O'Rourke Denis: Climate Change Response (Removal of Transitional Measure) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Rourke Denis: Climate Change Response (Removal of Transitional Measure) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 26 May 2016. Volume:714;Page:11400. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DENIS O’ROURKE (NZ First): Mr Chairman thank you—good choice. I rise to take just a brief call to comment on the three amendments that I have before me from the Green Party. The first one is the simplest one which just refers to the change of title. It is a very good suggestion that it should refer to the “Removal of one Transitional Measure” simply because that is actually what it is so I expect that everybody in the Committee would want to vote for that. New Zealand First would certainly support it.I wanted particularly though to speak in support of James Shaw’s amendment that effectively would abolish the phase-in period. I spoke to that in my second reading speech in which I said that I saw no reason for such a very long phase-in period or indeed any phase-in period at all. I also said and I say again now that many businesses local government and the people of New Zealand generally want to see strong leadership on this. They will not understand or accept or wish to support a 3-year phase-in period for any of the reasons that were given by the Minister for Climate Change Issues when she spoke about this a few minutes ago. There is in fact no justification that I can see for such a very long delay in implementing this actually very simple measure.The reason for that is quite simply that businesses have known for a long time now that the current arrangements were transitional so if they have not seen the writing that is on the wall then the fault is theirs. But I think they are ready for it. I said that I have been recently to a forum in Christchurch in which I was pleased to hear businesses talk about their readiness to take actions that they can to assist in the achievement of New Zealand’s objectives in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid sea-level rise and all the other adverse effects and to achieve the obligations that this country has signed up to in the Paris Agreement. So the upshot of all that is that actually no time is really needed. All it does is show the Government’s weakness when it comes to the implementation of even this very minor very straightforward and obviously needed measure to end those transitional arrangements. No more time is needed and in fact a little bit of a shock to the business community would not do any harm because it would galvanise it into action. I do not accept that there would really be any significant harm to those businesses or to New Zealand’s trading position as a result of doing that. So for those reasons New Zealand First would have no hesitation in supporting this amendment to abolish the phase-in period.The other amendment which we would also support is Kennedy Graham’s one relating to clause 3. The alternative words that are used there “to improve the ability of the NZ ETS to fulfil its statutory purpose of helping New Zealand meet its international obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) in light of the Paris Agreement signed by New Zealand on 23 April 2016.” are a good and proper statement of the purpose for this measure and point to the way things need to go in the future. So I will end it there but New Zealand First for those reasons will have no hesitation in supporting all three of those amendments and I hope and expect the Government will see the light and do so as well.