3. Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration—Consultation and ImpactHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterOffshore Oil and Gas Exploration—Consultation and Impact3. Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's policies and actions?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes and yes.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she accept there was no formal consultation including no process for the submission of views on the Government's recent oil and gas announcement?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: There was engagement with those who work in the sector and there certainly could not have been any question over our intent given how public we were over the fact that there is an end point to fossil fuels in New Zealand and that we needed to transition. It was a point I made quite clear in my campaign speech in fact.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she then accept that there was no cost-benefit analysis prior to the same oil and gas decision?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course that would require an ungettable knowledge of both what is likely to be tendered—and we know from the last time there was a block offer there was one successful bid—and then it would also require knowledge of the likelihood of that block offer coming on stream. It is a very difficult area to make predictions over but what we do know is the cost to New Zealand and the environment of not making a transition over a 30-year period.SPEAKER: Before I call the next supplementary I just want to say to the Leader of the Opposition that with his position and when he is asking supplementaries himself there is a requirement to let the Prime Minister be heard. His constant interjection makes me think that he doesn't actually want to continue asking supplementaries.Hon Paula Bennett: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: I hope the member's not going to argue with me because if she is she will lose some supplementaries.Hon Paula Bennett: I just wanted to make a point Mr Speaker and ask your—SPEAKER: If it relates to that ruling that I've just made—Hon Paula Bennett: Well you're often talking to us about there being order in this House and sometimes it is the length of answers that do sometimes lead to some of that disorder as you know.SPEAKER: I think that was really marginal. Does the Leader of the Opposition have a further supplementary?Hon Simon Bridges: Yes thank you Mr Speaker. Is it true that Government oil and gas officials only learnt of the decision the day before it was announced and that the same is true for oil and gas sector heads who learnt that evening before the announcement?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: When it comes to the officials I can say no.Hon Simon Bridges: Was the announcement on oil and gas without formal consultation and cost-benefit analysis rushed through because of the Prime Minister's trip to Europe the day after the announcement was made and her desire to make an impression there on the student leaders and the world's leaders?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Absolutely not. The urgency was the fact that the Minister of Energy and Resources had a requirement to make a decision around the 2018 block offer. She followed the requirements of the Crown Minerals Act which the member will be familiar with in order to make that decision. And secondly the urgency is called climate change. It's already here and you should visit Kiribati and Tuvalu to see the urgency of it.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Has the Prime Minister read of any other reports of political leaders suggesting that we're going to have to come to grips with this matter belatedly so just over the last weekend?SPEAKER: I want to make it very clear that if the Prime Minister's going to answer that question it is to be an official report.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Do you consider media reports official?SPEAKER: No.Hon Simon Bridges: Does the Prime Minister accept this decision will do absolutely nothing to lower domestic or international consumption of hydrocarbons and in fact may see emissions rise?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I accept reports like the likes of Westpac that says that there are in fact benefits to be had to New Zealand of making an early transition decision. This decision will not affect the industry today or tomorrow but it will in 30 years' time. The reason it won't is because we are honouring every one of those 50-plus permits that are already out there but we will not pretend that we do not have urgency over this issue unlike the Opposition who seems to have absolutely no plan at all.Hon Simon Bridges: Has she seen any official estimates on what emissions reductions there'll be from her decision.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The plan here is to ensure that we are transitioning away from fossil fuels. It seems to be an issue that the member has not quite got his head around—that even if we use every single fossil fuel currently available we still do not meet our climate targets. But again I would expect that shallow analysis from someone who has no plans.Hon Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I invite you to consider a ruling based around how you treat the asking of questions in Parliament which you've been very very clear about in terms of the silence that requires versus the noise that we've just witnessed over two questions to the Prime Minister that began seconds after she started answering. Now I know there can't be complete silence and I'm not asking for that but it does create quite a large imbalance in terms of the way the questions and answers are treated.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Before that happens the person who interjected during the point of order will stand withdraw and apologise. There was a member in that quarter who interjected loudly at the beginning of Mr Robertson's point of order. Who was it?Todd Muller: I withdraw and apologise.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Speaking to the point raised by Mr Robertson it would help if the answerer of a question answered the question rather than going into some really quite uninteresting political statement saying that effectively there was no analysis and that it was just an idea that we had. [Interruption]SPEAKER: I'm on my feet Mr Robertson. You will now stand withdraw and apologise.Hon Grant Robertson: I withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: Can I make it clear I was getting concerned with the noise levels but I am aware that for people outside the House the way that the microphones work they have no trouble hearing. I am also aware of the fact that people within the gallery are generally not impressed with the sort of behaviour that we were seeing from my left earlier on. I made the judgment that as I could hear the answer I would let it run.Hon Simon Bridges: How on earth can the Prime Minister criticise so-called shallow analysis from the Opposition when her Government asked for precisely no official advice on emissions on costs of living—actually on anything?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Firstly I refute that. Secondly as we've repeatedly said there are over 50 permits currently in operation that will continue. The size of the North Island currently has permits over it. Oil and gas exploration will continue for at least 30 years in New Zealand. What we've established is that consumers will not have low-cost options and alternatives to fossil fuels until we start taking responsibility and indicating that we have to transition. That's the bold decision this Government made. Now I'm asking the Opposition: show us your plan. [Interruption] SPEAKER: Order! Before I take supplementaries off the National Party for the interjections which I won't do now because I was holding the Leader of the Opposition up Mr Simpson and Mr Bennett will not interject for the balance of this question time. Is that understood? I just want a slight nod. Thank you.Hon Simon Bridges: In light of this oil and gas decision does the Government have similar plans regarding stopping coal exploration production?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: This was something that related to oil and gas exploration. We've said that we will not continue mining on conservation land and when it comes to coal we've only spoken around coal-generated energy use. So the answer outside of that is no.Hon Simon Bridges: How can that be a good answer given her concern on climate change and given that coal has doubled the emissions of gas and climate Minister James Shaw has signed an international pact to phase out coal for power generation by 2030?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I just acknowledged the fact that we'd signed up to that pact. But the point is that actually the industry and users of coal have already faced up to the fact. That's why Fonterra for instance and other major industry players are already transitioning away from it. That's why my message to the Opposition is: catch up.