Ardern JacindaRt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): I'm really proud to stand in this House today for what is a historic moment. But it is important I think when we stand in these moments in time to remember the reason why we are here today debating this issue in the first place. We are here because our world is warming; undeniably it is warming. And I am proud at least that 10 years on from when I first sat right over there we're no longer having the debate over whether or not that is the case. We are merely debating what it is we do about it because undeniably our sea levels are rising. Undeniably we are experiencing extreme weather events increasingly so. Undeniably the science tells us the impact that there will be on flora and fauna and yes also the spread of diseases in areas where we previously haven't seen them. We know as well that some island nations will have their clean water sources impacted by rising sea levels and saltwater entering into them. On a daily basis they are already seeing those impacts. Our world is warming and so therefore the question for all of us is: what side of history will we choose to sit on in this moment in time? I absolutely believe and continue to stand by the statement that climate change is the biggest challenge of our time—and for us here in Aotearoa New Zealand that means that for this generation this is our nuclear moment. And so today if we are to truly reflect that that is what this means for us we have to start moving beyond targets we have to start moving beyond aspiration we have to start moving beyond statements of hope and deliver signs of action. That is what this Government is doing and proudly so. We have committed ourselves to a 1.5 degrees Celsius target that we are embedding in legislation not just because of the statements of the Paris Agreement but because that is what is required if we are to show our Pacific neighbours that we understand what the impacts above 1.5 degrees Celsius will have on them—it is real. Today we embed in legislation a climate commission who will play a role in helping us to establish carbon budgets who will help us establish the targets that we need across the spectrum that will provide for us advice particularly on how we deal with issues like methane. I want to reflect on the last member Scott Simpson's speech because there was some discussion of the Supplementary Order Papers (SOPs) that were put before Parliament last night. This Government did not vote for them because in essence a large majority of them were covered in the legislation itself. The claim that we should listen to the Climate Change Commission is already embedded in the legislation. They are able to give this Government their advice on targets—so that includes the methane target—based on scientific evidence based on what they believe is necessary to provide for us the Government of the day. There is no constraint on that. They can do that within the parameters of both the range that we set but they can equally set outside that range as well. We have given the climate commission the ability to advise based on science and we stand by that. We have in the meantime also tried to give as much certainty as that science develops as we can to the primary sector. We've said in the near term let's aim for that 10 percent reduction and that is I think that near-term certainty that's required.We also have the ability for the Minister to ask for the climate commission to report earlier if required. So that power already exists. We didn't vote on those SOPs because we believe that we have catered for them in this legislation that this legislation has been well thought through well debated and at the same time has tried to build consensus.Now the speaker opposite also though made one point that I have to say I beg to differ on and that is the claim that we should factor in what the rest of the world is doing and base our judgment on whether or not we should be in closer proximity to what I hate to say—from all of my international engagement—makes me from time to time despair. New Zealand will not be a slow follower. We will not be a slow follower because quite frankly we cannot afford to be not for the environment but nor for our food producers. They trade on our brand and our name. They trade on New Zealand being environmentally responsible. We have the potential here to lead the way and to instil a higher value to our products in doing so. We have the ability to be the world's most sustainable food producers and to sell the innovation and technology that comes with developing that much-needed research development and technology. This Government's vision is that we develop the ideas required on behalf of our exporters so we trade on our name on our brand on our reputation on the quality and respect that people have come to know for our products. I will not allow this country to be a fast follower because we damage our country our environment and our exporters if we allow that to happen.A nuclear-free moment needs to be coupled with action. This is the foundation in our Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill but we need to move beyond that. We have already set an aspiration that as a nation we will plant 1 billion trees and 140 million are already in the ground. We have said we must transition our electricity generation and we have a goal of 100 percent renewable electricity by 2035. Next year the first green hydrogen plant will be opened in New Zealand. It is an exciting time for energy innovation. We have pledged to stop issuing permits for offshore oil and gas exploration. We have funded the new energy research centre in Taranaki. We are working on making low-emissions vehicles cheaper and making sure that they appeal to buyers so that we start to reduce our transport profile. We're investing in rail cycling walking—options that again give people choices to get out of their vehicles.We have historically reached agreement with our primary sector leaders to price agricultural emissions in 2025 and that makes us the first in the world to do that. We have done that together. We have built consensus around that plan and that is something we should all feel proud of. We're continuing to lead an international collaboration the Global Research Alliance around greenhouse gases. Just a few weeks ago we invested $100000 in the Cawthron Institute who are investigating new technologies like seaweed use to bring down the methane profile of our farmers with the potential for that to reduce methane by 80 percent. A hundred million dollars has gone into the Green Investment Fund to shift private investment towards a zero-carbon economy. Internationally we continue to fight against fossil fuel subsidies which have reached US$500 billion. We're negotiating a free-trade framework to try and remove tariffs on green technology. We've put $300 million into international support to reduce climate change impacts half of that going into the Pacific. We have done more in 24 months than any Government in New Zealand has ever done on climate action but we have not done it alone. There has been 170000 New Zealanders taking to the street calling for that action—not for hope but calling for that action—around the world. I am proud at the rate at which New Zealanders took to the street to reinforce what it is we are doing in this House today. I acknowledge Generation Zero. I acknowledge all of the environmental NGOs who have played a part for over a decade in calling for more climate action. I acknowledge our food and fibre sector leaders who are taking historic bold courageous steps on behalf of the people they represent. I acknowledge James Shaw. James has done a huge amount of work to get us here today and it has come at personal sacrifice but I know he will look back on today and realise that he created a legacy that will not be undone. When we think about climate change versus the nuclear-free moment there are some differences but there are some similarities and one similarity is that a nuclear-free moment in New Zealand was something that unified us. Thank you National for supporting this bill. We have to be unified in the fight against climate change. We have to move together. There will be areas where we don't always agree and in one area it will probably be pace of change but we will keep pushing doing everything we can to bring you with us. But today we have made a choice that I am proud of that will leave a legacy and that I hope means the next generation will see that we in New Zealand were on the right side of history.