Chauvel Charles: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Chauvel Charles: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:641;Page:11572] 
11.  
CHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister responsible for Climate Change Issues 
: What reports if any has he received on emissions increases in New Zealand and how they compare with Australia’s? 
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister responsible for Climate Change Issues) 
: 
 Yesterday it was suggested by a senior member in the House that Australia’s greenhouse gas emission growth is less than Australia’s. He is of course wrong. 
Hon Members 
: Australia’s less than Australia’s? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: No I said that he had said that Australia’s greenhouse gas emission growth was less than New Zealand’s. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: No you said that Australia’s was less than Australia’s. 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: No that is what the member suggested. New Zealand’s total emissions growth is lower than Australia’s. New Zealand’s emissions are lower than Australia’s by a factor of seven. On a per capita basis New Zealand’s are substantially lower. Carbon dioxide emissions per capita in Australia are more than double those in New Zealand and Australia’s emissions are growing at twice the rate. Dr Smith’s representation is what we would expect from a member who has described himself as being at the coalface of environmentalism. 
Charles Chauvel 
: Has the Minister received any reports on approaches to managing New Zealand’s agricultural greenhouse gas emissions that have parallels with the way that Australia is managing its emissions? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: Indeed I have. Yesterday it was suggested by a senior member that Australia’s greenhouse gas emission growth was less than that of New Zealand. He was wrong. He suggested that the Australians’ approach was more credible than ours. In fact their carbon dioxide emissions are growing at twice the rate of ours. Their livestock farming emissions have dropped through the floor but only because of a drought linked to climate change. Livestock deaths to reduce emissions! That is the first indication of a climate change policy that we have had from the National Party for some time. I think Dr Smith should stop taking advice from Kazakhstan. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Why do the official United Nations figures show that from 1999 when Labour came to office to 2005—the latest figures—New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions grew by 8 million tonnes a year which was an increase of 12 percent when the comparative figure for Australia was an increase of 5.5 percent and when Labour had promised that by 2005 it would reduce emissions by 20 percent; does this not show that when performance is matched with promise Labour has failed miserably on climate change? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: Dr Smith has a record of trying to make the statistics say what he wants to hear. On 18 July he told the House there had been a 9.7 percent increase in coal-fired generation; in fact there had been a 4.8 percent drop. He has not apologised. He is wrong yet again. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change statistics on greenhouse gas emissions excluding land-use change show that New Zealand’s grew 21.3 percent in 1990 to 2004 and Australia’s went up 25.1 percent. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I seek leave to table the official United Nations figures on greenhouse gas emissions— 
Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Can the Minister confirm that although both New Zealand’s and Australia’s emissions have risen to around 125 percent of what they were back in 1990 a better comparison is with the UK which has reduced its emissions to just 85 percent of 1990 levels and now produces just 11 tonnes per person while we produce 18 tonnes per person which is the fourth-worst level in the OECD? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: I can confirm both of those facts. Of course the two big differences are firstly the United Kingdom retired a lot of dirty old coal-fired power generation and of course we never had much of that— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: We have grown ours! 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: We have not grown our coal-fired power— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: What about over Labour’s term? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: Look here he goes again. I just showed the House that last year our coal emissions went down and Dr Smith is saying they are going up. Not only that; there has not been a coal-fired power station built in New Zealand in decades. In respect of the other difference between us and the United Kingdom of course unlike New Zealand the United Kingdom has lower livestock emissions and that makes a substantial difference in terms of emission reduction opportunities. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I seek leave to table the official New Zealand energy statistics which show that the increase in coal-generated power has gone from 4 percent— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? Yes there is objection. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Can the Minister further confirm that our emissions per person are roughly four times those of China and that developing countries are unlikely to make any commitments unless per capita emissions are taken into account; and will New Zealand actively promote targets that recognise population size at the APEC meeting this week or at the Bali negotiations in December? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: I can indeed confirm the statistics that the member read out. I absolutely agree that it is clear that developed countries will have to do more than developing countries in terms of reducing their emissions from current levels and that per capita emissions are relevant. 
Peter Brown 
: Noting that earlier question from Jeanette Fitzsimons about the UK’s emissions can he confirm that the UK is looking strongly at having more nuclear power stations in order to bring down its carbon emissions and does he believe that the Greens are by implication suggesting that we should head that way? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: I am aware that the United Kingdom is looking further at nuclear power. I am also aware that the cost estimates of its investigations show that nuclear power is a very expensive alternative. If it were to be applied in a country like New Zealand or indeed Australia it would result in a very very significant increase in power prices. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I seek leave to table documents that show that in the last 3 years New Zealand lost 30000 hectares of forests whereas over the same period Labour planted— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: I seek leave to table statistics showing that Dr Smith’s assertion yesterday in respect of Australian emissions— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table those documents. Is there any objection? Yes there is objection. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: I seek leave to table my very beautiful graph showing how much better the UK has done than New Zealand and Australia. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? Yes there is objection.