Financial Review Debate — Ministry for the Environment

I thank the Local Government and Environment Committee for its report on the excellent performance that the Ministry for the Environment achieved in the first full year under the John Key - led National Government. First, I will note the background. When National came into Government, the ministry was almost in a state of crisis. Both the chief executive and the Minister for the Environment had had to resign as a consequence of a scandal that immersed this Parliament and had sapped away the motivation and the good work that we needed to do in this important space. Three chief executives in less than a year, three Ministers in less than a year—it was a ministry that was crying out for a fresh start.

The financial review shows quite stunning and progressive change that is consistent with the blue-green agenda that this Government came into office with. Let me go through some of the achievements in the financial year. Firstly, the implementation of the waste levy and the implementation of the Waste Minimisation Act have seen real green growth, with a whole number of new businesses from Kaitāia to Bluff starting up in that blue-green space. I will give an example. In Southland, in which I know the Chair Eric Roy would have some interest, there are new businesses recycling antifreeze so that that waste does not end up in our drains. That is a good programme. In the area of Canterbury we have had a new business supported by my ministry that recycles nappies into usable compost. We have had businesses start up to recycle silage wrap, which is a huge area of plastics. Businesses that are recycling building waste have started up, which will become particularly important with the huge rebuild job we have in Christchurch. New businesses that are using a whole range of plastic and other wastes that would otherwise go to landfill have been successfully implemented in this financial year in review.

We have had the very successful implementation of the emissions trading scheme. Let me give members two key outcomes that are so important to New Zealand’s environmental performance. Under the Labour years, despite all the rhetoric on climate change, 70 percent of new generation stations built were thermal power stations—a trebling in the amount of electricity produced from burning coal. In the first 12 months of the emissions trading scheme, we have seen a huge shift in investment to renewable energy—in fact, 100 percent of consents granted under the Resource Management Act changes implemented by the ministry have been for renewable power stations, and that is a good thing.

After the record period of deforestation that occurred under the previous Government, we have seen a welcome shift to New Zealand planting more trees than it removed in any one year. That is so hugely important in the balance.

Let us take the issue of fresh water. Freshwater quality is another big challenge. In the financial year under review, the ministry, supported by this Government, increased five-fold the amount it is investing in freshwater quality; initiatives in Lake Rotorua, the Waikato, and Lake Taupō are making a real difference.

I will note the steps we are taking to try to get more efficient resource consent processing. The bill we passed in this Parliament in 2009 has seen a huge improvement in the efficient processing of resource consents. We had compliance levels of about only 50 percent but we are now at over 80 percent. We are heading for over 90 percent performance in resource consents being processed on time so that the work of the ministry is supporting a growing economy, new initiatives, and the sort of infrastructure that will support a growing economy.

The last point I wish to make on our blue-green agenda is in terms of the Environmental Protection Authority and the work that the ministry has successfully done for that new authority. It had its first stage last year and has moved to full implementation this year. We really have a successful blue-green agenda being advanced by the Ministry for the Environment.

Report noted.

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