Graham Kennedy: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Graham Kennedy: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 25 October 2012. Volume:685;Page:6205. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
2. 
Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM (Green) 
 to the  
Minister for Climate Change Issues 
: Given the recent loss of Maori Party support for his Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading and Other Matters) Amendment Bill will he consider working with opposition parties on amendments to improve it? 
Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Acting Minister for Climate Change Issues) 
: No because this Government has no intention of imposing an artificially high price of carbon on New Zealand households and businesses as is being proposed by Opposition parties. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: Why is it that the only people still favouring the amendments now to further gut the emissions trading scheme are one major greenhouse gas polluters; two Government MPs; and three the sole ACT MP acting under the coalition agreement which says that “ACT has agreed to support legislation to reduce the impact of the Emissions Trading Scheme …” and it believes that “the ETS should be repealed however it believes some progress will be made through the Government’s initiative.”? 
Hon SIMON BRIDGES 
: What the member said is absolute nonsense. There will be many struggling households that that member says he cares about in this country that do not want increased petrol costs and energy costs and that will be disproportionately affected by the kinds of loopy changes that the Green Party wants. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: Why is the Government so determined to push through changes that will render the emissions trading scheme utterly useless now rather than working constructively with other parties to get a scheme that will actually reduce gross emissions? 
Hon SIMON BRIDGES 
: That is not what we are doing. What we are doing in fragile economic conditions around the globe is steering a steady course and not costing the jobs that the Labour Party says it cares about by ramping up a scheme and putting the cost on struggling households and businesses. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: Speaking of jobs why is he undermining 4500 forestry jobs while subsidising big polluters? 
Hon SIMON BRIDGES 
: That is not what we are doing. What the Green Party wants is to rob Peter to pay Paul. It wants to see the cost of petrol and energy go up and disproportionately affect the poor in this country who it says it cares about and disproportionately affect businesses which are struggling and which it also says it cares about. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: Is he concerned the crash in the carbon price to €1 means there is little incentive to plant forests and those who own permanent sinks may well sell as we heard on  
Morning Report 
 today making it harder to achieve a reduction in gross emissions? 
Hon SIMON BRIDGES 
: As the member well knows we already have under current law—section 30G—the ability to restrict the quantity and the quality of overseas units. We keep a watching brief on that because we take these issues seriously. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: Why did the Government not take seriously the recommendations of the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Panel and phase up the price cap phase in agriculture and phase out the one-for-two surrender obligation? 
Hon SIMON BRIDGES 
: Because we care about struggling households and the poor who that member says he cares about but does not seem to and because we want to keep people in jobs unlike the Labour Party. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: Why is he undermining our clean green image with a bill that will harm tourism and agriculture and will cost jobs? 
Hon SIMON BRIDGES 
: That is arrant and disgraceful nonsense. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: Is he not ashamed with his own arrant and disgraceful nonsense to push through such an important bill on climate change with such a blatantly divided House with a razor-thin majority of just one vote? 
Hon SIMON BRIDGES 
: As I have already said we are doing the right things in very difficult times globally when frankly basically no one in the world is doing as much as we are. As I have said before we are providing some global leadership in this area and I think the way we are calibrating this right now is precisely the right thing to do for the times. 
Moana Mackey 
: What evidence does he have that the benefit of the low carbon price and the Government’s transitional provisions is being passed on to struggling households and businesses? 
Hon SIMON BRIDGES 
: It is very clear that a higher carbon price per unit leads to higher energy and petrol costs. That is clear beyond any doubt and that is precisely what we do not want to do for struggling households and for businesses in this country. 
Moana Mackey 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I asked what evidence he had that it was being passed on. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Well— 
Moana Mackey 
: It was a very straight question deliberately. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: In fairness the Minister gave what he believed was a reasoned answer as evidence. The member did not ask what external evidence or what outside evidence; it was just what evidence. The Minister in answering has used his own logic as evidence and I cannot second-guess that. 
Moana Mackey 
: What external evidence does he have that the benefit of the low carbon price and the Government’s transitional provisions is being passed on to struggling households and businesses? 
Hon SIMON BRIDGES 
: The people I talk to every day my constituents—unlike that member who does not have any. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Question No. 3 Louise Upston. [ 
Interruption 
] Order! I have called Louise Upston for question No. 3.