Goudie Sandra: Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill — In Committee 
Goudie Sandra: Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:649;Page:18176] 
SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) 
: 
 I am pleased to speak to Part 2 of the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill which includes the moratorium—what is now being called a restriction. Last winter I urged many people to go out and get back-up energy systems because of a potential shortage of energy going to their households. I suggested they get gas back-up and lighting back-up and make sure they were prepared. I thought it was hugely important that particularly our over-65s were ready for an energy shortage. We are concerned about a potential lack of energy for domestic users in this country—not taking into account a lack of the energy required for business use. 
Let us look at what is happening with the moratorium. The Government’s climate change policies have failed the electricity sector. Far from the Government moving New Zealand towards the goal of 90 percent renewables the proportion has fallen from 72 percent in 1999 to 66 percent in 2007. That is an incredible indictment on the current Government and particularly on a Minister in the front row Michael Cullen. The Government’s interventions in the electricity industry have been contradictory. Oh I am getting a little moue of the lips from him! Renewable developments like Project Aqua and the Dobson hydro project were stopped by Government decisions. The Dobson decision was an appalling decision on the part of the Government. That project was an absolutely viable concept and it was well supported by all the community leaders and all of the community right across the board—but no not by this particular Government. A golden opportunity was lost for the sake of a bit of scrubby gorse-covered Department of Conservation estate that the Government incredibly felt was worth protecting. The Government made the decision to can a project that everybody wanted because it thought it knew best. That is pretty typical of the current Government. 
Thermal projects like the new oil-powered Whirinaki power station have been directly funded by a consumer levy and the massive new 385-megawatt e3p combined-cycle gas turbine built by Genesis was unusually underwritten by the Government. Of course the current Minister of Finance Dr Michael Cullen thinks that is incredibly amusing. Of the new generation built by this Government 75 percent has been thermal. So the moratorium proposed here actually represents a radical shift in policy. 
National’s first concern is of course security of supply and it was very much at risk over the last winter; hence the need to highlight to our over-65s the need for them to have back-up. I can tell members that I find quite astounding the number of over-65s at Grey Power meetings who tell me they had back-up systems and were prepared. That sent a signal that they do not have confidence in the current Government to provide for their energy needs and feel they have to be prepared to provide their own energy. They took the initiative and they were resourceful. They had gas cookers and gas heaters they stayed with relatives and they had back-up lights so that they could see in the dark. They were well prepared. I was very very impressed with our over-65s; they were not placing any confidence at all in the current Government to address their needs. When one sees the likes of this legislation with its moratorium on non-renewable energy resources one can understand why. 
The distinction in the bill between new power stations being either baseload or peak-load is nonsensical. Ironically New Zealand’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter the Huntly power station was built as a peak-load station in 1987 and technically another could be built under the exemptions in this bill. National sees no place in New Zealand for any new coal-fired generation until such time as carbon sequestration technology becomes viable. 
The smart way to provide an incentive for renewable energy over thermal generation is through the price signal of an emissions trading scheme. That is why we have consistently advocated that electricity be the first sector to be introduced to an emissions trading scheme. That would provide a signal every day to the electricity sector to favour renewables over thermal energy—and not just when building. It would avoid the artificial distinctions between peak-load and baseload stations. The emissions trading scheme would encourage substitution for more efficient thermal generation where possible and the earlier retirement of old dirty technology. 
It is worth noting that renewables generator Meridian Energy and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment also rejected the moratorium. Perhaps the Minister should take note. National supports the target of 90 percent renewable energy.