2. Pest Control—Predator Free New Zealand 2050MARAMA DAVIDSON (Green) to the Minister of ConservationPest Control—Predator Free New Zealand 20502. MARAMA DAVIDSON (Green) to the Minister of Conservation: What has been the Department of Conservation's biggest recent success in predator control to better protect our native plants and wildlife?Hon EUGENIE SAGE (Minister of Conservation): The Department of Conservation (DOC) has recently completed aerial predator control on more than 440000 hectares of conservation land including more than 38000 hectares of Kahurangi National Park home to whio great spotted kiwi kea kākā rock ram and Powelliphanta land snails.Marama Davidson: Does the department have the resources needed to protect the 4000 native species that are at risk or threatened with extinction?Hon EUGENIE SAGE: The recent work was a great success but aerial control has only been able to cover 7 percent of conservation land because of the funding available under Budget 2016. That has been totally inadequate. We have a biodiversity crisis but under current funding the Department of Conservation is able to do predator control on only 16 percent of land and able actively manage only 338 of the 4000 species that are threatened or at risk of extinction.Marama Davidson: What will the Minister do to better protect the almost 4000 currently threatened and at risk indigenous species in New Zealand?Hon EUGENIE SAGE: There are many ways that we can better protect our native wildlife plants and habitat. For a start we'll be changing the threatened species strategy because the last Government was unambitious and was aiming to manage only 500 of those species for instance. We have a commitment to significantly increase conservation funding to better protect our native plants and wildlife.Hon Maggie Barry: What risks to native plants and wildlife might occur if there was open cast mining at Te Kūhā mine on the Buller Plateau?Hon EUGENIE SAGE: The member should be very aware that until the Minister considers an application for an access agreement it is not appropriate to comment to avoid prejudging the decision. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: No. Another question or another two questions in fact—seeing as it was the Leader of the House who interjected—to the Opposition. Marama Davidson: How does DOC's pest control work help threatened native species? Hon EUGENIE SAGE: Reducing pest numbers over wide areas through aerial pest control allows native species to breed in relative safety and we've seen that in areas like Southland's Waitutu Forest where predator control has meant that the kākā population can nest and is now increasing. Hon Maggie Barry: Does the Minister acknowledge that the use of the aerial compound—it's distributed aerially—1080 is the only way that we can attain the goal of predator-free New Zealand by 2050 and does New Zealand First cooperate with the Minister's views? Clayton Mitchell: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister has got no oversight as to what our position is as a party and it's an out-of-line question. Mr SPEAKER: I think it is within the ministerial responsibility to seek cooperation on controversial issues from all parties in Parliament and certainly those who form part of the Government. So I think whether or not she has sought that cooperation and any response is in fact part of the Minister's responsibility. Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This is not to dispute—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Sorry I'm going to interrupt the member now and say that the two questions just awarded have been taken back for an interjection during a point of order. Rt Hon Winston Peters: This is not to dispute your ruling in any way shape or form because if it was apposite to the coalition agreement and what we with Labour have agreed to do into the future then I think you would be correct. But if it's for policy that was not covered by that then I think that my colleague is right to say that no Minister is therefore responsible for a party's policy not part of a coalition arrangement. Mr SPEAKER: I think in listening to the question the member—and the member will correct me if I've got this wrong. I think the member was asking whether the Minister had sought or had got cooperation from a group of members in this House around a particular policy. Whether or not it is current Government policy or whether it is not the policy of some other area that reaching out to others to support a particular area of work is the responsibility of a Minister and asking whether or not she's done it I think is something that is OK as far as this House is concerned. Would the member—so we can all remember what she said—like to repeat her question. Hon Maggie Barry: Thank you Mr Speaker. Does the Minister accept that 1080 is essential if we are to attain the predator-free 2050 goal and does New Zealand First support her views? Hon EUGENIE SAGE: In terms of 1080 it is one of the essential tools in the tool box and the former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in her independent report was very clear about the need to use 1080. There is widespread support in terms of achieving predator-free 2050 and a recognition that we need to increase conservation funding across all three parties in Government. Hon Gerry Brownlee: Point of order.Mr SPEAKER: I'm just going to—would the member sit down because I'm going to make a slightly unusual ruling now. I was wrong in allowing the question because I thought it was slightly more complicated than that as to whether the Minister had done anything vis-à-vis New Zealand First. In fact it was just a straight opinion on another party's policy and I want to apologise to the right honourable gentleman. He was right and I was wrong. Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That's very interesting that you have put yourself into a contrite position on this particular issue. But let's be very clear that when a Minister is in the House saying that she is going to seek extra funding for a predator-control arrangement—in this case the use of 1080—then that would have to be done through the budgetary cycle. Much as it might be the desire of the coalition to be able to break apart and rely on the Opposition to help them through that the Budget won't be one of those things and it will be New Zealand First's vote on this particular issue inside a Budget as part of a coalition that enables that to happen.Mr SPEAKER: Yes and that could well be true but the member could also be quite premature on this occasion to be discussing that. They're not that far in the cycle yet.