharges into water. Again, I could go on.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
Why does the Minister excuse the deletion of chapter 13 of the state of the environment report, saying that it was only a retrospective factual stocktake of the state of the environment, when the report is loaded all the way through with mushy references to future Government initiatives, which is the key change in the format of this report compared with that of 1997, and why does he not just come clean and admit that the report was doctored because a clean report on the state of the environment would show how awful this Government’s record actually is after 8 years?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
The member has a copy of the report. I suggest that he reads it and, if he does not understand it, that he gets someone else to read it and explain it to him.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I have actually read the report and I note that a key change from the 1997 report is that it did not include all the way through it these statements of future Government actions. The Minister, in his original answer to Jeanette Fitzsimons, said that the reason chapter 13 was taken out was that this was only a retrospective report, looking back. My question is—
Madam SPEAKERHon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
The Minister has not addressed the question of why the format was changed from the 1997 report—
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
If the member had read and understood the report, he would have agreed with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, who said that this was an outstanding addition to the information available on the environment in New Zealand. I suggest that the member should take the commissioner’s word, rather than making things up about mush.
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
Did Treasury’s input of data, peer review comments, and suggestions on the presentation of the information, as acknowledged in the report, include advice that chapter 13 should be dumped?
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
Was not this chapter dumped because it was politically embarrassing for the Government and showed that the economic strategy of deliberate promotion of land intensification, more cars and motorways, and more consumption is destroying our clean, green image, which is crucial to our economy?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
The clean, green image is something that is very important to our economy. It is something that I value and the vast majority of farmers value, but I think we should not catastrophise, and we should also not pretend that farming is the only cause of pollution in New Zealand. To that end, I invite the member to come out to the Waiwhetū Stream in my electorate and have a swim there.