9. CHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National—West Coast - Tasman) Link to this
to the Minister for the Environment
What advice has he received on major resource consents being considered under the Government’s new national consenting policy?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment) Link to this
I am advised that $5 billion worth of major infrastructure projects are being progressed under the new national consenting policy introduced by the Government in the 2009 reforms of the Resource Management Act. These projects include new renewable power stations, airport expansions, motorways, prisons, and transmission projects. A key advantage of this new process is a single, robust submission hearing process, taking 9 months rather than a drawn-out process of multiple submission stages and appeals taking many years. The first project lodged under the new policy was the $1 billion Contact Energy Tauhara stage two geothermal station. This was processed under the 9-month timetable, enabling all parties to get a fair hearing, and this has resulted in robust consent conditions that protect the environment.
What benefits are there for ordinary New Zealanders from these more-efficient resource consenting processes for major infrastructure?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
Power prices relate directly to supply and demand. The problem historically is that taking many, many years to get resource consents has constrained power supply and contributed to the very steep rise in electricity prices over the past decade. The more-efficient consent processing also helps security of supply, in that delays in getting new power stations built and new transmission lines in place only increases the risks of blackouts and brownouts, as we experienced over the last decade. It is also in the interests of New Zealanders that we are able to—
Hon David ParkerHon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
The member who was previously the Minister of Energy obviously did not recognise the problem in Auckland, where there were major power failures, and the two periods when he had to plead with the public of New Zealand to save power because not enough power stations were built and when record amounts of coal were burnt to keep the lights on. The member opposite is embarrassed that this Government’s reforms are working so effectively in getting new power stations consented.
Charles ChauvelWhat monitoring is the Minister undertaking of the costs to parties involved in his new national consenting policy in light of reports of legal and consulting bills in the millions of dollars being incurred by those parties, thanks in part to the tight 9-month timetable imposed and also to unclear policies and processes at his new Environmental Protection Authority?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
The feedback I have had from major investors like Contact Energy is that they would much prefer the certainty of the constrained timetable and the one-step process rather than the ridiculous examples we have, such as the West Wind wind farm project here in Wellington, which took over 3 years for consent. The uniform opinion, both from objectors as well as applicants, is that they prefer the national consenting process, which is robust but is set to a timetable and is producing consents like the billion-dollar Tauhara project at reasonable cost.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. My question was directed toward asking the Minister what monitoring he was undertaking of the costs to parties involved in the new consent process, not about what he thought or what he has heard anecdotally of the preferences of—
Mr SPEAKERIf the member had asked only that, he could have expected a more precise answer, but I recollect that the question went on to become a much longer question that included more than just that in it. I believe that the Minister was responding to some of the rest of that question. If I have that wrong, I am prepared to accept I have it wrong, but I believe that the member did include more than just that in his question.