Estimates Debate — Vote Environment (continued)

The environment estimates include two key projects, the first of which is the Government’s Resource Management Act reform, and the second is the creation of the Environmental Protection Authority. Both enhance geothermal developments, which of course benefit the Taupō region.

One of the initiatives that has been opened this year by the Acting Minister of Energy and Resources, Hekia Parata, is the Clean Energy Centre, which has been established to accelerate the adoption of clean-energy solutions by industry, communities, businesses, and households in New Zealand. The Clean Energy Centre is a model of energy efficiency and green architecture. The Clean Energy Centre is the perfect example of using environmental opportunities, where we are enhancing—

The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch): I am sorry to interrupt the member. I ask members to give consideration to the speaker. It is very unsettling when there is so much background noise. If one wants to speak, that is what the lobbies are for.

The Clean Energy Centre is the opportunity to balance environmental protection and the growth of the economy.

If we look at geothermal energy in the Bay of Plenty and the wider Waikato region, we see that geothermal energy is one of our main job opportunities and growth opportunities. With last year’s opening of Ngā Awa Purua, New Zealand’s largest geothermal power station, approximately 14 percent of New Zealand’s electricity supply is now coming from geothermal sources, and this is yet another example of initiatives that have come out of the estimates for Vote Environment.

Another initiative that has had a significant impact in the Taupō electorate is, of course, the Fresh Start for Fresh Water Clean-up Fund. This is a significant investment of $264.8 million in the clean-up of waterways across our country. This is a significant issue, and if I look at the recent survey of constituents in my electorate, I see that the environmental issue that concerns them the most is water quality. So this is yet another example of the work done by Minister Nick Smith in putting our money where our mouth is in terms of the significant issues that affect our environment.

The Fresh Start for Fresh Water Clean-up Fund was one of the initiatives that came out of the recent Report of the Land and Water Forum: A Fresh Start for Freshwater, on which there were 58 representatives of water stakeholders. This really was a first move in collaboration. A significant effort was made by the many stakeholder organisations, with a significant number of public meetings up and down the country—18, in fact—endorsing the work that the Land and Water Forum did.

We recognise that if New Zealand is to go forward, both in terms of our economy and in terms of growing our visitor industry, one of the key things that must attract visitors is our clean water. That is why it is important that this Government continues to invest in significant clean-up projects of lakes such as Lake Taupō, and of the Waikato River.

I am pleased to speak on Vote Environment. I find it somewhat extraordinary that the only members taking calls are Government members, which I think is a real endorsement of how good a shape environmental policy is progressing in. Let me take a couple of areas where this Government is making real inroads.

The first of those is in respect of fresh water. I think it is broadly acknowledged that New Zealand needs to take a significant step up in the way in which we manage New Zealand’s freshwater resource, a resource with which New Zealand is very richly blessed. We are doing three particular things in the area of freshwater management. The first is that we are implementing the new National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management that came into effect on 1 July. It is the third national policy statement under the Resource Management Act that we have done in the last year, and I remind members of the history, which is that only two national policy statements were done under the Resource Management Act in the previous 19 years. We have done three in the last year; previously, two were done in 19 years.

The fact is that we need to make an investment in freshwater bodies around New Zealand in order to clean them up. We have very important work occurring with regard to the Rotorua lakes, Taupō, and the Waikato, and there are other freshwater bodies on which we need to take an initiative. This Budget provides for an additional $15 million, bringing the Government’s total investment in freshwater clean-ups to $265 million. To put it very squarely in terms of the level of importance that this Government gives to fresh water, we are spending five times as much on freshwater clean-up programmes as the previous Government did—five times as much.

Then we have the very important collaborative work occurring with the Land and Water Forum. The Government needs to do a big piece of policy work over the next 12 months to make sure that we have the full framework that is needed to ensure we better manage our fresh water.

I will also talk about clean air, which also goes to the core of New Zealand’s “clean, green” brand. Last week I was delighted to release the results showing that New Zealand’s air, in terms of particulate pollution, is at its cleanest since records began. For the last 10 years we have been monitoring the level of particulate pollution, and it is at its best level ever with the new national environmental standards that we have to meet by 2016 and 2020. The very important issue in that regard is that we must invest in the practical measures that will clean up our air. This Budget provides funding so that over the 3 years of this term in office, we will have spent $26 million on the practical work needed to convert households to cleaner heating. That is 12 times as much as was spent in the previous term of Parliament. This is why we are doing it and why it is important: the health advice is that 1,100 New Zealanders die prematurely each year as a consequence of air pollution. We need to get the pollution level down. The combination of the practical programme to convert houses to clean heating, toughening the standards on vehicles, and improving fuel standards is making a material difference.

I am confident that with the measures in this Budget and the announcements that I made last week about reducing the compliance costs of running two different programmes in Vote Energy and Vote Environment, we will be able to convert another 1,250 homes over and above those I have already spoken of to clean heating. Again, that will help to make sure we get that progress in meeting those standards by 2016 and 2020.

Important initiatives on waste and contaminated sites are in this vote. The policy work associated with the Environmental Protection Authority and with getting proper environmental regulation in the exclusive economic zone is all work that we are doing with the Ministry for the Environment to really make sure that New Zealand lives up to the “clean, green” brand with the sort of practical environmental approach that we are taking with our blue-green agenda, which is being consistently advanced on clean water, clean air, contaminated sites, waste, and the like.

Vote agreed to.

Vote Corrections