Shirley Ken: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Shirley Ken: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:616;Page:11913] 
5.  
Hon KEN SHIRLEY (Deputy Leader—ACT) 
 to the  
Minister for the Environment 
: Why did she grant requiring authority status to Contact Energy Ltd in August 2000 as a network utility operator under section 167 of the Resource Management Act 1991 and in so doing what actions did she take to ensure that she complied with her statutory obligations? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS (Minister for the Environment) 
: 
 I approved Contact Energy Ltd’s application for requiring authority status because it satisfied the criteria in section 167 of the Resource Management Act. I assessed the application against the criteria in the Act and the advice of the Ministry for the Environment. 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: Why did the Minister call for reports from officials to ensure that the interests of tangata whenua were protected when she failed to consult or take any measures to protect the interests of the private landowners who are directly impacted by mile after mile of large above-ground pipelines? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: There are two points to that question. In answer to the last one the environmental effects of miles and miles of pipeline are not considered when giving over requiring authority status. Instead that goes before the Environment Court as would any other consent. That is the normal process. I asked about the tangata whenua consultation because 2 weeks prior to granting this I had received correspondence querying the ability of another requiring authority to consult. One of the things I must take into consideration is that a requiring authority must show it can give proper regard to the interests of those affected. 
Dave Hereora 
: As a requiring authority would Contact Energy still have to apply for regional council consents for work on a designated site? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: Yes. That would apply to the pipelines going across the land. Resource consents are still needed for all matters that fall within the control of a relevant regional council such as approval for any discharges that might be required. Those consents would go through the normal assessment processes including public notification hearings and rights to appeal. 
Heather Roy 
: How can the Minister claim that she gave proper regard to the interests of those affected and the interests of the environment as required by the Act when the proposal involves a network of large above-ground pipes that cross private property injecting large volumes of polluting waste water directly into the ground in a manner likely to damage the geothermal field—what was she thinking? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: In considering an application for requiring authority status the Minister does not assess the environmental affects of any proposal. The proposal to inject steam back into the ground has to go through a consent process in the normal manner. 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: On reflection does the Minister still consider it appropriate to have granted this requiring authority status to a private company when the criteria in the Act for consideration of that deliberately require the Minister to gauge the impact on landowners and on the environment and clearly there is an adverse impact in both those instances? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: I have to consider that the applicant is likely to satisfactorily carry out all the responsibilities of a requiring authority and will give proper regard to the interests of those affected and to the interests of the environment. I have to show that applicants will give proper regard; then they apply as normal to the consenting authority to get consents for the environment activities they will undertake.