Chauvel Charles: Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill Electricity (Renewable Preference) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Chauvel Charles: Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill Electricity (Renewable Preference) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Volume:650;Page:18727] 
CHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour) 
: 
 Today marks the third reading of the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill which will empower the establishment of a comprehensive emissions trading scheme covering all sectors and all greenhouse gases and the third reading of the Electricity (Renewable Preference) Amendment Bill. This legislation represents an important step forward for New Zealand. 
National objected to the legislative process undergone by the original bill—the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill. We have just heard National’s latest recitation of excuses for not supporting it. As chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee which heard public submissions on the bill I find that set of excuses offensive. The claim that the bill was rushed and that inadequate time was given to submissions is just nonsense. 
The facts are these—because what actually happened bears repetition in the record of the House. The Finance and Expenditure Committee received 259 written submissions and heard 96 oral submissions on the bill. Over 58 hours of hearings took place and another 16 hours were spent considering the detailed provisions of the bill after those hearings. The committee heard recommendations and advice from a number of expert groups and officials such as the Emissions Trading Group and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. Furthermore prior to the submissions process as we were advised and kept informed by the Minister responsible for Climate Change Issues more than 100 public meetings and hundreds of stakeholder meetings were held concerning the issues raised by the bill. 
All the matters dealt with in the bill and in the amendments both in the Finance and Expenditure Committee and in the Committee of the whole House have been well rehearsed for over 9 months in the context of the emissions trading scheme. Despite the attempts of the National Party’s climate change deniers to delay the bill it is high time to progress this legislation. I am pleased and proud that we are now doing so. 
I will turn to some of the key changes to the legislation The Finance and Expenditure Committee did deliver in my humble opinion a comprehensive package of improvements to the original legislation but clearly there is always scope for improvement especially in our MMP environment. The key change that I want to mention relates to the provision of additional financial assistance. This includes financial assistance to households to compensate for some of the increased costs they will face under the emissions trading scheme and also the establishment of a household energy fund to encourage investment in energy-efficient products which will reduce both energy consumption and the power bills of households. 
An innovation fund will be established to encourage the deployment of innovative technology that will significantly reduce or avoid emissions from industry. The fishing sector will be compensated with a one-off free allocation of units equal to 50 percent of the impact of the emissions trading scheme on the sector’s liquid fossil fuels. Support will be given to electric buses and trains to offset the increased cost of electricity. These are all matters that the select committee heard extensive evidence about but for one reason or another was not in a position to address. I welcome them especially the complementary measures such as the incentives to deploy energy-efficient technology. 
We heard evidence in the select committee that it is this combination of a well-designed emissions trading scheme and comprehensive measures to promote energy efficiency that will deliver the best long-term gains to New Zealand as far as long-term emissions reductions are concerned. This is a historic day for our Parliament and for our country. We finally enshrine our Kyoto Protocol obligations in law and it is good law. I commend the legislation to the House and to the people of New Zealand.