6. TE URUROA FLAVELL (Māori Party—Waiariki) Link to this
to the Minister for the Environment
What progress has there been in building a network of Kura Taiao / Enviroschools as negotiated by the Māori Party in the emissions trading scheme package of concessions announced on 23 November 2009?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment) Link to this
The Government and the Māori Party, as part of our broader programme of work, agreed to provide from Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry for the Environment funding for the first 6 months of this year, and that has been successfully delivered. We also have work under way as part of the Waste Minimisation Fund for a new programme with Enviroschools in the early childhood sector, to embed a culture of recycling at an early age. I am working with his colleague the Minister of Māori Affairs on that programme, and I am hopeful of being able to make some announcement on that next year.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Has the Minister received any feedback in response to the Māori Party’s advocacy to retain Kura Taiao / Enviroschools, and what is the long-term vision for sustaining such a significant programme?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
I acknowledge the very strong advocacy by the Māori Party for both Enviroschools and ensuring that it is delivered in te reo. The Ministry for the Environment is to have discussions with Enviroschools on the te reo component of the new programme intended for early childhood centres. I hope to be in a position to make an announcement on that next year.
Hilary CalvertWhat is the total cost of the emissions trading scheme’s package of concessions negotiated with the Māori Party, including Kura Taiao / Enviroschools and the handing over of 35,000 hectares of conservation land to five iwi?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
The member is incorrect in asserting that there has been a handover. There is a proposition, as part of the agreement with the Māori Party, to plant trees on conservation land. I think most members of this House would welcome that initiative, because in partnership with the Māori Party we have been able to reverse a trend of the worst deforestation under the previous Government, and actually get some trees planted in the ground. National and the Māori Party are very proud of that.
Hon Rodney HideI raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The question asked about costs. It may be that the Minister does not know what they are, but he certainly has to address that question. He cannot just say—
Mr SPEAKERNo, the question also inserted a statement about land being handed over to Māori interests, or something, as part of it. The Minister disputed that part of the question. If the questioner wanted to receive an answer on the cost, she should have restricted the question just to that issue.
What does he say to those New Zealanders who complain that the Government gave away taxpayers’ dollars and 35,000 hectares of conservation land, just to secure five votes for its emissions trading scheme legislation?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
The first point I would make is that the ACT Party has chosen not to take a responsible and reasonable view around climate change policy, but rather has stuck its head in the sand and pretended that climate change is a non-issue. Having said that, I have found a really constructive approach from the Māori Party around environmental issues, and I will tell members why. It is because both the Māori Party and National want to take a balanced approach around both the environment and the economy—something that I think has been an ethos of Māori for a very, very long time.
Charles ChauvelHow is it fair to have made the 73 kura nationwide eligible for Enviroschools funding, while the staff, students, and parents at New Zealand’s other 6,900 schools now have to do all their own fund-raising if they want to run an Enviroschools programme after his Government cut the $19.4 million made available to Enviroschools by the previous Government?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
It is quite the contrary of that. I do not know where the member gets his information from, but it is grossly inaccurate. The simple point about the representations I have received from the Minister of Māori Affairs is this: the Government, with Enviroschools, is proposing a programme of promoting recycling in our early childhood centres, and the Minister of Māori Affairs has made representations that that programme should be available to kōhanga reo. Which member of this Parliament would stand up and say that a programme should be available only in kindergartens and Pākehā centres, and not in kōhanga reo? [ Interruption]