Kedgley Sue: General Debate 
Kedgley Sue: General Debate 
[Volume:634;Page:5650] 
SUE KEDGLEY (Green) 
: 
 The Green Party is delighted that climate change is finally at long last on the political agenda. We are delighted too that the two main parties instead of just trading insults and sleaze with one another are starting to tackle the most serious issue of our time. We are delighted that the National Party after years of denying climate change campaigning against the Kyoto Protocol and campaigning against the so-called “fart tax” and the carbon charge is finally claiming to take climate change seriously. We are delighted too that Labour having abandoned its only real climate change policy—a carbon tax which is the most efficient and simple way of putting a price signal into our economy to reduce our greenhouse emissions—is finally starting to work seriously on a climate change policy. 
Far from feeling threatened or being in competition about this new-found interest in climate change as some commentators have suggested the Green Party would like nothing more than to see Labour and National competing with us and with each other for environmental credibility. We would like nothing more than to see Labour and National competing on introducing far-reaching policies to reduce carbon in our economy and to help make a transition to a carbon-free economy. Better still we would like nothing better than to see a cross-party agreement on climate change in this House. 
But the jury is still out on just how serious and how committed the Government and the National Party really are in addressing climate change. Are they prepared to do more than nibble around the margins and engage in “greenwashing”? Are they prepared to tackle the really hard issues like capping and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and transport—air and road transport—which are the major sources of emissions? Do they have the political courage to tackle these issues rather than just nibble around the edges and compromise on this issue which above all requires political will to address it? Transport emissions make up 21 percent of greenhouse emissions. Those emissions have increased by a staggering 63 percent since 1990 so why is the transport sector completely out of bounds for both Labour and National? 
Why will the Government not tackle greenhouse gas emissions? Why is the Government putting $1.5 billion into new roads in the certain knowledge that these new roads will contribute to increasing our carbon emissions which it will then perhaps pay for in carbon credits to Russia? Why is there such a disconnection between what the Government says its policy is on climate change and what the Government is actually doing in areas like roading and by allowing the rail network to be further undermined? The linchpin of National’s policy is a tradable emissions permit scheme in the electricity sector. We acknowledge that this is a very good start. We are not making petty comments about it as some other parties have done. It is a good start but how serious is the proposal? What will the level of the cap be and how will the permits be allocated? Will they be handed out for free to current polluters and will the cap be so high that it allows our already far too high carbon emissions and greenhouse emissions to continue? 
The fact is that New Zealand is one of the worst per capita greenhouse polluters in the world. I believe that the New Zealand public are far ahead of the major political parties in this House on the issue and it is good to see that those parties are starting to catch up with it. I hope all MPs in this House have seen  
An Inconvenient Truth 
 and are aware of the inconvenient truth that we will have to transform our entire economy and perhaps reduce 70 to 90 percent of carbon emissions in our economy if we are to get serious about tackling climate change. We need political will and we need political courage if we are going to tackle this issue. I believe that the public of New Zealand want leadership and political will; they do not want compromise and capitulation on this issue. So the Green Party sincerely hopes we will go beyond “greenwashing” in this House we will get serious and climate change will be one of the most significant issues on the political agenda in this coming term. Thank you.