1. Hon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does she have confidence in her Ministers responsible for Climate Change Issues, of Forestry, and for the Environment?
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
Will her commitment to New Zealand being carbon neutral be just like her promise to get New Zealand into the top 10 countries of the OECD by 2010, which she has now disowned as being unachievable; if that is not the case, will she be specific about what she means by being carbon neutral and when her Government will achieve it?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
In respect of the member’s reference to OECD placings, he is aware that was never a formal Government target.
Gordon CopelandDoes she consider that forestry, as a carbon absorber and storer, has a vital role to play in helping New Zealand to meet its climate change obligations; if so, why has the Government been so slow in encouraging landowners to plant new forests on the vast tracts of denuded, often erosion-prone land that is prevalent over much of New Zealand?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
The Government has announced the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative, which deals with exactly that issue. Before Christmas, proposals will go out for consultation with the sector on afforestation and reforestation measures.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
I try for a third time to get an answer to the question. What did the Prime Minister mean when she said New Zealand should be carbon neutral, and when does her Government propose to achieve that extraordinary goal?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
The goal is aspirational, but it would involve New Zealand aiming not to put more carbon into the atmosphere than it is able to offset by other means. Given the member’s own claims to wish to have environmental sustainability for New Zealand by 2020, one would think he would be enthusiastic about that goal.
Hon Jim AndertonHas the Prime Minister received any reports of actions that have been taken by any individual or group in the community in reaction to any Government proposals to implement climate change policies?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
Plenty. I recall that when the Government proposed a mild levy for research on pastoral emissions, the National Party’s response was to drive a tractor up the steps of Parliament.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
How does the Prime Minister reconcile her commitment for New Zealand to be carbon neutral with her Government’s record of electricity generation from coal increasing from 1,200 gigawatt hours, or 3 percent of New Zealand’s electricity in 1999, to 4,000 gigawatt hours, or 10 percent of the electricity produced in 2005, which is a trebling in just 6 years; how is her record on coal consistent with New Zealand being carbon neutral?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
As I said to the member yesterday, I would be surprised if he is advocating that thermal generation should never be part of the mix. Of course, the Government’s projects to reduce emissions have led to a resurgence in wind energy proposals. Quite frankly, when I look at a party that refused to vote for the first reading of the Climate Change Response Amendment Bill or to support that bill at the Commerce Committee, I can only wonder at the hypocrisy of doing that.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I know that any other member of the House would be pulled up for using that word. Why is it OK for her to do so?
Madam SPEAKERI did not hear what the word was, because there was so much noise. Would members please keep the level of noise down so that we can all hear.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
Does the Prime Minister recall the statement of Labour’s then environment spokesperson, Dianne Yates, on 13 May 1999 that it was a scandal that New Zealand’s emissions were growing; now that, after 7 years of Labour being in Government, emissions are growing at over double the rate they were growing at in 1999, why is she overseeing a double scandal?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I point out that the growth in emissions is rather less than that of either Canada or Australia. I also point out that the Government is taking many initiatives, none of which the National Party is prepared to support at this time.
Dr Pita SharplesTēnā koe, Madam Speaker. Tēnā tātau katoa. Ki te Pirimia: he aha ngā kupu tohutohu a tōna Minita Taiao mō te āhua o ngā tukinga o te Whare Hākinakina, arā, a Aotearoa, i runga i te taiao me te takutai moana?
[Thank you Madam Speaker. Greetings to us all. To the Prime Minister: what advice has she received from her Minister for the Environment about the likely impact of the Aotearoa Stadium on the environment, and the foreshore and seabed?]
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
How did her Minister’s decision to reject the Dobson hydro scheme on the West Coast, which would have produced sufficient power by now to reduce carbon emissions by over a million tonnes, contribute to the Prime Minister’s goal for New Zealand to be carbon neutral?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
A commitment to do something about renewable energy does not mean that the Minister of Conservation should never uphold conservation values. I know that the National Party does not care about conservation values, but that is no reason to be a vandal with the conservation estate.
Tēnā koe. He aha hoki ngā tohutohu a tōna Minita Taiao mō te whakaaro a te mana whenua mō te āhua tukinga o te Whare Hākinakina i ō rātou ake whenua tipuna?
[Thank you. What advice has she received from her Minister for the Environment about mana whenua views about the environmental impact of the stadium on their tribal lands?]
Rodney HideIs the goal of carbon neutrality for New Zealand a Government goal, and how does it compare with the Prime Minister’s goal, on becoming Prime Minister, of closing the gaps and, indeed, with her recent goal of putting a giant bedpan on Bledisloe Wharf?
Again, that was very wide of the mark, but the Prime Minister—[ Interruption] Well, it was a wide question, but I have asked the Prime Minister—[] It was wide of the question. However, I have asked the Prime Minister to address it.
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
If the member can actually bear to read my speech, he will find it quite clear that that is stated as a question and as an aspirational goal.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I think that a member’s question should be ruled to be either in or out. It should not need a comment from the Speaker’s chair. The Prime Minister made it plain in her answer to a question that the goal of being in the top half of the OECD was not a Government goal, so my question, quite legitimately, was whether the goal of carbon neutrality was a Government goal. I fail to see how that can be wide of the mark, when that was exactly what the Prime Minister was discussing.
I thank the member. If his question had stopped there, it would have been perfectly acceptable. However, he is right; I should not show such generosity in the future.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
Why have her Ministers supported the decision of the Government company Mighty River Power to proceed with a 320-megawatt coal-fired power station in Whangarei—a plant with a life of 40 years, over which it will emit 36 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere—and how is that decision consistent with the Prime Minister’s aspiration that New Zealand should be carbon neutral?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
Again, I say to the member that I would be surprised if he is ruling out thermal options as a way of reaching New Zealand’s energy needs. However, we have a big priority on renewable energy. The draft energy strategy will be out shortly for the member to look it. But I want to know who from the National Party talks on climate change: Dr Smith or the climate change deniers Key and Brash?
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I listened to the Prime Minister’s answer carefully. She gave me some advice about what my view may be. She gave some commentary on what Mr Key and Dr Brash may think about climate change. But I am none the wiser in terms of the Government’s policy on a 320-megawatt coal-fired power station in Whangarei, which I think it was very reasonable to question.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
I seek the leave of the House to table official figures from the Framework Convention on Climate Change that show that, contrary to what the Prime Minister said, New Zealand’s emissions are growing significantly faster than those of Australia.