Sage EugenieHon EUGENIE SAGE (Green): Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare. What doom and gloom merchants the National Party are. Not content with talking down business confidence repeatedly they are now talking down the future of our country. They are so pessimistic. They have so little faith in the ability of Aotearoa New Zealand to provide an alternative future—one that is carbon-zero; one that doesn't rely on coal—it beggars belief. The previous speaker Barbara Kuriger was talking about the lights going out about the end of gas. The previous speaker doesn't seem to recognise that Todd has got a $100 million investment in gas peaking that Methanex is extending their gas supply into the late 2020s at least or that Genesis Energy has recently confirmed that they are certain of gas supply into at least the 2030s. Deal with the facts National. Have some more optimism about the future of our country.That pessimism and the thought too that we will need 23 dams—National obviously hasn't heard of investments in solar in wind in the capability of investment in bioenergy all of the technology development and resource consent applications for wind. And so we hear again and again from National that this bill—Mr Goldsmith said it was an act of economic vandalism". The Green Party is very pleased to support the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Bill because what we are hearing from National are tired hackneyed lines that they want to support the oil and gas industry at the expense of the climate—Matt King: And you know best eh? You know best!ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Order Mr King!Hon EUGENIE SAGE: —propping up the oil and gas industry and not thinking about—there is no point in protecting the revenues of that industry if we are going to fry the climate. You cannot have a business if climate change is inundating the world with more severe storm events. The National Party seems to have its eyes closed to the events recently in the Philippines the more severe typhoon events. That is a consequence of a changing climate yet National wants to continue with business as usual. Despite having signed up in Paris it doesn't want to make the change.This bill is about initiating a fair transition. It's about signalling that we have got to make significant changes in the way we do business and in the way we generate energy if we are going to get to carbon-zero by 2050 and if we are going to shift our economy on to one that protects the climate rather than undermining it by promoting further oil and gas exploration. It's sending a very clear signal to the industry and that's because on this side of the House we're about a sustainable productive and inclusive economy not one that belongs in the 20th century and further back.There have been huge cyclical changes in commodity prices in global exploration. We saw a major decline in that in 2014 after the sharp drop in oil prices. That causes job losses and that creates uncertainty in regions like Taranaki. We want a future where people can depend on ongoing jobs. That future is in sustainable energy. That future is in diversifying our economic base. That future is in a billion trees and the economic opportunities that that provides. That future is in some of the alternatives that the Provincial Growth Fund has been investing in. Yet National is still business as usual business as usual not making the transition.We heard from Mr Young about how he was concerned that the bill prohibits anything other than minimum activities on conservation land. When I have been to Taranaki—several times recently—what I hear is enormous enthusiasm for the Taranaki Mounga Project which is the partnership between iwi the Department of Conservation community organisations and landholders around the mountain in getting rid of predators. This Government isn't opening up conservation land to big new mining as Gerry Brownlee wanted to do under the former Government. Mr Young I'm reminded of the 40000-plus people who walked down Queen Street protesting about your former Government's plans to have mining in national parks. This Government recognises that protection of our public conservation lands is about protecting the landscapes which sustain our tourism industry and is about protecting Brand New Zealand and the marketing of our primary sector and food and fibre products overseas. The public expects public conservation land to be protected not open to oil and gas exploration and not open to drilling and more mining.This is a reforming Government. National is stuck in the past; it doesn't want to make the change. This bill is about ensuring that there is a transition that there is a smooth operation of the block offers in 2018 2019 and 2020 and making that major change: no more deep-sea oil and gas exploration and only onshore exploration in the Taranaki region. [Interruption]ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Mr King would you not have conversations across the Chamber. I apologise.Hon EUGENIE SAGE: This is the first part of changes to the Crown Minerals Act. The Green Party is looking forward to the second tranche of changes. We want a change to the purpose of the Act because at the moment it gives favoured status to the minerals industry because the Act talks about promoting. It's got a purpose of promoting prospecting and exploration of Crown-owned minerals rather than regulating the industry so it is not a level playing field by any means. And this bill is the first stage of those changes.It is a major achievement. It's a major line in the sand for this Government in saying we take climate change seriously. We want to protect our country's long-term future. We want to signal clearly to the industry "No more deep-sea oil and gas exploration." because there are multiple scientific reports showing that at least two-thirds of known oil and gas reserves need to stay in the ground if we are not to fry the planet. And yet the National Party seems to be in denial about that. So it's just tired tired lines from the Opposition—a pessimism about the future of our country a pessimism about the enormous capacity that New Zealanders have for innovation for change for moving to more sustainable energy sources and for finding different sources of employment and investment from oil and gas in Taranaki and other regions.I commend this bill. The Green Party is very pleased to support it. There will be four weeks of submissions and it is total nonsense of the Opposition to say that Cabinet did not discuss this bill. Legislation does not get to this Parliament unless it is agreed by Cabinet committees and Cabinet. There has been full discussion of this bill and there will be further discussion at select committee. The myths and nonsense that the National Party is putting around are all because they are in denial. They don't want to innovate. They belong in the past—that's why they're on the Opposition benches."