Lewis StephSTEPH LEWIS (Labour—Whanganui): Thank you Madam Speaker. It is my pleasure to rise and take a call on the third reading of this bill on the last day of course as well of this sitting block. I want to begin by wishing members a very productive recess in the coming weeks.I want to also acknowledge the work of the Minister the Hon Dr Megan Woods for her work to support the energy sector and indeed a just transition. As members have explained in the House already today this bill makes amendments to the Gas Act 1992. This bill is important for ensuring that we have the appropriate requirements that can be put in place for supporting the security of supply and to improve outcomes—Simon Court: That would be more gas. That's what you need.STEPH LEWIS: —for our energy consumers. Well Mr Court the problem is that since 2000 despite a lot of exploration right through Taranaki there hasn't been any more gas found so—Simon Court: That's not correct; there's been lots more gas found.STEPH LEWIS: No unfortunately there hasn't. That's why we need to be focusing on alternatives. I would like to point out that in my electorate we are seeing a lot of development of those alternatives happening right now.So as my colleague Angela Roberts mentioned earlier in this debate this afternoon we've got the Waipipi Wind Farm which is a 700 hectare wind farm on the coast between Waverley and Pātea in South Taranaki. It's prime coastal land the first wind farm to be built on flat land. It's the biggest turbines that we've had built in New Zealand to date. That wind farm is producing renewable energy which powers over 65000 houses in New Zealand cutting emissions. That is the direction that we need to be moving in.As I was explaining before this bill is about an amendment which will enable better provision of information around the supply of gas because as has already been discussed during this debate we are experiencing dry years here in New Zealand which puts a lot of pressure on the supply of electricity. So what we need to do is ensure that there is information coming out that it's coming out quicker in a timely manner and it enables companies and consumers to be able to respond without putting pressure on the market and increasing the cost of electricity supply for our public.So the other thing that the bill does is it makes changes to the Gas Act's penalty regime. So it amends the penalty regime so that for industry participants increasing the maximum civil pecuniary penalty available to be imposed by the Gas Rulings Panel for breaches of gas governance regulations from $20000 to $200000. This has been done to address concerns that have been raised by a wide range of parties about the low level of penalty which isn't having a deterrent effect. So this new penalty limit will apply across all gas governance regulations.It also creates a new penalty for consumers who are not industry participants who will now be subject to a civil pecuniary penalty instead of a criminal penalty if they breach the gas governance arrangements. So this will ensure their fair and equitable treatment.I want to touch on a couple of points raised by members across the House during the course of this debate who have alleged that the technology to phase out the use and reliance on gas and indeed coal as well just isn't there yet. I really strongly dispute that for the reasons that I've already outlined around Waipipi Wind Farm. There's another new farm in my electorate that I'd also like to mention for a brief moment.Simon Court: Is it a solar farm?STEPH LEWIS: That's right Mr Court we've got a solar farm. So in Kapuni in South Taranaki the Todd Corporation has recently completed the building of a solar farm. That includes the installation of 5800 photovoltaic panels which generate enough electricity to power a further 520 homes. That has been contributing electricity to the local network since May earlier this year.But also supporting our transition away from the reliance on fossil fuels which we know will run out in the not too distant future is a place—also from Taranaki funnily enough—called Hiringa Energy.Angela Roberts: Green gas.STEPH LEWIS: That's right green gas. They have partnered with Ballance Agri-Nutrients in Kapuni again to produce green hydrogen—green gas. Go figure. What they're going to do is they are looking at again relying on installing wind turbines to generate electricity to then produce green hydrogen—hydrogen created without the need for coal or any other fossil fuels. That is going to be the start of our transition to using hydrogen as a fuel in our transport sector. So I am really proud to stand here as the member of Parliament for Whanganui—which includes Taranaki—and be able to share with the House and those at home watching just how far we have come in Taranaki in terms of progressing to a renewable sustainable future and making sure that the next generation are getting a better deal and have an environment to come back to.I'd also for those members who are a bit concerned about jobs like to remind them that with all of this new technology comes new jobs. That's where the just transition comes in. What it is is supporting those people who have been working in those industries which we do need to phase out in order to reduce our emissions to make sure that they take up jobs in these new sectors with new energy. With that I'd like to commend this bill to the House.