Hughes Gareth: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHughes Gareth: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 03 December 2015. Volume:710;Page:8552. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]9.GARETH HUGHES (Green) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that “it makes no sense to be calling for emissions reductions on one hand while subsidising emissions on the other”?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Acting Prime Minister): In the same reply I gave to the same question just the other day yes.Gareth Hughes: If the Government is serious about reducing fossil fuel funding why did it give $850000 of taxpayers’ money to fund an oil conference at Skycity?Hon BILL ENGLISH: One of the differences between us and the Greens is that the Greens regard petrol diesel and aviation fuel as evil; we regard them as a normal part of civilised society. Despite our admiration for the usefulness of fossil fuels in shaping modern life we still campaign against large-scale subsidies on fossil fuels and we are getting international support for that campaign because if all countries eliminated their subsidies for fossil fuelsat the pump carbon emissions would drop by around 12 percent.Gareth Hughes: If it was not a subsidy what was the quarter of a million dollars of public money that his Government spent on wining and dining 11 oil executives from Shell Anadarko and Chevron Oil Co.?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I would have to check the member’s numbers but it is the business of this Government as it is in most developed countries to host business owners and operators in order to sell to those owners and operators the opportunities available in the country. It is called attracting investment and when you attract investment you enable new jobs. In fact without that kind of investment unemployment levels would be much higher than they already are. So whatever the cost of entertaining some of those offshore business owners or operators the Government certainly does not apologise for the fact that it does cultivate interest in investment opportunities in New Zealand including in oil and gas.Gareth Hughes: As the world tries in Paris to keep fossil fuels in the ground can he explain why his Government is opening up a massive half a million square kilometres of New Zealand’s waters for fossil fuel exploration?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The thing that is keeping fossil fuels in the ground is not the Paris conference; it is the very low price of oil gas and coal. That is what is keeping it in the ground. The market is doing a much better job than the Greens ever did and I will believe the Greens’ views on fossil fuels when they stop flying and driving to climate change conferences.Gareth Hughes: How can he look with a straight face at New Zealanders and say he is serious about climate change when his Government is giving oil drillers tax breaks providing the oil industry with taxpayer-funded research funding petroleum action plans but not clean energy action plans appointing people with links to the oil industry to the Environmental Protection Authority and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority boards hosting and sponsoring oil conferences and opening more of New Zealand to oil drilling?Hon BILL ENGLISH: We look New Zealanders in the face with no problem whatsoever. It is pretty simple: we do not regard fossil fuels as evil. In fact—a bit of anecdotal evidence—a lot of people’s lives rely on them at the moment and that will probably be the casefor the foreseeable future. The Greens think these things are evil and want to stop people using them. I do not know how they can look people in New Zealand in the face and say that they want their vote at the same time as wanting to shut down their ability to fly drive have a job and run a business.