Collins JudithHon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura): What a truly stupid comment from the Government side. They turn up here with some retrospective legislation asking—asking—Parliament to rubber-stamp their attempt to change the rules on people who have had licences since 1986 or whatever; retrospective because it's changing the rules for them. And that member Naisi Chen who's resumed her seat who's been in this place five minutes and is going to be here for less than that all she wants to do is say that we haven't read the bill. The bill's only just been tabled and it was not sent to other parties. A draft was not sent to other parties. Not once did that Minister—whoever it is now; apparently it's someone else not Megan Woods—even bother to pick up the phone to the spokespeople in the National Party or any other party that we're aware of and say there's some issue that we want to solve.It's actually not an issue. I haven't heard this Government talk about the wonderful funds and levies that they get off natural gas before not since Jacinda Ardern in her lack of wisdom went and decided to ban offshore oil and gas—Angela Roberts: We did not ban offshore—she's got to get her facts straight.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: —exploration for natural gas. And as for the cackling coming over from that side might I remind them that this is an industry—oil and gas—that was once our largest export market to Australia. Oil was our largest export and these people over there cackling away with their knitting—oh they actually don't have their knitting but if only they could do their knitting!Hon Gerry Brownlee: That requires coordination.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: The Hon Gerry Brownlee has very cruelly but rightly pointed out that it requires co-ordination. What they've done is they've turned up here and said Look the rules that these people signed up to do this exploration made in 1980-something—we want to change those now."When they made those decisions to actually try and get oil and gas out of say New Zealand waters they made financial decisions based on things that they knew at that time. They knew what they were doing. And now what they've done over this side is they're going to make it less viable for people to bother to keep doing it. Like Stuart Smith rightly pointed out businesses overseas who can actually pick and choose which countries they go and work in and explore in are looking at New Zealand now like a fruit-loop country that can't make decisions and then stick to them. Instead we've got flip-flopping around. This is their grab—grab—on natural gas and the explorers who by the way have been helping to keep the lights on. And I see that member over there—I can't be bothered learning her name because I know she's not going to be around long—carrying on as though she knew anything about this.This is an enormously important industry for New Zealand. It should not be treated in a cavalier manner like this. And I know it is a cavalier manner because the Minister couldn't even be bothered to pick up the phone to the other parties in Parliament. They sit over there saying that we should support them. Well why would we? We have a raft of legislation now which they have put on the Table finally in Parliament where they're asking for all these different rules around energy levies and everything else. This is crucial. At a time when people are finding it really difficult to pay their power bills we've got a Government that wants to increase a levy on natural gas. It is already expensive compared to what it was a few years ago. It is already expensive because the people who were looking searching for natural gas are wondering "Well if there's another Labour Government—oh no please don't let that happen ever again in my lifetime." Then what's going to happen to their industry again? They'll be treated like they have been under the Ardern-led Government. And now we've got a Hipkins-led Government who are showing exactly the same disregard for business disregard for the flow-on effects of people just saying "You're changing the rules on me. That's not what we signed up to." because that's what they have to look at—sovereign risk as Stuart Smith said—and New Zealand has now become a sovereign risk for businesses—Hon Dr Duncan Webb: Talking us down again.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: —wanting to invest in New Zealand. And that person over there—that person I can't remember his name; no no Duncan Webb I know that's Duncan Webb—he says that we're talking New Zealand down. No actually he said "Talking us down." Yeah I'm going to talk Labour down. They're the most useless Government I can remember in 21 years in Parliament—the most useless Government that can't do anything except stick up taxes and waste money—Hon Gerry Brownlee: What have they ever finished?Hon JUDITH COLLINS: "What have they ever finished?" says Gerry Brownlee. Well what about that cycle bridge over the Waitematā Harbour? Well did that ever get finished Gerry?Hon Gerry Brownlee: No no.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: No it did not. What about that Dunedin hospital that they campaigned on? Now how's that going? Six years on the job; what's happened? Weren't they saying that they were going to redo Hawke's Bay Hospital or was that just a pipedream?Chris Penk: A broken promise is what it is.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: It is just another broken promise. But look to be true Chris Penk who has interjected brilliantly with "another broken promise" I point out: is it a broken promise if they really really would like to have it happen but they just have no idea how to do it? Do you think that would be a broken—I think it probably is; it gets to that stage. What was the other thing that they were going to do? I know light rail—light rail—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Ms Collins it's not a general debate speech. Can we at some stage make some passing reference to the bill please?Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Oh well thank you Mr Speaker. So when I look at this bill I see that there is nothing in here that tells me that this Government is prepared to address the cost of natural gas except to put it up. This is going to increase the cost of natural gas. I want the listeners the people of New Zealand to realise that. As this Government over here talks fairness you should think "unfairness". As this Government talks about increasing levy payments to the Crown people should think "taking more people's money" being paid for ultimately by the consumer and then changing the rules on businesses so that the cost goes up because they have to take that into account when they are looking at this Government. Thankfully they won't have to look at it much longer.But it is really important that we consider in this bill why the Government refused or didn't even bother to alert other parties in Parliament suddenly tabled it didn't want to let us know what they were doing didn't let us have the opportunity to even speak to the sector didn't even let the sector have an opportunity to speak to Parliament isn't putting this through a select committee process but is in what's going to be the dead of night soon rushing through yet another tax. Well I think we remember that they said they weren't going to have new taxes this term. Oh but apparently this bill which is called the Energy Resources Levy Amendment Bill—a levy apparently isn't a tax. Well it is a tax—it is a tax. It's a tax on the consumer because the consumer will end up paying.When we have to bring in more Indonesian coal—dirty filthy coal coming in—when we've got lovely beautiful New Zealand coal in this country which we can't use at the moment and we can't use lovely gorgeous natural gas—instead it is again another tax on the consumer. And so this levy this Energy Resources Levy Amendment Bill is going to have the exact opposite effect than those people over there are screaming and shouting out at and actually I have to say looking pretty miserable about it too.They should be looking miserable because this is another broken promise. It's not even a broken promise to the people of New Zealand it's a broken promise to the industry and those that have stuck with New Zealand despite a flip-flopping Government that doesn't seem to know that money that's earned is not their money; it's the people's money. And what we're seeing with this is yet another consumer cost going to be added because if it's not going to be added who else is going to pay for it? And that's exactly what's going to happen.This bill should have been through a proper process it should be going through a select committee process and it should have been discussed across Parliament—it's not being. Today this Government wants it pushed through and they want the people of New Zealand not to realise that this Government's going to be at fault when the cost of natural gas goes up.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to."