Smith StuartSTUART SMITH (National—Kaikōura): Thank you Madam Speaker. It is a pleasure to speak on the Gas (Information Disclosure and Penalties) Amendment Bill. It really is topical at this moment to be talking about this issue of course. We have significant increases in electricity prices coming down the pipeline to the homeowner very shortly as a result in part because we're in a dry year. But our normal dry-year winter peak is covered by gas and coal and unfortunately due to circumstances in the gas industry we don't have the gas that we would normally expect to get us through and so the hydro companies held back water as is the right thing to do through the summer and autumn and early winter to ensure that they had enough to get us through this period. However the costs to the homeowner are going to come home to roost as it were later on in the coming weeks.Unfortunately for the industry this has already occurred. Businesses had to curtail production and in some cases even close because of the extremely high spot-market prices for electricity. This bill seeks to ensure that there's more information available for all players so that decisions can be made ahead of time. However in the whole electricity and energy sector information is power. It's also essential. Unfortunately some of the moves that have been made by this Government have actually slowed down what would have been developing other generation sources because the industry doesn't have the confidence to invest money in what are very long-term investments. They can't invest money in gas exploration or refurbishment of their wells if they think that they're going to be cancelled in five or six years and that's unfortunately the uncertainty that we're facing right now.There's $100 million a year required in the maintenance of these gasfields to keep the gas flowing. Unfortunately that cash has not arrived—not all of it anyway—and that is why the dry-year issue that we've had as well as the shortage of gas has driven the price much higher than it would have otherwise been and we're all going to pay the price for that. Some people have already paid that price by losing their jobs. So these things have real impacts. Something like an oil and a gas ban has drained the confidence of the industry so this bill is a step to try and sort this out to some extent. Although this has not led to the issues we've had today a lack of information; it was actually a lack of investment. But the National Party is here to help bail the Government out because actually New Zealanders need our help and we're here to help.I think it's been quite extraordinary some of the things I've heard in the earlier speeches yesterday on this topic. Someone referred to unicorns and rainbows.Simon Court: That was me!STUART SMITH: Was it? Yes that's right. I think it was the ACT member Simon Court. His reference was actually absolutely apt. We also heard from the Green member about a just transition which actually is code for wealth redistribution. We are not here to support those sorts of policies; we're here to ensure that we can keep the lights on that we can keep the mill that Joseph Mooney the MP for Southland mentioned in his earlier speech that had to curtail its production because of the extremely high cost of electricity at least.Now the gas companies right now or in a very short time are going to have to be making a decision: who do they supply their gas to? Do they supply it to the domestic users do they supply it to commercial users or do they supply it to the electricity sector to keep the lights on?Maureen Pugh: Tough choice.STUART SMITH: It's a tough choice—it is—and we've got the Huntly coal-fired units running at 100 percent. I just looked at the figures for today just now and it's almost running at 100 percent. It's extraordinary that we're in this position today when we all have agreed to head towards net zero and we are burning coal like drunken sailors to keep the lights on. I think it is so important that decisions that Governments make announcements that they make they realise have ongoing impacts on industries' decisions.It was really disappointing yesterday to be at an electricity and energy event where there were Opposition MPs and one minor backbench MP from the Government. They didn't turn up to hear one of the chief executives of an energy company—Genesis—give a wonderful address about this very issue. Had the Minister been there she would have learnt something.Maureen Pugh: They don't want to hear.STUART SMITH: I don't think they do want to hear but they have to face up to the issue that they caused: that we now are all going to be paying much more for your electricity bill. When it comes through the mail or over the internet and you realise that you're going to be paying significantly more you can thank the Hon Dr Megan Woods because she is the person responsible for that increased cost. But we are here to help and with that I commend the bill to the House.