Upston Louise: Environmental Protection Authority Bill — First Reading 
Upston Louise: Environmental Protection Authority Bill — First Reading 
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LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 I am pleased to stand and speak in the first reading of the Environmental Protection Authority Bill. It is well recognised that New Zealand has led the way in resource management legislation and this bill provides the necessary central direction and leadership to support our existing resource management legislation. 
In the course of what I will say this evening I will bring in a practical example of how the Environmental Protection Authority has been operating. It is a bit unfortunate that members of the Opposition seem to think that simplifying and streamlining legislation leads to worse outcomes for the environment. Members on this side of the House agree that we are able to reduce bureaucracy reduce red tape and get important projects under way without any degradation of the environment. The members opposite are joining some dots that are not there. Members on this side of the House are proud to have a record of reforming resource management legislation to put something in place that provides greater central direction in order to make sure that our pristine environment of which we are all so proud continues to be protected and at the same time has the ability to create jobs and build infrastructure that this country so desperately needs. 
The other thing that concerned me a tad was hearing one of the Opposition speakers say that the Environmental Protection Authority reduces democracy. I thought that that member clearly does not understand what this legislation is about. If we look at any example—one of which I will talk about in a little while is the Contact Energy Tauhara Stage Two plant in my electorate—we see that there is no reduction in democracy. I was a little perturbed that perhaps the member had not read the bill or understood what the Environmental Protection Authority is all about. 
Of the organisations that are supportive of this work one that is worth quoting is the Environmental Defence Society whose executive director Gary Taylor is known for his tireless lobbying of all sides of the House to ensure that our environment is protected. In his words: “The EPA is to become the national environmental regulator and it’s vital that it is free from political influence. … We are pleased to see the continuing evolution of the EPA as a national independent environmental regulator.” We have some strong supporters of this legislation. The Green member David Clendon who spoke before me also said that the Green Party supports the setting up of this type of authority so I shall look forward to its input in the select committee process. 
But let us look for a moment at some of the functions of the Environmental Protection Authority. One is that it will look after the administration and management of projects of national significance and applications that are called in under the Resource Management Act. I thought it would be useful to use the example of a project in the Taupo electorate. Before the end of this Parliament alone we are expecting $6 billion worth of applications for infrastructure projects to be put before the Environmental Protection Authority—$6 billion worth. A local example is Contact Energy’s Tauhara Stage Two geothermal project which is expected to bring around $1 billion worth of investment into the Taupo region—$1 billion worth of investment. This is also significant in terms of forwarding the Government’s goal of producing 90 percent of all electricity in New Zealand from renewable sources. Again one of the Opposition members completely forgot that we have massive geothermal developments in this country which was a bit sad and shows how ill-informed Opposition members are. 
This process means that the application for a project of this size will be turned round in less than 9 months. What does that mean? No it does not mean that democracy is short-circuited and no it does not mean that people do not have input. To highlight that point I have brought to the House some of the documentation from the Environmental Protection Authority on the Tauhara Stage Two geothermal development project. It states exactly how the process works why the Minister for the Environment directed it to a board of inquiry and what the Environmental Protection Authority’s role is in terms of administering the process for hearing and deciding on the applications. There is a really nice part in the documentation that I thought the Opposition might not be aware of. It is a concept called “friends of submitters”. Support is provided for those who want to make a submission. They do not have to be a resource management lawyer or expert; they will have a resource management consultant walk alongside them so that they can get the best advice they need in order to make a submission. 
This particular project will bring $1 billion into my electorate. I am really proud that it was approved. Unlike some members on the other side of the Chamber I think the creation of jobs and the building of infrastructure is vital. It does not mean that the environment is trashed. The guys opposite connected some dots that did not need to be connected. I am proud that this Government is showing central leadership and protecting the environment for many generations to come. Thank you.