Sharples Pita: Biofuel Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sharples Pita: Biofuel Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 02 September 2008. Volume:649;Page:18267. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 In the Maori Party we live by the belief that our people are our greatest wealth. In thinking of the Biofuel Bill our thoughts inevitably turn to the late Mountford Te Mana o Te Rangi Retemeyer. Monte was one of those men whose footprints are everywhere. Deeply committed to the marae of Maketu Parawera Aruka and Te Koraha he also had time to be chairman of the Waikato District Maori Council vice-chair of Tainui-Kawhia Forestry Incorporation director of Protac Investments trustee for Aramiro Ahu Whenua Trust chairman of the Kawhia Moana Harbour Committee chairman of the Parawera Maori Culture Group and to be involved with schools councils prisons and in fact every aspect of community life.  
But it was Monte Retemeyer’s role as chairman of the major Waikato-based incorporation Taharoa C Block that has particularly inspired me. Taharoa C Block is a multimillion-dollar incorporation with about 1500 shareholders set up under Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993. So when Taharoa C Block presented to the Local Government and Environment Committee on the Biofuel Bill its submission bears the legacy of Monte Retemeyer. It is a submission that is worth listening to. Taharoa C Block told the select committee that the bill has the potential to make an important contribution to combating climate change. That is advice that it is well equipped to give. Taharoa C Block is in a partnership arrangement with Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu focusing on Maori-owned land as the context for exploring the potential of developing a sustainable biofuel supply. If anyone knows much about the quality of some of our Maori-owned land it would be evident that most of that land is pretty marginal for food production. So it will be of great interest to see how that project fares.  
The project funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology to the tune of $4 million involves a partnership with fuel company Chevron Oil as a principal industry partner. It involves growing plants for bio-diesel feedstock that do not require the use of valuable agricultural land. Taharoa C Block in the north and Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu in the south will provide the technical input and the field trial management that are needed to get the project going. The focus is to apply a variety of ecological and agronomical engineering methods to the production of affordable low-impact fuels that are also ethically sound.  
It all sounds a bit too good to be true but Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu alongside Taharoa C Block sees the value of being involved in an entirely new and sustainable industry that opens up opportunities for grassroots Maori landowners in Te Wai Pounamu the South Island. It is not as though either entity is a newcomer to innovation. Taharoa C Block has already been exploring other sources of renewable energy through its wind power generation and energy crops. Both organisations have been concerned that the environment must not be damaged in the process and just as important as that they are keen to ensure that they are not putting in more energy than comes out.  
That hits at perhaps the greatest issue with biofuel production. The simple reason for biofuel market failure is the rising cost of fossil fuels—crude oil and natural gas—and the pervasive impact those fuels have on the entire economy including biofuel production. It is all a question of balance. Modern agriculture is an industrialised system and large-scale biofuel production is dependent on it.  
But as the Maori Party has consistently presented to the House it is essential that when we focus efforts in one area we do not compromise another area. Environment and Conservation Organisations of New Zealand Inc.—a natural alliance of some 65 groups with a concern for the environment—presented such concerns to the select committee. It warned the committee that it is essential that the development of biofuels does not cause a further loss of biodiversity or result in increased greenhouse emissions. It was able to share with the committee developments from the European Union which has announced that it may ban imports of certain biofuels that are produced unsustainably.  
If we go further down the biofuels track it is essential that New Zealand does not accept biofuels from sources that exacerbate the destruction of rainforests or result in a net increase in greenhouse emissions. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright as has already been said in this House described the international context of the debate around the sustainability of biofuels which has in her words “heated up immensely”. She urged that this bill not proceed being particularly concerned about the impacts of importing biofuels while turning a blind eye to the hugely damaging environmental impacts that are occurring in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia which have been referred to earlier. Dr Wright’s key concern was that importing biofuels would be inconsistent with our clean green image. So we return to Taharoa C Block and Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu for our motivation.  
The critical question then is to assess how well the bill will deliver on the two goals of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and increasing the security of our supply of transport energy. The select committee has recommended the Minister issue through two very comprehensive Orders in Council requirements to specify that biofuels must not contravene sustainability principle 2 regarding competition with food production or greenhouse gas emissions. The select committee has suggested that the bill will be enhanced by including a methodology to assess life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from engine fuels. It also recommends the establishment of a methodology to assess the effects of the production of a biofuel on food production and for assessing whether those effects amount to competition.  
There are other elements to this bill that we are pleased to see included. The select committee has recommended the insertion of a mechanism for recognising particular land including land outside New Zealand as having high value for food production or conservation. It has also introduced a methodology for assessing the effects of the product of a biofuel on indigenous biodiversity and on land that is of high conservation value. Those are all new initiatives that help us to have confidence that biofuels can be offered tentative support. We are however always conscious that on their own biofuels will make only a small contribution to reducing emissions and to contributing positively to reducing the price of oil and addressing the supply problems of the future. As oil prices rise the contribution to energy costs of biofuels will lessen.  
Some will argue that the use of bio-diesels will not result in any fuel price increases and we are all of the view that the issue still remains of finding new ways to reduce energy consumption by living differently. Conventional economics cannot fix that problem; industrial capitalism as promoted by our major parties including policies based on building more roads will not lead into a low-energy future. How we utilise our natural resources in a sustainable environmentally considerate manner is critical in ensuring that all New Zealanders have access to affordable energy resources in a world where shortages will mean escalating prices.  
Finally I say there are many and varied ways of looking at new ways to reduce energy consumption. We in the Maori Party promote the further development of cheap free regular reliable and frequent public transport of telecommuting of fully connected off-road tracks and of walkways. We have supported improvements to the rail infrastructure in order for it to deliver a better service and thereby reduce the number of cars on the road. Ultimately it is up to us to play our part in reducing our dependence upon over 500000 everyday oil-based items by developing strategies to reuse recycle repair respect and replace items and to trade locally. It is up to us to tread carefully in the footprints left by people such as Mountford Te Mana o Te Rangi Retemeyer.  
We will support this bill as we support us all in order for people to live differently to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and to look for other sources of energy supply. Thank you.