Auchinvole Chris: Sustainable Biofuel Bill — First Reading 
Auchinvole Chris: Sustainable Biofuel Bill — First Reading 
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CHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National—West Coast - Tasman) 
: 
 I think I said last time I was speaking in the Chamber what a pleasure it is to follow Moana Mackey. It gives the opportunity to respond to the requests she makes for explanations for better understanding and that sort of thing. But I will speak about the bill that is before the House the Sustainable Biofuel Bill. Moana Mackey spoke about a bill that was before the House when Labour was in Government and was then repealed. I did not hear her speak about the Sustainable Biofuel Bill which is such a good bill. 
I will speak about the Sustainable Biofuel Bill which was submitted in the name of Jeanette Fitzsimmons. It was most interesting to hear its introduction. 
Hon Member 
: Fitzsimons. 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: Fitzsimons—exactly. I beg the member’s pardon. I thought there was a double “m” in her name; my apologies to the member. It is without doubt that biofuels will play a big role in our energy mix in the future. The Government is supporting the bill going to the select committee. I believe that it is important that this issue gets debated robustly and calmly and that the select committee gets to hear expert opinions and can come up with some clear recommendations on that basis. 
I listened to Moana Mackey’s speech and—oh gosh—it was interesting but as I said it reflected backwards and not forwards. It is time to get over it I say to Moana. But I enjoyed hearing the introduction from Jeanette Fitzsimons and noted with interest— 
Moana Mackey 
: What a waste of Parliament’s time and money passing the same law we repealed last year. 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: I ask the member to just let me get to the point she asked about and all will be revealed—her answers will be given. There really is an important difference between the two bills. The member knows there is an important difference and will probably like it not to be voiced but I will voice it. 
First of all I will take up the point Jeanette made in relation to needing a balance between food production and fuel production because it really can create and already has created distortions in the world. I still have a point of concern when I hear people saying we have so much available tallow at cheap prices. We do not in my understanding of it—and I was involved in exporting for a long time—have a surplus of tallow anywhere. So if we start to use these products for different purposes from what they are currently being used for—it is a by-product a waste product and all the rest of it but it currently makes a hang of a lot of soap in Third World countries and throughout the Pacific—we will be pushing up the price of those products. We simply cannot think that we will not have an effect by making changes. 
I will outline a couple of points showing the good work this National-led Government has already done in the area of biofuels. Members of this House might remember—and certainly Moana Mackey remembers very clearly—that after the election this Government repealed the biofuel legislation that required fuel companies to progressively introduce biofuel blends into their fuel mix. We heard the warnings being given by Jeanette Fitzsimons on what happens when we introduce compulsion. One of the major reasons we repealed that legislation was that it mandated the introduction of biofuels. National believes that biofuels should be introduced through companies responding to commercial environmental and marketing considerations not because the Government compels it to. One of the lessons Labour surely must learn is that if one tries to compel things all the time one will lose the opportunity. Wow! And what is happening? People are taking up biofuels from a commercial point of view. 
We have some concerns about the Sustainable Biofuel Bill. The bill requires an Order in Council to be made by 1 February 2010. That will be ahead of international consensus around biofuels sustainability so New Zealand will be moving ahead of international developments. One problem with that is that there is no internationally agreed standard for what constitutes sustainability. We do not want to get back into the position of aspirational targets such as the memorable target of the previous Government when it blithely said New Zealand would be carbon neutral without actually working out how it might happen. 
In essence I believe that the bill should be moved to the select committee. The bill deals with important issues which is why National supports it. Thank you.