Willis Scott; Watts SimonSCOTT WILLIS (Green): Thank you Mr Chair. I'm pleased to hear that this Government has acknowledged the climate crisis and is willing to do what is required. Around the motu there are community and Māori organisations like the Te Arawa Lakes Trust and the work they've done on their climate change strategy and the South Dunedin network's work on the South Dunedin Future programme who are—to misquote Annie Lennox—doing it for themselves.So my question is to the Minister and asks: will the Minister expand that existing support—limited support—for those flax-roots resilience initiatives that are both there to reduce emissions and adapt to the climate impacts that we're already feeling? Because we're seeing the heat waves the floods the droughts the railway bridge support washed out. The climate impacts that are hitting hard are also married with the local leadership we're seeing stepping into the gap where Government is absent. That local leadership has been typically underfunded but despite this has initiated projects that carry great potential—a blueprint for resilience for local resilience around the motu.So will the Minister encourage caucus to forward the underspend in the community energy fund—the $46 million community energy fund—and allow communities to build and own their own energy assets to keep the energy dollar in local circulation communities like Raglan and the Community Energy Whāingaroa?Will the Minister support flax-roots adaptation and resilience actions like the Te Arawa Lakes Trust's ambition to end energy poverty through deep retrofits through solar and wind ownership and geothermal assets? Will the Minister work with caucus colleagues to expand and enrich the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme in such a way like the Otago Home Upgrade Programme run by Aukaha led by Aukaha that was funded through the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund; managed by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment; that both reduced household emissions and built community wellbeing helped people who are hard-up?So will the Minister fast track support for the flax-roots climate champions like the Community Energy Network members like Environment Hubs Aotearoa and the Zero Waste network? I would love to hear plans and concrete responses to these actions that are already existing. Kia ora.Hon SIMON WATTS (Minister of Climate Change): Yeah thank you to the member for those contributions. Be under no illusion that the coalition Government understands that we need to be prepared for a future that is impacted by climate change. Actually for many communities around the motu they are already experiencing the implications of climate change—and you've just noted some of the examples in that area.The way in which as a Government we support those communities is one in which we need an overarching framework to deal with the complexities and challenges which are in place. Those complexities and challenges are not a one-size-fits-all; they differ depending on their area and the region of the country. But the points that the member has raised in regards to empowering local communities or local groups or NGOs to take a leadership role in regards to the delivery and implementation of initiatives which make a genuine impact to achieve the outcomes that are required by that community is very much a value and principle in regards to this Government. The empowerment of local communities to be able to get on and do what they see as the opportunity is a significant opportunity around that.What is absent at the present time is a clear framework in regards to who does what where are the mechanisms in order to ensure and enable that and actually the broader conversation obviously comes back to funding as well—so who pays and the element around how that aspect is dealt with. I can only convey that the member's aspects in terms of direction of travel of how can we empower communities to achieve and deliver action to be prepared for climate change is an aspect that this Government does share. We will be looking more about that particularly around the adaptation conversation as we progress later this year.