Dean Jacqui: Budget Debate 
Dean Jacqui: Budget Debate 
[Volume:647;Page:16469] 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Otago) 
: 
 One of the most disappointing aspects of this Budget—this “block of cheese” Budget—was the real downgrading of the Government’s commitment to the environment. As I said last night nothing said that louder and more clearly than when Dr Cullen in giving his speech downgraded the Sustainable Water Programme of Action—a statement that was a huge regret to me and also to other members of the National Party. 
Recently just to illustrate the Government’s lack of commitment to the environment and utter lack of commitment to the concept of sustainability—a word the Prime Minister has been known to say up to 33 times in a single speech—a senior Ministry for the Environment official cancelled at the very last notice a whole series of workshops that were part of the Government’s much lauded Sustainable Water Programme of Action. These workshops were to be held throughout New Zealand but they were cancelled at the last minute. Why were they cancelled? They were cancelled because the official had a better offer. This Ministry for the Environment official had the offer of a trip to Australia to accompany a delegation to talk about—guess what? Members have guessed it—to talk about water in Aussie. Well I suppose one would have to think about it if one were a Government official. The choice is either trolling around the provinces of New Zealand and talking about the same old same old water plan of action that has been around since 2003 and that has had about three Ministers or—for goodness’ sake what a choice this is—a gold-plated trip to Aussie which would be much more exciting for that official. What is worse the official cancelled all those boring provincial workshops around New Zealand because he did not think that anyone else in the ministry was up to taking his place. In the whole of the Ministry for the Environment no one else was capable in that official’s eyes of running a series of community workshops in places like Christchurch and Dunedin—talk about arrogant! 
What about the Sustainable Water Programme of Action? Well it does not matter does it? It does not matter because it has been around forever. Why would anyone let that get in the way of a gold-plated trip to Aussie? What is a few thousand bucks in lost airfares? What is a few thousand bucks in lost time? What is a $14000 gold-plated trip to talk about water in Aussie all about? What a waste of money! What was the Minister’s response to all of this? What did Minister Trevor Mallard have to say? Well he was disappointed and he has been assured that such an occurrence will not happen again. 
What about the Government’s Sustainable Water Programme of Action? Where are the national policy statements on fresh water management? Where are the national environment standards on water-measuring devices? Does the Government not care about the environment? It certainly does not look like it to me. I do not believe that this Government is committed to sustainability; I do not think that this Government cares at all about the important issues of water allocation and water quality. Regional councils up and down this country are falling over themselves working hard to figure it out for themselves. The Government appears to have moved on from responsible policy response to pressures on the environment. It has run out of ideas it has run out of steam and luckily it has very nearly run out of time.