Bennett PaulaHon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National): I move That the House take note of a matter of urgent public importance. Today I just feel pretty gutted for regional New Zealand. I feel pretty gutted for the workers in Taranaki whose jobs are in wind-down. I feel gutted for the business manager of an engineering firm in New Plymouth who on hearing the news today immediately walked into the HR department and said Stop all hiring now." I feel sorry for the small businesses in places like New Plymouth who depend on the income that comes from natural gas when they were blindsided by this Government today and deeply let down by New Zealand First—deeply let down. Shame on New Zealand First. For all of the words that they have used in supporting our regions when it really came down to it they rolled over to the Greens left their principles behind and did not back our regions.As has been said through the media today this is a death sentence for some of our towns and for some of those that had jobs and are dependent on it. But more than that this does not help climate change. This does not actually help those very people who purport that this will support our environment and make a huge difference. In fact it is completely and utterly the complete opposite of that and that is the case that I want to make.New Zealand First have said "We will not compromise [on] what we've agreed on." New Zealand First have said that they have "assigned a fair bit of time and a lot of people to make sure that we know exactly where this is going in line with what we've agreed with the Labour Party." New Zealand First have said that offshore oil and gas drilling was an essential feature of domestic and export growth Mr Jones and that businesses and enterprises enabling it will get full Government support. Mr Jones has also said "Protesters need to bear in mind we are buying oil out of the Gulf of Mexico and other far-flung places when we should be focusing on making an industry in our country." So Mr Jones how does that actually concur with what your Government has announced today?I would like to make the point now that it's quite clear that actually what will happen is that this will not actually help climate change. Because petroleum is produced around the world as Mr Jones has said even in the Gulf of Mexico the bans on exploration in New Zealand will do nothing to reduce emissions or reduce the world supply or use of oil and gas. Instead other countries will produce it and we will have to import it at a higher cost.It's quite simple that we need the oil that we're producing. It's used here in New Zealand. If we are not producing it here in New Zealand then that simply means we'll be purchasing more from overseas—and that means that more emissions are used to get the oil here. It's potentially being produced less sustainably and actually doesn't work for the betterment of either our own environment here in New Zealand or more importantly the world's emissions profile that we happen to be a part of. New Zealand is a small producer on the world stage making up 0.014 percent of global oil supply. So if we stop making it it's kind of easy for others to do that. They then have to get it here to New Zealand and you can see the cycle—actually this is not helping in any way shape or form.We then move to the natural gas component where we say that actually exploration can continue under the current permits. So to drill twice I am told costs around about $150 million. There's a good chance you may not hit that natural supply that is sitting there. And then they can't actually move the few metres they might need to because there's no more permits. So what we're already hearing from these companies is that they will stop their exploration already because of the cost of actually doing it and the fact that they're not going to get any more new permits and as a consequence of that we can see a reduction in natural gas.So I am informed—and I went to the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand website and had a good look at it—that there is around enough for 11 years' supply as we stand now. In this House in question time today we were told 30-odd years and 20 years from Labour—which quite frankly tells me that we don't know how much if we're hearing one number from the Greens and then we're hearing another number from Labour as to how much is actually there. So there are 11 years of known reserves right. The Government says there are plenty of potential sources left but those are unconfirmed and it is very risky to rely on hoping that someone strikes it lucky on existing permits. At that cost and when they have no certainty of future permits and in fact they've been told there won't be any they are highly likely to pull out which means that those 11000 jobs are well and truly in jeopardy and at real risk.Hon Grant Robertson: No they're not.Hon PAULA BENNETT: Well tell that to the people of Taranaki Mr Robertson. Go there and front up and tell those people in those towns and in those cities that actually their jobs are not at risk. Because I am standing here today and saying they do not believe it—they do not believe it. And it isn't those that are wealthy; it is the welder whose whole family depends on his income and it is the baker that took the risk and set up the cafe down the road that serves those workers. They are the ones at risk by this announcement that's been made today and in such a way that it's done from Wellington not in a town that it's going to affect. And we hear that there's no plan to front up to those people in the next few days or anywhere else: "We'll just sit back and watch without any of the kind of emphasis and actually having the courage to see people face to face and tell them exactly what is really going on."Hon Grant Robertson: Questioning courage. That's a new Standing Order.Hon PAULA BENNETT: I also want to make the point that there are—DEPUTY SPEAKER: You can use the word.Hon PAULA BENNETT: —around 11720 jobs in the sector and that was projected in 2015 so we are talking substantial jobs as well as those that are associated with it and make a fundamental difference.The other is the issue of coal and it's real. So as we have seen as early as Tuesday this week—and I understand where you're coming from Minister Woods because I heard that you were very unhappy to hear that actually coal was having to be turned on the very week that you were making this big announcement of cancelling—DEPUTY SPEAKER: I wasn't.Hon PAULA BENNETT: —national gas expert permits.DEPUTY SPEAKER: I wasn't.Hon PAULA BENNETT: I'm sorry Madam Deputy Speaker. I'm referring to the Minister of course.So I understand the anger that's coming across in that and why actually the Minister wouldn't front up to the communities that this affects face to face and tell them what's really going on. It's easier to sort of sit back here and say it.What's really happening there is that we have times when we need coal and it is for different reasons as the Minister stated today. That was a weather event. Through health and safety those pipes all needed to be shut down. Luckily we had the backup of Huntly which the Greens of course have not been supporting for years and have been telling us absolutely has to be shut down immediately. And I know as the previous climate change Minister I faced many questions from them on that very issue. Well that's the reason: because it's a backup and it actually supports us.If we accept that at most we've got 11 years of reserves and that we've got a risk of those natural gas companies actually not even continuing the exploration that they're currently doing because they know they have zero support from this Government we are likely to see a reduction obviously in natural gas. That means that there is a high probability that we would be turning more to dirty coal. So we turn away from clean natural gas to dirty coal and we will see Huntly open a heck of a lot more often and a heck of a lot longer than we projected to—which is not helping climate change is not helping this country get cleaner and greener and in fact is likely to be detrimental for the world's emissions which are what we should be concerned about overall.It is quite a simple argument that even I think the Labour members that are shouting out should grasp. These are real people with real jobs that are making a real difference to New Zealand and they deserve respect and to have a Prime Minister and Minister that front up to them and explain the current stance on their livelihoods and on why the risks that they are taking are not worth it and actually are not worthy of the sort of respect that I think the Minister should be showing them.This is ill-thought-out. It is actually the kind of leadership that we see when a Prime Minister was quite frankly scrambling over the Labour summer camp issue and had to go out on the forecourt to try and change the rhetoric that was being used and the words used at that time. They fronted up to Greenpeace to a few supporters and then felt they had to try and find what they think here is actually a compromise position—and it's pretty weak. Well the weak argument is actually real jobs for real people and making a difference in this country and it's something that Labour care little about and isn't making a difference in. So this is where we have New Zealand First which talks about the regions so often and how important they are. Yet those predominantly 11720 jobs that are created by natural gas are being shut down because of their agreement with Labour and the Greens who have got an ill-thought-out policy made on the hoof because they were worried about what was in the media that week."