Hughes GarethGARETH HUGHES (Green): Thank you Mr Speaker. Kia ora. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou kia ora. I don't know if members saw today in the newspaper that the Arctic is predicted to be free of summer sea ice within 15 years. The Arctic is going to be without sea ice within 15 years. I mean the Antarctic peninsula reached 20 degrees last week. Australia's just come off the back of one of the most catastrophic fire seasons ever in its modern history. I mean we're having a huge impact. We as a species are literally changing our planet and our atmosphere. Last year there was an Italian explorer Victor Vescovo who got to the deepest point ever reached by a human in the oceans: 10927 metres at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Do you know what he found there? A plastic bag at the deepest depths of the ocean. We've got hundreds of thousands of pieces of junk orbiting above our heads plastic at the bottom of the ocean we're changing our atmosphere.These are some of the issues this Government's grappling with and I'm proud to say as a Green MP that we are taking action on the greatest issue of our day which is the existential threat which is climate change. But I'd also put it that it's a strategic and a massive economic opportunity as well because if New Zealand leads and takes action we can be selling those solutions to other countries. We could be getting a competitive branding advantage as a country who cares as a country who's taking action. I think you can contrast that to the Australian Government across the ditch.How is the Government taking action? Just last week the Government announced change to default KiwiSaver providers that'll no longer be investing in the very same products which are causing the climate to cook which are seeing a million species at risk of extinction which are seeing our neighbours in the Pacific literally having to plan to flee their homelands. I'm incredibly proud of this decision because what we know is those capital markets are incredibly important for driving change. That's why I'm also incredibly proud this Government has stopped the promotional support for the fossil fuel and the oil industry. They've stopped giving them free seismic data handed out on a platter. They're reviewing the tax credits.I still remember a few years back when Phil Heatley was the Minister literally blowing $240000 on a single weekend hosting just 10 oil executives. Can you imagine that? Nearly a quarter of a million dollars just hosting 10 executives for a weekend. We saw no separation of oil and State under the previous Government. In fact they were subsidising the oil industry about $78 million a year. So I'm incredibly proud that this Government is changing direction. They're actually supporting things like replacing coal-fired boilers which I heard the Opposition actually I think—I don't know what the word is. I mean it's incredibly foolhardy. Are they really going to go to the election and say We are the party for coal-fired boilers."? How on earth can you criticise that? You know this is the Government that's setting a goal of 100 percent renewables by 2035 actually setting a clear direction; a Government that's actually been brave enough to draw a line in the sand and say no to new offshore oil exploration permits—Tim van de Molen: What about mining on conservation land? The member was going to ban it. They've signed off 21 new consents—Hon Member: 22.Tim van de Molen: 22—double the last Government.GARETH HUGHES: —and who's signalling a direction to the clean energy economy.Now what we also know though: the Government is having to clean up the mess from previous Governments. I'm not sure if the member van de Molen has seen the taxpayer liability of the Tūī field: potentially $280 million to clean up a mess because that previous Government was quite happy to change the permit to quite frankly I think a cowboy operation. Now the Government's having to clean up the mess—sadly with taxpayers' money—because that party didn't do its due diligence.And of course you see the zero carbon Act. I'd like to acknowledge the National Party. They did support the zero carbon Act—that was great it was historic. But why aren't they walking the walk when they talk the talk? How can they support the zero carbon Act but not support every single initiative which is trying to drive down our emissions? How can they be the party that's for coal-fired boilers? How can they be the party that's for dairy intensification? How can they be the party for more massive motorways with terrible benefit-cost ratios?I'm glad they supported the Act and I hope they can be more consistent with it. But the Green Party's message is: we still need to go further and faster. As I talked about the scale of the emergency is such that I think that our country's response should match the scale of the emergency. Our ambition has to match it. That's why I think in this election you're going to see that the Greens want to support more clean electric vehicles they want to support Kiwis to reduce their emissions we want to see Kiwis actually get those good public transport walking and cycling options. What you're going to see from the Green Party is a clear vision of further and faster climate action to deal with the emergency but also to leverage those business opportunities because this is a crisis; this is an emergency. But we can actually support our whānaus support our workers and build a richer more prosperous New Zealand by doing it. Kia ora koutou."