Brash Don: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brash Don: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:616;Page:12040] 
1. Dr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she have confidence in the Minister for the Environment; if so why? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes because she is a hard-working and conscientious Minister. 
Dr Don Brash 
: How can she maintain confidence in the Minister when in 2000 the Minister rejected any substantial reform of the Resource Management Act and ditched National’s bill to reform the Act saying that it was “beautifully written and beautifully crafted” and when we have now seen that very same Act force Meridian Energy to pull the plug on its planned 570-megawatt Project Aqua a move that could ultimately plunge the country into another power crisis? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I note that Meridian Energy gave a whole raft of reasons for why it decided not to proceed with the application and did not single out the Resource Management Act as an overriding contributor to that decision. What has confused me is not being able to discern from a variety of conflicting statements from the National Party whether it wanted the process rushed or not. 
Jim Peters 
: Is the Prime Minister aware that the Canterbury Regional Council the operative regional body had no existent water plan and that the reviewed bill before the House that deals with the Waitaki catchment provides for and is an equitable outcome framework plan? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Yes. I agree entirely with what the member has said. There was no water allocation plan existent in the Canterbury region and the Government certainly felt with the support of a number of other parties in the House that it was important that there was such a plan before there was further progress with decision making. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: If the Resource Management Act was the problem for Meridian can the Prime Minister explain why Meridian would have developed Project Aqua given that the Resource Management Act had been in place for many years before Aqua emerged; and was it not rather that the amendment bill closed an existing loophole by requiring a proper minimum flow regime to be set for the river before Aqua consents were considered and that that was the reason Meridian withdrew? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Certainly Meridian would be very familiar with the Resource Management Act. What the Government took into account though was that there did need to be a proper water allocation plan before a whole raft of applications could be considered and it has to be remembered that not only was Meridian desirous of using water but so also were many farmers for irrigation purposes. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: Is the reality not that after 4 years of a Labour Government and as she puts it “a whole raft” of reasons the country now faces power shortages and why should we not hold her Minister and herself accountable? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Far from it. Project Aqua was not due to come on stream had it succeeded until 2009-12. Its early notice now gives plenty of time for other generators to come up with the extra capacity needed. 
Gordon Copeland 
: Has the Prime Minister had any recent discussions with the Minister for the Environment regarding proposals to streamline the Resource Management Act to assist with future projects of national significance; if so what was the outcome of those discussions? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Virtually before the ink is dry on any resource management amendment bill going through this House the Government the Minister for the Environment and other Ministers start looking at what other changes might be desirable and that process has been going on for some time. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Will the Prime Minister now be recommending to the Minister for the Environment the need for substantial reform of the Resource Management Act including concepts like direct referral to the Environment Court limiting objectors to only those actually affected by projects and abolishing legal aid for objectors—a feature introduced by Labour in 2000—if not will she take responsibility for the increased power prices increased blackouts and increased traffic congestion that this failure to act decisively will cause? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The early notice given by Meridian of its change of plans enables both it and other generators to get on with ensuring that the necessary capacity is put in place. It is worth mentioning also that the Government has set up the Electricity Commission to ensure that there is security of supply for the future. I also entirely agree with Dr Brash when he said in Timaru recently: “It is important to ensure that the law respects those affected by Meridian’s actions.” I assume he meant by that that he agreed with Dr Nick Smith that there should be a robust process and that “a rushed decision would be a poor decision.” 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: Why does the Prime Minister continue to express support for the Minister for the Environment when she failed to implement the 10 recommended streamlining changes to the Resource Management Act developed by Simon Upton given that the business community of New Zealand last week identified the Resource Management Act as the biggest obstacle to development in this country and given that it is a prime reason for Meridian’s pulling out of Project Aqua? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: As the member knows it is not the prime reason. I certainly never expressed confidence in Mr Upton and the incoming Labour Government in 1999 expressly said there were changes that would have to be made to his draft bill. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Will the Prime Minister give an assurance to the House that her Government will not introduce any legislation to further weaken environmental protection and public participation under the Resource Management Act? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: In issues of resource allocation and planning law the question is to get the balance right and Parliament from time to time will want to address whether the balance is right in the law as it is being interpreted at the present time. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Is the Prime Minister confident that under the current Minister for the Environment Transpower will be able to get the resource consents necessary to upgrade the electricity grid around the entire country and gain the consents at reasonable cost given that the Resource Management Act scuppered Project Aqua and that the consent process was reportedly costing Meridian Energy $4 million per month? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: It would be downright silly for me to prejudge the outcome of any planning application. What I do agree with is Dr Brash’s comment that the real issue is to ensure the decision-making process for Project Aqua was robust in ensuring the law was appropriate.