Hipkins Chris: Electricity (Renewable Preference) Repeal Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Hipkins Chris: Electricity (Renewable Preference) Repeal Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:651;Page:925] 
CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) 
: 
 It is always an honour to follow such an eloquent speaker from the Government. I would like to take up the theme of rising power prices. 
Paul Quinn 
: Chapter 3 of chapter 3! 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: Is that the best the member can come up with? 
I would like to take up the theme of rising power prices and what has contributed to those. We need to face up to the reality that the era of cheap electricity generated by non-renewable sources is over. 
Actually one of the big drivers behind the recent significant increases in power prices has been the end of cheap Maui gas. If we look at the history of what contributed to that we see that way back when the Maui gasfield was first developed the then National Government under a gentleman called Robert Muldoon I believe his name was decided to fix the price of Maui gas. All of the gas coming out of that field was at a fixed price. And it was fixed for a very very long time because the field was such a large one. What that did was artificially suppress the price of all the other natural gas throughout the country. It made it uneconomic to explore other gasfields—and any exploration company will tell members that. The Maui gasfield was effectively New Zealand’s only major gasfield because it was not economic to explore any others and it was not economic to start drilling wells. When that gas started to run out and that artificial price constraint came off suddenly it become much more economic to drill other wells and the price of gas went up because the gas coming out of those other fields was much more expensive. That was a major contributor to the increase in power prices. 
That highlights for us that we will never get cheaper power prices by relying on non-renewable energy sources. If we want cheaper power then renewable energy has to be one of the key ways to go. We have to look at sources such as wind. Once wind generation is in place it is a relatively cheap source of energy. The member from ACT David Garrett talked a little bit about the nimby approach and claimed that rather than try to find places where we can put wind turbines the solution is to do away with the Resource Management Act so that people do not have a say at all. So we need to look at renewable energy sources. 
We also need to face up to a couple of the other realities about gas and about burning fossil fuels. Burning natural gas in an electricity plant is one of the least efficient ways of using natural gas. Even if we say that it is worth using natural gas—that we have a supply of natural gas and we should use it—burning it in a power plant is one of the least efficient ways that we can use it. If one burns it where it is used—in the home under a hot-water cylinder or on a hob or whatever—that is a lot more efficient. We waste a lot of gas if we burn it in a power plant because we then have to transmit it to the point where it will be used—to the home or the industrial user. That is very inefficient because we lose a lot of it through the transmission of it and we lose a lot of it through converting it from one type of energy to another. It is incredibly wasteful. 
Of course we see the nimby approach again in that not many National Party people seem keen to have high voltage power cables go through their land. I have not seen very many National Party members standing up and arguing for that! I would like to take up—[ 
Interruption 
] There we go! That certainly woke them up; I wondered where they had gone but they are back. It is good to know that Government members are on the job and wide awake. I would like to pick up one of the comments that the member from ACT Mr Garrett made. He said: “I am not [much of] a conservationist … I am getting a bit long in the tooth for it”. Is that not a revealing statement: “I am not [much of] a conservationist … I am getting a bit long in the tooth for it”? 
David Garrett 
: I actually meant a tramper. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: Oh right. I thought he was saying that once we get a bit older we do not have to worry about what comes next we do not have to worry about saving the planet or any of those pesky little things; we do just what we like— 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: Sounds like Maurice. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: —and do not worry about what kind of state we leave the planet in. Speaking of Maurice Williamson I think he should take the next call and give us his views on climate change. 
Hon Member 
: He’s not allowed. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: Oh that is such a shame because it would be good to know what National really thinks. I know that Maurice Williamson is a very very honest member of National and we can rely on him to stand up and tell the truth. I would really like Maurice Williamson to stand up and give us his views on climate change. I think they would be incredibly revealing. But he is not allowed to and that is such a shame for this House and for the democratic process. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: That is so 6 years ago though. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: That is right—it is so 6 years ago. 
This Government really does not have any vision when it comes to dealing with climate change and it really does not have any vision when it comes to promoting renewable energy and we have seen that twice today. We have seen that in this bill. Instead of promoting renewable energy Government members would rather go back to using fossil fuels. We saw it in the earlier biofuels bill. They are not really into biofuels either; they are not really into alternative fuel sources for our transport and all those things. They would rather bury their heads in the sand and pretend that climate change is not happening. There is no real issue of climate change according to the National Government and its good friends from the ACT Party. What is more those members are not very interested in encouraging research and development on our clean green future. That is a real shame for New Zealand. We could be world leaders in this stuff but National members do not want to be world leaders. They would rather wait and see what happens. When we are all up to our necks in it they will be saying: “Wasn’t it good that we didn’t show any leadership? We are one of the first countries to drown but that’s all right. We didn’t show any leadership but never mind.” 
They do not have any commitment to energy efficiency either. All of these issues are related. Those members do not have much commitment to energy efficiency. That is why they scrapped the home insulation scheme. We have heard a number of members opposite talk about nice warm homes and people being able to afford electricity to have nice warm homes. But what did they do? They scrapped the home insulation scheme. They scrapped the extra money that would have gone into the home insulation scheme. No we are not going to live in nice warm homes any more under this National Government—at least not unless we can afford to insulate them ourselves. National members are not really interested in that at all. 
So what is this bill all about? This bill is being rammed through under parliamentary urgency as has happened with every bill that this Government has passed—every piece of legislation. I think that is a really important point for the people at home who are listening to the radio or watching Parliament TV. [ 
Interruption 
] That is right—on a Wednesday night. This Government has yet to pass a bill using the democratic processes of this House; it has yet to send a bill to a select committee where people can have a say. Government members are not really interested in hearing what members of the public have to say. They do not trust the people. They are not interested in their views. They won the election and they will do whatever they like. It was in their manifesto like their tax plan. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am sorry to interrupt the member but you yourself have drawn to the attention of the House on at least three occasions now that there is continual interjection from the other side of the House. If members on that side would look at Speakers’ rulings 57/3 they would know that interjections are out of order unless they are rare and reasonable relevant and restrained. A running commentary is totally out of order. That is the first point. The second point of order is that a number of new members—and I accept that they will not know the rules—have moved seats in order to facilitate interjection and are not in their own seats. They are also out of order and I hope you will bring them to order. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I thank the member for those points. I have brought to members’ attention on a number of occasions that there is too much barracking and barracking is out of order. The point that the member makes is very correct: members cannot move to a seat that gives them an advantage. Members of the Government have moved seats and have been barracking. Although you can sit in any seat you wish you cannot interject from a seat that gives you an advantage compared with where you normally sit. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: It is unbelievable that right at the very beginning of the Government’s term the new Prime Minister the new Minister of Tourism comes along to this Parliament with two pieces of legislation that absolutely ransack our reputation as a clean green country. Two of the first pieces of legislation that his Government wants to pass will absolutely dent our clean green image overseas. This is recklessness it is backwards-looking legislation and it is another nail in the coffin of our international climate change credibility which this Government does not seem the slightest bit interested in. It is backwards looking it is unnecessary and these energy policies are putting our children’s future at risk. Future generations deserve the same clean environment that we grew up with. That does not appear to be something that this Government is committed to or interested in. It is not interested in renewable energy. It is not interested in home insulation. It is not interested in climate change at all really. In fact the Prime Minister of New Zealand thinks it is a hoax but on another day he thinks it is not and then he does and then he does not. 
Who knows what the Government members really think because unfortunately Maurice Williamson is not willing to stand up and tell us. He might be willing to take the next call. He is ready! He is ready to roll. Maurice Williamson is going to stand up and give us the National Party’s real view on climate change and we are all looking forward to hearing it.