Oral Questions

1. to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?

New Zealanders continue to show confidence in the economy. Statistics New Zealand reported today that card transactions rose 0.9 percent in July compared with the previous month. Retail card spending, which makes up three-quarters of total card transactions, rose 0.6 percent as New Zealanders spent more on groceries, alcohol, and specialised food. Kiwis also spent more on clothing, shoes, jewellery, and watches. In their commentary, Westpac’s economists had expected to see a small decline due to the suspension of travel with Australia. However, it turns out, to quote them, that “New Zealand households are hitting the town and spending up.” The report also shows a dampening in spending in the hospitality sector, which Westpac attributes to a lack of international tourists, indicating, as we have noted several times in this House, the economic environment remains uneven for some sectors and regions.

💬 Barbara Edmonds: What other reports has he seen on consumer confidence?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index shows sentiment remains in positive territory. The index did edge down one point to 113 in July, just below its historical average. The proportion of people who believe it is a good time to buy a major household item, which is a key indicator of confidence, rose two points to 24. A net 23 percent of those surveyed expect to be better off this time next year—up one. ANZ’s confidence composite gauge, which is a GDP growth indicator by combining lag business expectations and intentions with consumer sentiment, is now well above pre-COVID levels. The survey does show, however, that consumers remain cautious about the future and the economic environment continues to be volatile as countries such as Australia struggle to contain the highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19.

💬 Barbara Edmonds: What other reports has he seen on the economy?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The primary sector is continuing to support and secure the recovery. The ANZ Commodity Price Index was released last week, and while it eased back from its record high, declining by 1.4 percent in July, it is still very strong. Looking at the sectors, there were gains for meat and fibre, which rose 0.6 percent due to higher lamb and wool prices, while beef prices eased back. Horticulture also rose by 0.6 percent. Forestry did slip back from record highs as demand from China eased, while dairy prices also eased, although ANZ said that relatively tight global milk supplies should limit further downward movements in dairy prices. When returns to producers are converted back to New Zealand dollars, the overall index rose by 0.1 percent. Our producers are operating in a volatile market reflecting the ongoing impact of the pandemic but continue to do well to support the New Zealand economy.

Question No. 2—Prime Minister

2. to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

Yes. In particular, I stand by this Government’s commitment to take action to mitigate the impacts of climate change, and to create a smarter, greener, more resilient New Zealand through our recovery. Already we have—as has been discussed in this House—ended new offshore oil and gas exploration, passed the zero carbon Act and become one of the first countries to put the 1.5 degree global warming threshold into primary legislation, doubled our climate change - related aid to the Pacific, committed to a Public Service that is carbon neutral by 2025, become the first country in the world to introduce legislation to require all listed companies and large financial institutions to report on their climate-related risks, and undertaken world-leading work alongside our primary sector to tackle what will soon become a global issue around emissions related to food production. I’m proud of this Government’s efforts on climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report demonstrates why it is so important. The future lies in transitioning our economy, including transitioning our energy generation.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Is it acceptable to her that medically vulnerable New Zealanders were forced to drive themselves to Waikato Hospital last night because her Government couldn’t keep the electricity on?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I totally reject the second half of the member’s question. In answer to the first half, I absolutely do not believe that that is an acceptable scenario, no.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Has she seen advice that the proposed Onslow pumped hydro scheme will be at least 10 years away from completion, and why did she ban gas exploration before any alternative was in place?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Let’s be absolutely clear. The last gas find in New Zealand offshore was in 2000. If the member believes that offshore gas was the solution to New Zealand’s future energy needs, then her Government, while in office, would have needed to bring it online. Gas exploration takes years. Bringing a gas find online, if you find it, takes years. It would not have made any meaningful contribution to what happened yesterday. Nor are fossil fuels the future answer for New Zealand. I have seen advice saying Onslow would take ten years, which is why we have consistently said it, and which is why the work is starting now.

💬 David Seymour: Can the Prime Minister tell the House of one tangible initiative her Government has taken to improve New Zealand’s energy security in relation to electricity supply?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes. Not only are we doing work on the grid, we have also tried to remove the barriers to renewable electricity generation. I’m holding in front of me a list that particularly focuses on solar and wind but also geothermal, a list of renewable energy generation investment across 2019 and 2021 to increase the renewable energy supply in New Zealand.

💬 David Seymour: How did those investments help New Zealanders last night when solar and wind contribution to the grid was zero?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Let’s be absolutely clear. As the Minister has said in her answer, generation was not the issue last night. Last night the issue was it was not brought online. We had capacity that was not used. That was the problem. No New Zealander would consider it acceptable that we had capacity that was not brought online.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Does she prefer the Huntly power station burning New Zealand natural gas or Indonesian coal?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would prefer that New Zealand prepares to transition. But, right now, whilst we are between 80 and, roughly, 85 percent renewable, we do still have fossil fuels in our electricity generation, and no Government, including this one, is going to make decisions that mean that we are unable to continue to meet the demand. But we will make decisions that mean in the future, we have the ability to transition away from fossil fuel use. If only previous Governments had had the foresight to make those decisions.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Can we get an answer to it? Which is better: natural gas from New Zealand or Indonesian coal fuelling up and keeping the lights on in New Zealand?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The best option is a supply that actually doesn’t have to have an impact on our environment and does allow us to keep the lights on. It is within New Zealand’s power to have 100 percent renewable electricity generation. It will require investment, but that is why we are making the decisions we are now. At the same time, we have to ensure security of supply. What happened last night was that the generation that was available was not brought on, so that did not have to happen with the current mix that we have.

💬 Hon Dr Megan Woods: Can the Prime Minister confirm that there was 350 megawatts that was not taken up from the Taranaki combined cycle, and a further 240 megawatts of electricity available from the third Rankine at Huntly that could have been brought on last night, but commercial decisions were made not to bring it on?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes—exactly. We said that the issue that we experienced yesterday was that we simply had capacity that was not made available. That is a totally unacceptable situation, and New Zealanders who were in that scenario, I think, would think it was pretty dire that we had the ability to deal with the situation we had yesterday, but, simply, those generators made decisions not to bring that capacity on and, as a result, their lights went out. That is not good enough.

💬 David Seymour: Will the Government abandon its target for 100 percent renewable electricity generation by 2030, and, if not, was the Climate Change Commission wrong when it said, “The Government should consider replacing the 100 percent target with a goal of aiming to achieve 95 to 98 percent renewable electricity by 2030.”?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: So what you can see, I think, is the Climate Change Commission generally sharing the aspiration that we increase our renewable electricity supply in New Zealand, and that is an aspiration that, obviously, you’ll see from our policy, we share. We, of course, built into our policy the ability in 2025 to look at our mix of electricity generation and see whether or not going through to 2030, which is where we’ve had the goal, we should maintain that 100 percent aspiration, but, generally speaking, the goal is the same. We’ve got to increase the amount of renewable electricity supply that we have in New Zealand, and that’s exactly what we’re working on.

💬 David Seymour: Is the Prime Minister or her Minister prepared to repeat the assertion that generators plunged New Zealanders’ homes into darkness due to commercial decisions that they made, outside the House, where she’s not protected by privilege?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: What we’ve presented here are simply the facts. As you will have heard, at 6.43 a.m., Transpower issued a low residual notice to participants. At 1.02 p.m., Transpower issued a warning that there was insufficient generation offers for the evening peak. Another warning was issued at 5.07 p.m. At 6.40 p.m., Transpower issued a request for network companies in direct grid connections to then shed 1 percent. As I’ve said, despite all of those warnings, we had an issue where the Rankine at Huntly was not—was not—fired up. Clearly, we had capacity that was not utilised, despite Transpower’s requests.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: How long has she known that large numbers of front-line port workers are still unvaccinated?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: You’ll see from the decision that we made as a Government to mandate vaccinations at the ports that we had identified that uptake was an issue. It is not evenly spread. Some ports have very high uptakes; some have lower. In response to the issues that we were identifying, on 19 February, a port vaccination hui was held at the port in Tauranga. On 26 February, two sessions open to the port and family at the yacht club were held. On 5 March, there was an online session made available for port workers, which was then shared electronically across other platforms, again, to encourage uptake of vaccines. In March, we talked to those port workers who had taken up a vaccination, to share their stories and, again, to spread the message to take up a vaccination offer. On 4 June, we held two sessions specifically targeted at those groups we were worried about where uptake was low. At the end of June, we had another session with port workers. This is all just at Tauranga, and it demonstrates we were working very hard to increase the uptake. We saw that we were having issues, we heard the port’s concern around it affecting the supply chain, but we none the less decided we had to mandate to lift those vaccination rates.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: With all the hui and the discussions with the port workers, why didn’t she just get the vaccine and the vaccinators to the ports and get them done instead of just talking about it and promising it?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course we did. A vaccination site started at the Port of Tauranga on 1 March—[Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! Sorry, I am going to interrupt the Prime Minister. We’ve had quite a lot of discussion in recent weeks about loud interjections from particularly close to my microphone, which are drowning out others, and it means that people can’t be heard—including me having trouble hearing them. I’ll just ask the member with the very loud voice that’s not very far away from me, to turn it down.

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course this was in conjunction to vaccines being offered. You wouldn’t have sessions encouraging vaccination and then not have clinics to enable the vaccines to be had. They started on 1 March and ran for six weeks. Following 11 April, pop-up clinics were arranged on site as needed, which occurred fortnightly when the port had a group of workers that needed vaccination. That is in addition to the vaccination sites that are generally available, of course, across the Bay of Plenty. And priority spots had been retained for those port workers, or those workers at the border, to ensure that they don’t have to wait in order to access a vaccine.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Why wasn’t it mandated earlier, given the risk?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I have, obviously, stated many, many times, one of the issues that the ports raised with us was that some of those individuals who had not yet taken up a vaccine were in critical roles and that there was the risk that we may have supply chain issues if we mandated a vaccination that would lead to, potentially, job loss. None the less, we took the extraordinary step of mandating the requirement for those at the port in those highest-risk jobs to be vaccinated. Again, it would be unfair to state that this is an issue across the board. We have very high rates at, for instance, port of Otago, Napier Port, and some other areas. In certain areas, we have had pockets where uptake has been high for certain employees, but in others it has been more challenging.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Who is responsible for unvaccinated port workers being allowed to continue working on the front line and going on to ships?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again, just a bit of context: of course, there has been a period where the world had no vaccines in which we were still operating our ports. So we have had orders in place that mean that, for this entire time, we have treated every ship as if those who are on it have COVID. Keep in mind there is no requirement to test every single cargo ship that comes into New Zealand, because we have 2,000 a year, and some ships, (a) don’t stay long enough, (b) would risk those individuals coming off ship when they are currently banned from doing so, and there is also the risk that they would not come. So we behave as if every cargo crew has COVID. There are requirements around social distancing; personal protective equipment use if you may come into contact; and now, on top of that, we have mandated vaccinations.

Question No. 3—Health

3. to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made on the redevelopment of Bay of Islands Hospital?

Recently, the Prime Minister and I attended a ceremony to bless the site and workers for phase two of the redevelopment of the Bay of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa. The new building will house out-patients and primary care facilities. The Government has invested $14 million in this project to help the Northland District Health Board address inequitable health outcomes for Māori by making services easier to access for communities. These new facilities are an indicator of the future, with a range of services available in a primary setting, and will mean people can get the care they need close to home and close to whānau rather than having to travel to Whangārei or Auckland.

💬 Willow-Jean Prime: What facilities are included in the redevelopment?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: This is the second phase of redevelopment, following the completion of a two-storey building accommodating the new accident and medical centre and a 20-bed in-patient ward in 2018. This phase—the latest one—includes an integrated family health centre to accommodate primary health and out-patient services, an expanded renal dialysis unit, and the introduction of new oncology and haematology services. The new facilities are expected to be operational in 2023. This redevelopment reflects this Government’s commitment to laying the foundations for a better future for all New Zealanders, as well as the wider changes we wanted to achieve through the health reforms.

💬 Willow-Jean Prime: What other investments has the Government made to improve the health and wellbeing of Northlanders?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The new facilities are just one part of the Government’s investment to improve the health and wellbeing of Northland residents. Other projects recently announced in the area include remediation work at Kaitāia Hospital, a linear accelerator at Whangarei Hospital to provide better cancer treatment, and buses to provide mobile surgical and lithotripsy services for kidney and gallbladder issues. A cardiac catheter laboratory and operating theatres were recently opened at Whangarei Hospital, and expanded youth mental health and addiction services are planned across Northland, Auckland, and Waitematā.

Question No. 4—Foreign Affairs

4. to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What advice has she received, if any, about the effects of climate change-related events on New Zealand’s Overseas Development Assistance programmes?

on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs: I thank the member from the Green Party for their important question. It is particularly relevant given the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released last night, which underscored the significant impacts climate change will have on the Pacific and other small islands. It is no secret that Pacific Island countries are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and climate change remains the most significant issue facing the Pacific region despite contributing little to global emissions. I am advised she has received a number of pieces of advice to that effect, which covers climate finance, climate migration, sea-level rise, maritime boundaries, as well as significant general advice given. This is a priority area for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), including in the overseas development assistance programme. We are on track to meet our climate finance commitment made in 2018 to provide at least $300 million in climate finance over four years, with at least two-thirds to the Pacific.

💬 Golriz Ghahraman: How is New Zealand’s overseas development assistance being directed to help vulnerable nations address the impacts of climate change, which the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights says will mean “even under the best-case scenario, hundreds of millions will face food insecurity, forced migration, disease, and death”?

On behalf of the Minister, as I have previously said, we know climate change is having an impact in the Pasifika region, and that is why we continue to work in this area and why it is a priority area for MFAT. Building resilience to climate change remains at the heart of New Zealand’s engagement with the Pacific as we move through COVID-19 response and recovery phases. New Zealand’s current climate finance commitment of at least $300 million over four years, 2019 to 2022, announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the United Nations General Assembly in 2018, will see at least two-thirds of our climate finance targeted at the Pacific and at least 50 percent for adaptation, aligning with the Pacific’s priorities, and I am advised that we are on track to fulfil this commitment.

💬 Golriz Ghahraman: Does she think that the best way for New Zealand to assist with climate change - related events is to reduce emissions, and, therefore, does she support a stronger nationally determined contribution, under the Paris Agreement, to align with the targets of other comparable countries?

On behalf of the Minister, yes, and it will come as no surprise to people that climate change is having an impact on the Pacific. That is why, as a Government, we are committed to working in this area, why we have advocated for the Pacific in a large number of international forums, and why we continue to fund and support programmes in the Pacific. Some examples of our activities in the Pacific include supporting the Pacific Climate Change Centre to be established as a knowledge hub and centre of excellence in the region; supporting research and regional dialogue on climate migration, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration; providing water tanks to Tuvalu to assist with water security, in partnership with the New Zealand Defence Force; working in partnership with the Department of Conservation Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Programme (SPREP) to combat invasive alien species in the region; and supporting Pacific Island countries to more effectively and efficiently access climate finance in partnership with SPREP.

💬 Golriz Ghahraman: Does she agree that New Zealand’s assistance to other countries to reduce emissions must be backed with strong climate action at home; if not, why not?

I can only speak for the work of MFAT, who see their work in the Pacific region around climate change as a priority. I know this Government also has a strong commitment to climate change that is being led by the Prime Minister, but specific questions on New Zealand’s climate change policy should be directed to the Minister for Climate Change, who is sitting right across here, a Minister I work closely with and respect.

Question No. 5—Finance

5. to the Minister of Finance: What advice, if any, has he received on the economic impacts of recent higher energy prices and the economic consequences of power outages?

I have received advice from the Treasury and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) that this year wholesale electricity prices have been higher than normal and that this could have economic impacts, particularly for the small number of energy consumers exposed to spot prices. The advice also included that, over the longer term, if wholesale prices return to their long-term averages, it is unlikely that there will be long-term impacts on energy consumers. With regard to the second part of the member’s question, on the question of outages, given the event referred to in the House today occurred only last night, I have not received specific advice on the economic consequences of that. Regarding economic impacts, it is worth noting that unemployment has fallen to its pre-COVID level of 4 percent, while employment is growing. Data also shows that economic activity in New Zealand has returned to where it was pre-COVID levels.

💬 Andrew Bayly: How can New Zealand businesses dependent on wholesale electricity manage their operations when faced with a 56,000 percent increase in prices that have gone from $373 per megawatt hour to $211,000 per megawatt hour, as happened yesterday afternoon?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The example the member gives was for a very brief moment last evening, and I do understand that for the majority of those involved, they would be unaffected by that. I also understand that the scarcity pricing provisions in the electricity industry participation code had been triggered and so the actual final prices would end up being much lower than those provisionally traded figures the member has quoted.

💬 Andrew Bayly: How can he say that this Government is doing its best for the economy, when average monthly wholesale electricity prices have increased from $60 per megawatt hour in the six months prior to Labour coming to office to $260 per megawatt hour in the last six months, a 330 percent increase—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! The member’s question is finished.

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: A large number of New Zealand’s major users hedge, and so they make sure they stay ahead of the market in that regard. And in answer to the member’s question, I refer him back to my primary answer. Yes, there were issues earlier in the year when we were facing a dry hydrological year, but through that period of time, the New Zealand economy is now operating at a level above where we were pre-COVID. Unemployment is at 4 percent and employment rates are increasing. Once again, the New Zealand economy has shown its resilience through challenging times. The member might choose to celebrate that.

💬 Andrew Bayly: As the finance Minister of a Labour Government, is he satisfied he has done enough to prevent businesses like Tasman pulp and paper or the Methanex Waitara plant from closing due to runaway costs of energy?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As the Minister of Finance in a Labour Government I am extremely proud of the fact that the New Zealand economy is now operating above where it was before COVID came along, that people are going into work. There are always challenges within an economic environment and the New Zealand economy and businesses in it have shown their resilience.

💬 Andrew Bayly: What certainty can he provide to businesses that we will see wholesale electricity prices return to the $60 per megawatt hour that existed prior to Labour taking office?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I am not going to speculate on the exact price, but if the member is trying to make out that the spike that occurred for a very brief period last night is somehow or other reflective of where we’re going to go, the member knows that’s not right. I do find it somewhat ironic that members opposite are asking about power struggles. I should take advice from them on that. [Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Order!

💬 Andrew Bayly: Does he agree that an economy plagued by rapidly escalating power prices and rolling power outages is making it harder for New Zealand businesses and consumers to get ahead?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The member needs to come back to the facts of what’s happening in the New Zealand economy. That is, that economic growth in New Zealand is back where it was pre-COVID levels, that unemployment is at 4 percent, that more people are in work, that wages are rising. The New Zealand businesses that I talk to are getting on with the job. The member might want to do that too.

Question No. 6—Tourism

6. to the Minister of Tourism: How is the Government supporting tourism infrastructure projects?

It is a priority to support tourism jobs and businesses as we keep up the momentum of economic recovery. The visitor economy in five South Island regions in particular has been seriously impacted by COVID-19. As the member knows, the South Island is home to many of the jewels in the crown of our tourism industry. Our fiords, mountains, glaciers—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! I’d just like the member to get on with answering the question rather than giving a geography lesson.

💬 Hon STUART NASH: The latest round of the investment from the Tourism Infrastructure Fund is focused on these five regions. Tourism projects in these South Island regions will receive $10 million from a total pool of $18 million in this round. This enables the tourism industry to once again make a strong contribution to our economic recovery and the wellbeing of workers and businesses in the affected regions.

💬 Rachel Brooking: What feedback has the Minister received from these beautiful South Island regions about the tourism support?

💬 Hon STUART NASH: The five regions are Mackenzie district, the Queenstown Lakes, Fiordland, South Westland, and Kaikōura. I’ve travelled to all five of these regions and spoken to the mayors and other leaders about what is needed to help the communities adjust. Mayors include Jim Boult, Bruce Smith, Gary Tong, Graham Smith, and Craig Mackle. They have responded enthusiastically to the infrastructure support. Mayor Tong said that he was “thrilled” with the support for Fiordland and Stewart Island tourism projects. Deputy Southland Mayor Ebel Kremer said he is “stoked” because “it means a lot to our communities.” Mayor Boult said that he was delighted for Queenstown, and Mackenzie’s Graham Smith said—I quote—“now is the time to put the infrastructure in place” as our iconic tourism destinations plan for the future. Tourism Industry Aotearoa has highlighted that the new facilities will benefit locals as well as visitors.

💬 Rachel Brooking: What sort of assets are being built for the benefit of both visitors and local communities?

💬 Hon STUART NASH: These five South Island communities share the challenge of dealing with infrastructure that has run down over many years. They also face the twin hurdle of funding projects from a very small rater base. Locals and visitors in Queenstown, Wānaka, and Glenorchy will benefit from new lake-front infrastructure like boat ramps. In Mackenzie district, the owner of the Lake Ruataniwha Holiday Park said new assets will make a real difference to locals who have been unable to go boating in the lake because of sewage contamination. Domestic tourism is experiencing a boom as Kiwi travellers—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! I think we’ve had more than enough. [Interruption] I don’t really need your support, Mr Doocey.

Question No. 7—COVID-19 Response

7. to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Why were unvaccinated workers at the Port of Tauranga allowed to have contact with the Rio de la Plata container ship before crew members on the ship had COVID-19 test results returned, and what steps, if any, is he taking to increase vaccination rates for port workers?

Crew members on incoming ships are not routinely tested. The consistent advice I’ve received is that testing all incoming ships would be logistically challenging and could result in some ships no longer calling in New Zealand, and it could also increase the risk, as all crew would have to disembark the ship for testing instead of remaining isolated on the ship, as they’re currently required to do under the maritime border order. We treat all incoming ships as if they could have COVID-19 cases on board, and rigorous infection and prevention control requirements are in place.

The latest advice I have is that 57 percent of port workers who interact with foreign vessels are fully vaccinated and an additional 7 percent have had one dose. That rate is not good enough. I’ve had feedback that port workers have been more susceptible to misinformation and we are receiving reports that they have been more reluctant to take up the opportunity to receive a vaccination when that has been offered. The current focus is providing one-to-one guidance to those workers at the ports who have been the subject of misinformation so that they can make an informed decision. I am not satisfied with the rate of vaccination of port workers, which is why we have now mandated that all of those port workers in at-risk roles will need to be vaccinated as an additional layer of protection. Many of those are already required to be vaccinated under the existing order—many of the Government employees. The remaining Government employees not covered by the current order will be covered from 26 August, by which point they must have had their first dose, and they have to have had their second dose within 35 days of that time. All other at-risk port employees have to have had their first dose by 30 September and their second dose within 35 days of that, or they will not be able to perform those roles.

💬 Chris Bishop: Why did Maritime New Zealand and the local medical officer of health in Tauranga clear the Rio de la Plata to berth at the port, with a local pilot boarding the ship on Wednesday, 4 August, when the day before the Port of Tauranga received an alert from Maritime New Zealand advising that the ship had been boarded two weeks prior by an Australian pilot who subsequently tested positive for the Delta strain of COVID-19?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: There is some conflicting information about that at the moment. My understanding is that that decision was based on timing and an assumption that it could have been the port worker in Queensland who could have potentially infected the crew, and the timing indicated that that would have been unlikely at that point. So I still have some questions about exactly who knew what and when, and why decisions were made when they were. We are getting more information on that. I’m not satisfied yet with all of the answers that we’ve received so far.

💬 Chris Bishop: Has he been advised that Group 1A port workers in some DHBs have only been able to get COVID-19 vaccinations recently and not earlier in the roll-out, and, if so, why did the Government allow that to be the case?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: No, I have not been advised of that. In fact, I can say that port workers have had access to the COVID-19 vaccinations longer than just about every other New Zealander, that we have had vaccination sites operating at the ports, that those vaccination sites have been deliberately set up to operate at times where there have been shift changes to ensure that people who are working night shifts, for example, are not disadvantaged by that, and any of those workers can also get an appointment and get a vaccination in one of the offsite vaccination clinics. Every place that has a port also has vaccinations available in their community.

💬 Chris Bishop: Is it correct that if the public health order mandating vaccination of port workers had been in place earlier, less than 36 percent of port workers would not have had a vaccination?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: To be frank, one of the things that I have been concerned about from the beginning is the level of misinformation at the ports and the potential for a vaccine requirement to stoke that concern and the conspiracy theories around that. And also I’ve been concerned about the potential economic impacts of introducing this requirement too soon, because the last thing I think any New Zealander wants to see is some of our ports unable to operate because there’s insufficient numbers of vaccinated workers. To put that into context, some of our ports employ very few people in some of those specialist roles. It would only take one or two of those specialist people, like ship pilots, to say that they’re not willing to be vaccinated and that port would have to close.

💬 Chris Bishop: Just in relation to that last answer, is the Minister for COVID-19 Response now saying that he and the Government are taking into account the economic impacts of the decisions they make in relation to the border?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: We always have and, in fact, we’re legally obliged to do so.

Question No. 8—Prime Minister

8. to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her statements and policies?

Yes. I especially stand by the Government’s COVID-19 vaccine and immunisation programme that as of yesterday had delivered two and a quarter million doses. We’re now delivering more than 250,000 doses a week, which is more per capita than Australia, South Korea, and Taiwan. I know the member will be interested in that comparison. I also stand by our booking system, which now has over a million active future bookings across 323 vaccination sites. That is why we are able to announce the expansion of the eligible general population to those over 50, from Friday. We are getting on with the job of vaccinating New Zealand, and I do want to thank every New Zealander who has either been vaccinated or has booked to be vaccinated, because it is the best way to support our recovery.

💬 David Seymour: Why then did that policy the Prime Minister is so eager to stand by see only 9 percent of exposed workers in Tauranga this week vaccinated?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As has been well traversed in this House, we want every front-line border worker to be vaccinated. Obviously, you will have seen that we mandated those particularly that the Government has direct employment over early on in our vaccination roll-out. We were very keen to see those who were privately employed, particularly at the port, to be part of that as well. There were concerns that mandating that requirement would lead to skilled specialists for whom a port is reliant on in order to maintain operations potentially moved on from their roles, and supply chain issues. You’ll see from the very lengthy list that both the Minister and I have shared around the activity that has taken place, every effort has been to encourage that voluntary uptake, but when it was still too low, we moved to mandate.

💬 David Seymour: Does the Prime Minister stand by her Government’s appointment of the Strategic COVID-19 Public Health Advisory Group, chaired by Sir David Skegg, just over four months ago, in early April?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes.

💬 David Seymour: Has the group provided valuable advice that might inform her announced announcement about COVID strategy coming this Thursday?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes.

💬 David Seymour: Who funded the group?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course, our COVID-19 response is funded by the Government.

💬 David Seymour: Why, then, has none of the advice produced by that group, chaired by Sir David Skegg, in the last four months been released for the people who paid for it—actually, the taxpayer—to view?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Thank you for the opportunity to inform everyone publicly here today that everyone is welcome to tune in on Thursday to the public forum that we have organised in order to, rather than wait for a proactive release of information—to not only publicly provide in writing the advice that we received but to also put on a platform the group themselves in order to provide and respond to questions around that advice. Then, immediately after, we will be providing a response to the advice that we have received. So, actually, I think we’ve taken measures to be very open about the advice we received that, as you can imagine, did not come in immediately. We had separate sets of advice that we added questions to, and we’ll be releasing that this week.

💬 David Seymour: Have any ideas coming from the advice been subject to focus groups or other forms of public opinion research in the last four months?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The most important place for the advice to have come would have been to Cabinet to make decisions. And, of course, the other point that I would make is that our response has been driven by science and evidence all the way through, and that has served us well. Where you have seen the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet engage in additional research, it’s often been around decisions that have already been made, such as the vaccination roll-out, to see why people might be hesitant and how we can overcome that. I would have thought the member would support those initiatives because that is the best way we can protect our health and our economy.

💬 David Seymour: Why couldn’t the Prime Minister just answer the previous question by saying “No”?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Because I believe that’s not the case. But if the member ever chooses to put a question in writing in advance, I can be 100 percent sure.

💬 David Seymour: Will the announcement on Thursday include any tangible steps to increase managed isolation and quarantine capacity that people can expect implemented within a month?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That’s not the purpose for which we set up this group. We absolutely have been working to try and utilise and bring on as much capacity as we can, whilst balancing that against the risk that additional capacity produces. So, actually, we don’t need that group to investigate those questions. That’s already something that Minister Hipkins works on on an ongoing basis. At the moment, we have the equivalent of a small New Zealand town in quarantine—over 4,500 people. That is three times what Australia is bringing into the country. We work very hard to do so safely, but we have worked hard to expand that capacity. That is in addition to the efforts we’re taking now to bring in additional—on top of that—Recognised Seasonal Employer workers in September to take a bit of pressure out of the system and to support our horticultural sector.

💬 David Seymour: Will Thursday’s announcement on COVID strategy include any tangible steps to bring new technologies, new types of vaccine, or new ways of distributing vaccination that people might expect to be implemented within a month?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The first thing is, of course, we’ve said we want everyone to have access to the information at the same time, and we’re doing that this week. When it comes to new ways of distributing vaccine, again, this particular group we’ve asked to support us for the next stages of our recovery, particularly thinking about the next six months in preparation for beyond that—when it comes to the vaccine roll-out, we are already utilising all those who can support us in providing new and innovative ways of vaccinating and supporting the vaccination roll-out, everything from setting up sites in malls. I visited one recently that are doing 1,000 people a day. We also have workplace sites that we’ve set up, and the likes of Mainfreight are supporting us to learn from what we can do better in going into worksites so that we can expand that roll-out. We’re increasing into GPs, pharmacies. Marae have played a critical part of our roll-out, and we also have recently made available a vaccination provision at the end of church services. I think we have been innovative in this roll-out, and we continue to seek ideas—I’d happily hear some of the member’s.

Question No. 9—Energy and Resources

9. to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Does she have confidence in the ability of the New Zealand electricity system to deliver security of supply; if not, why not?

Yes. The situation last night was not one of physical generation deficit but rather market decisions. I have received assurances from Transpower that there is fair capacity tonight. The latest assessment that I have seen is that there is around 540 megawatts of spare capacity tonight, of which 250 megawatts is forecast wind. I do, however, think that there are questions that need to be answered following this series of events, and that’s why I’ve asked the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to set up a review of what has happened.

💬 Barbara Kuriger: Does she agree with her own letter to electricity generators this morning that “New Zealand consumers do not expect our electricity market to fail under demand pressures”, and, if so, what steps has she taken to make sure New Zealand has a resilient electricity system?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: In answer to the first part of the question, yes, I do agree with my own letter that I sent to generators this morning. In terms of what steps I’ve taken today, in light of the events that happened last night, this morning I met with Transpower, I met with the Electricity Authority, and I got a thorough situation report of what had occurred. I then wrote to all of the electricity generators and asked them to reply to me swiftly to give me assurances that they were doing all they could, and what their role in the situation that occurred yesterday was. I have also sought further advice from MBIE and am continuing to monitor the situation closely. I’ve also appointed MBIE and asked them to stand up a coordinating agency. There are a number of players that come into this. There’s the system administrator in terms of Transpower. There’s the generators. There’s distribution networks that all need to come in play. So I’ve asked MBIE to be the coordinating authority. I’ve also spoken to the chief executive officer of the electricity distribution businesses to get feedback from his members of what situation occurred last night.

💬 Barbara Kuriger: By what year does the Minister expect new peak electricity sources such as green hydrogen or pumped hydro to be on the market, ensuring avoidance of future blackouts?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I think that the member’s operating under a false assumption around what pumped hydro does. Pumped hydro is about energy storage, rather than bringing on new generation. The role of pumped hydro in terms of providing dry-year storage will actually unleash the ability of other forms of generation that will be required in different parts of the country. We gave a very clear time line of what our expectations around the time line of the New Zealand Battery Project was when we launched it, and when we wrote the press release announcing it, and that is that it will take a number of years. As I’ve said a number of times in this House, I think it is a shame that New Zealand missed the opportunity to look at our long-term solutions many years ago.

💬 Barbara Kuriger: Why did the Government ban gas exploration before it had a ready alternative to provide New Zealand with renewable electricity?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As has also been canvassed many times in this House, the ending of exploration permits for offshore oil and gas, the decision that our Government took in 2018, was about a long-term transition—that it takes anywhere between five and 10 years to bring on something from an exploration permit to a production permit. This is a long-term managed transition, and I would point that member to the fact that the International Energy Agency is now pointing to this as a series of policies that countries around the world must adopt if the globe is to stand a chance in meeting its Paris commitments. I would like to hear what the policy solutions the National Party—

💬 SPEAKER: No. Order! Order! The member knows that’s out of order.

💬 Barbara Kuriger: When the Minister said earlier today she was made aware at 8.30 p.m. of the outages yesterday, did she find out from the social media site of WEL Networks, as their post was up before 8 p.m.?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: No.

Question No. 10—Transport

10. to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcement has he made about improving public transport for West Aucklanders?

I am pleased to report that construction on the Northwestern Bus Improvements has started. It includes connecting the bus lanes down State Highway 16 between Westgate and Newton Road, new bus stops, crossings, and footpaths on Te Atatū and Lincoln Road, and a major new bus station at Westgate. It’ll make a real difference for commuters, with around 25 minutes shaved off a bus trip from Westgate into the city, and I do want to acknowledge the local member and former Minister Phil Twyford for his work in getting this project under way.

💬 Marja Lubeck: How is the project supporting West Auckland’s economic recovery?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Not only will the Northwestern Bus Improvement project mean better public transport for West Auckland, it’s going to support the economic recovery by creating around 300 jobs. It was one of four Auckland Transport projects funded through the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support 1,000 jobs, and it freed up $98 million in the Auckland Council’s emergency budget to be reinvested in other important infrastructure projects.

💬 Marja Lubeck: When will the project deliver better public transport for the West?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Construction of most parts of the project will be completed by late next year, when express bus services will begin. Construction of the Westgate bus station is expected to begin in 2023, with detailed design and consenting starting next year. By delivering faster and more frequent bus services, we’ll be making public transport a real option for more people, reducing congestion and our carbon emissions.

💬 Hon Michael Woodhouse: Is the Government still committed to building light rail to north-west Auckland, as it announced on 9 May 2018, and if so, when can the people of north-west Auckland hear progress from the Government about it?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: The Government has signalled that as part of its long-term plans for mass rapid transit in Auckland, it will be important to look at light rail options at a range of locations around Auckland. The key thing is to make sure that those West Aucklanders do have access to adequate public transport, which is what this project is delivering. It’s important to note that the previous Government, when it widened the Northwestern Motorway, did not include any provision for public transport, and we’re having to come back and fix up that omission.

Question No. 11—Pacific Peoples

11. to the Minister for Pacific Peoples: What messages, if any, has he received from the Pacific community in Aotearoa relating to the impacts of climate change?

It is no surprise I’ve had a number of conversations with Pacific communities in Aotearoa, and the biggest message from them is that climate change is real. It is the single biggest threat facing our Pacific neighbours. It is of significant concern to the Pacific community in Aotearoa, particularly Tuvalu, Tokelau, Marshall Islands, and Kiribati communities. It is also something that is of significance for my international ministerial colleagues, including the Hon Nanaia Mahuta and the Hon James Shaw. As the Minister for Pacific Peoples, I play a strong role in advocacy for the Pacific, and we’ve had a number of important discussions on climate change in the Pacific. In the last month, I have attended a number of virtual engagement, and take opportunities to amplify climate change in the plight of the Pacific region. These include the Franco-Oceania summit, the Friends of Mekong Foreign Ministers meeting, and the ministerial Pacific regional fisheries meeting. I don’t necessarily want to namedrop but the France-Oceania summit was chaired by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and he asked me to pass on to our Prime Minister his best wishes. The Friends of Mekong Foreign Ministers meeting was chaired by the US, and they expressed, again, to Aotearoa–and the ministerial Pacific regional fisheries meeting was chaired by Fiji. He gave me a beaming smile—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! Order! I am going to interrupt the Minister and remind the Minister that the portfolio under which he’s answering these questions is a very narrow portfolio which refers to Pacific peoples in New Zealand.

💬 Teanau Tuiono: Is it his view that urgent climate action by New Zealand is strongly in the interest of New Zealand’s Pacific community in light of last night’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report suggesting the loss of entire Pacific countries could occur within this century?

💬 Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: Yes, and, as I said in my primary answer, the community here and abroad is concerned by climate change, and as Ministers we continue to work with the Pacific to support them—

💬 SPEAKER: Yeah. Order! Order! Order! The question was probably out of order, but, in any case, the Minister has answered it.

💬 Teanau Tuiono: Does he believe that the New Zealand Government has a duty of care in the Pacific neighbourhood and that a failure to take strong climate action will be a failure to support our families and friends who are most vulnerable?

💬 Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: Yes. That’s why the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Prime Minister, continue to engage in the Pacific and supports them through a variety of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade programmes, including the Official Development Assistance programme.

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! Again, if the Minister was answering in his previous capacity, that would all be in order, but he’s not, and, therefore, it isn’t.

💬 Teanau Tuiono: Point of order, Mr Speaker. The connection between diaspora Pacific communities and communities in the Pacific is different from other communities. I mean, there is literally no disconnect. And so I feel that the ability to answer that question is relevant.

💬 SPEAKER: I absolutely understand the facts of the matter and the relationships of the matter. Unfortunately for the member, this Minister’s responsibilities are quite prescribed, and, therefore, there are some areas he has responsibility for in this portfolio, and some areas that he has responsibility for in his other portfolio. And because of the way that the question was addressed and the Minister to whom ministerial responsibility to which it was addressed, the line that both the questioner and the Minister are going down is out of order.

💬 Teanau Tuiono: How is he working with others in the New Zealand Government to uplift the Pacific voices and communities fighting climate change, the impacts of which the Pacific community is already experiencing ahead of the rest of the world?

💬 Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: Yeah, so as Minister for Pacific Peoples, I pass on the views I hear from the Pacific community to my ministerial colleagues, including the Hon Nanaia Mahuta and James Shaw—and we’ve had a number of important discussions on this topic. I’m also keenly aware that New Zealand continues to support the Pacific COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, and I know that there is no vaccine for climate change.

Question No. 12—Conservation

12. to the Minister of Conservation: What recent announcements has she made regarding Jobs for Nature projects in Canterbury?

As part of a Government that is absolutely committed to regional New Zealand, it was my privilege to attend a visit in Rangitata alongside the member of Parliament for that region Jo-Anne Luxton, to announce a Jobs for Nature investment of $16 million. This was to protect and enhance the unique and significant Rangitata River. We went down to the lower part of the Rangitata River and were met by the people of Te Rūnunga o Arowhenua, who are currently employing in excess of 10 young people, and they have received $8.7 million for a project focusing on that lower region. We also met with farmers and others from the upper Rangitata River who had been spearheading a project in the upper Rangitata region, and they were awarded $7.3 million to work alongside farmers and others to preserve the biodiversity values of the upper region.

💬 Jo Luxton: What role will farmers and landowners play in these projects?

💬 Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: Well, as a Government, again, that is committed to rural and provincial New Zealand farmers and landowners, the upper Rangitata project in particular will see farmers and landowners partnering with the Department of Conservation to fence off stock, restore wetlands, trap pests, and plant eco-sourced natives in a joint move to improve water quality and enhance biodiversity values alongside the riverbank. The Upper Rangitata Gorge Landcare Group and high-country farmers have been doing conservation work in the upper river for nearly 30 years, and I want to commend them for their dedication to the community and to the river.

💬 Jo Luxton: What recent reactions to Jobs for Nature funding has she seen from Federated Farmers, including in Canterbury?

💬 Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: It was absolutely no surprise that I saw that Federated Farmers had come out swinging on behalf of the announcement that our Government has made, because on 4 August I saw a press release from Federated Farmers titled “Feds Heartened By QEII Funding Boost”. Local Cantabrian and Federated Farmers environment spokesperson Chris Allen—good lad—described the funding as “very welcome and a sound investment and partnership by the Government”. This was in response to an announcement that—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! I think it’s fair to say that the question has been answered.