Norman Russel: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeNorman Russel: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 15 April 2014. Volume:698;Page:17222. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.Dr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader—Green) to thePrime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government’s policies?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Dr Russel Norman: Why will he not change his policies to embrace the call by the prestigious science body the Royal Society which has called for strong Government leadership to create a smart green economy—one that is low carbon resource efficient and socially inclusive?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The Government is going down the path of making sure that there are quite a number of aspects of the economy that would encourage people to have a more green economy. They include obviously the emissions trading scheme. They include the enormous amount that we are spending in terms of science—that is renewable energy in the areas that we are involved in there. The Government does support that but some of these initiatives will also have to stand on their own two feet.Dr Russel Norman: How do the Government’s repeated efforts to erode the emissions trading scheme and remove a price from carbon assist the New Zealand economy to go down a smart green direction?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The carbon price currently in place in terms of the New Zealand emissions trading scheme reflects the international price. But I think that what the member has made quite clear—and I think it is an important point and actually I congratulate him on making it—is that any Labour-Green Government as much as they are talking to each other would have a much higher price on carbon and of course that would drive up the price for consumers. That is a statement of fact—that under a Labour-Greens Government you would see higher electricity prices for New Zealanders.Dr Russel Norman: Has the Prime Minister then not read the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which found that successful action on climate change would shave just 0.06 percent off expected annual economic growth rates while in the process protecting our children from dangerous human-caused climate change?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: What I have read are a variety of reports that say it makes sense actually to do things that will support our ambitions to have an environment that has reducing carbon emissions. That includes energy efficiency which is why the Government has been involved in the insulation of well over 300000 homes. That is why the Government wants to have flexibility—for instance in electricity. I note that the member was on his feet some time ago last year essentially talking about something he does not talk about any more which is NZ Power. But the effect of NZ Power of course is to lock Genesis and the Huntly power station in particular into remaining a coal-fired power plant.Hon David Parker: Rubbish! That’s not right.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Mr Parker whom he used to talk to a while ago before they had a big bust up says “Rubbish!” but actually the effect would be to make sure that Huntly never converts from being a coal-fired power plant to being a combined-cycle gas plant. That is terrible for New Zealand’s emissions. That is what bad economic policy spells and that is why Mr Norman’s policies are wrong for the country.Dr Russel Norman: If the Government’s climate policies are so successful why is it that New Zealand’s net emissions have increased 20 percent under the years of this Government so far and are projected to increase by a further 50 percent in the nextdecade according to the Ministry for the Environment based on the current policy settings?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: We just simply do not accept the statements made by the member. I think there are a number of measures we can use that show that New Zealand’s emissions per unit of GDP output have dropped and have dropped significantly since 1990. But in the end New Zealand is a small part of global emissions. We are anywhere between 0.14 percent—or certainly less than 0.2 percent. We have a considerable suite of initiatives we are applying and I think they are the right settings for New Zealand. That member wants to put more costs on New Zealand consumers. I just hope that in the election campaign he will be honest and upfront with New Zealanders and tell them exactly that because that is the truth. But if he does not I will tell them for him.Dr Russel Norman: You’ll make up all sorts of things. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Supplementary question Dr Norman.Dr Russel Norman: With regard to the Government’s policy to turn its back on green economic opportunities is he aware that 25 of the world’s—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I cannot hear the question because of the yelling. Can the member start his question again.Dr Russel Norman: With regard to the Government’s policy to turn its back on green economic opportunities is he aware that 25 of the world’s largest banks including the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Citibank JP Morgan Deutsche Bank Goldman Sachs HSBC and Morgan Stanley recently released—in fact today—the governance framework for a green bond market which is seeing billions of dollars flow into green economic opportunities around the world; and why does this Government not want to be part of the green global economic revolution?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: New Zealand is not stopping—and the Government is certainly not stopping—any New Zealanders being involved in bonds or other instruments if they wish to be but what I can say is that the Government has got a record that shows that on many many fronts it is tackling climate change. I will make the point though that we are a very very small cog in a global ocean. Unless other countries are prepared to play their part nothing New Zealand can do in isolation will actually resolve the issues of international greenhouse gas emissions rising.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I just ask you to reflect on the way that question was started and the very very long speech-like introduction to it. It is not compliant with the Standing Orders. It is not appropriate for someone to suppose the policies of the Government just as it has of course been pointed out to Government members that we should not be predicting the policies of the Labour Party or for that matter the Green Party although I have got to say that they are very predictable.Dr Russel Norman: Pretty much every one of the Prime Minister’s answers during this question set has supposed all sorts of things about the Green Party policies. It does not seem unreasonable that we should be allowed to characterise the Government’s anti-green policies. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I do not need further assistance. The question was certainly very very long. I continue to ask the member to try to curtail the length of his questions. I think frankly he will get a better answer if he did so. But the Prime Minister has been relatively political with his answers and on that basis I allowed the question to go on. I could have ruled it out of order but the Prime Minister I felt may well have given a political flick back and I certainly would have intervened if he had done so.Dr Russel Norman: Does he agree with economist ProfessorOttmarEdenhofer who led the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change team who said that the cheapest and least risky route to dealing with global warming is to abandon dirty fossil fuels in the coming decades?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think that would depend on the country. I mean if you take New Zealand half of all of our emissions come from agriculture so the fastest thing we can do in New Zealand in terms of tackling our greenhouse gas emissions profile—or probably the most successful thing anyway—would be to deal with the issue around agriculture. That is obviously more challenging which is why we have the greenhouse gas alliance. But I go back to the point I made earlier—it is remarkable that that member was on his feet a few seconds ago essentially asking me whether we should be getting rid of fossil fuels when the power policy that he announced at the point when he used to get on with the Labour Party would lock in exactly that position with Huntly.Dr Russel Norman: What rubbish! [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Supplementary question Dr Russel Norman.Dr Russel Norman: How does his $46 million annual subsidy to the fossil fuel industry help to create new green businesses and reduce greenhouse emissions?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Again I reject the proposition. What I say is that New Zealand is looking at and applying a range of different initiatives to reduce New Zealand’s greenhouse gases. I think they are in line with what many other countries are doing. I welcome the fact that the Green Party is today once and for all making it clear to the New Zealand consumers that they will be paying a lot more for power—Hon Steven Joyce: And energy.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: —and energy in general if he ever makes it to Cabinet which is going to be tricky because Winston Peters does not want him there and Labour does not want to talk to him. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Do we have a supplementary question?Rt Hon Winston Peters: No Mr Speaker. I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: Oh it is a point of order—[Interruption] Order! I require silence so I can hear the point of order from the right honourable gentleman.Rt Hon Winston Peters: It will occur to you that the Prime Minister frequently gets outside his depth on a lot of subjects but when he talks about our intentions he has got no idea and he should not be wasting Parliament’s time with those answers.Mr SPEAKER: That is not a point of order and it would be helpful if both the Prime Minister and the right honourable gentleman did not waste Parliament’s time.