Willis Scott; Bishop ChrisSCOTT WILLIS (Green): Thank you Madam Chair. I'd like to follow on from that excellent presentation from the Hon Megan Woods. Four years—four years—I worked on trying to build New Zealand's first community wind farm so I have some sympathy with the idea about fast tracking wind in particular. I was looking forward to the Natural and Built Environment Act for the concise direction that it would give local government who are often unskilled don't have the expertise don't know how to deal with consents and would like some clarity and direction.I do think back to 2010 when the National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation was subject to a board of inquiry and then submitted to the then National Government with a recommendation that a national environmental standard accompany it to give clarity for renewable generation. That recommendation was not adopted and as a consequence wind farms that could have been built to provide resilience for out-of-the-way communities have not been built. As a consequence the wind farm that I was trying to build lost $500000—CHAIRPERSON (Maureen Pugh): Come back to the bill.SCOTT WILLIS: —in trying to get through a consenting process that you want us to return to.I'm really interested in what the Government can do to enable renewables but let's look at what's been thrown out. What's been thrown out is a focus on working towards positive outcomes rather than avoiding remedying and mitigating adverse effects which has allowed cumulative impacts. That's been thrown out. Another thing that's been thrown out is a stronger approach to environmental limits and enabling development within limits through the outcome around ecological integrity. That's been thrown out. Another thing that's been thrown out is reducing the risk from natural hazards and climate change and increasing resilience. That's been thrown out. Another thing that should interest anyone who cares about rural issues—for goodness' sake!—is the protection of high-quality rural land and elite soils from urban sprawl which National wants to do. That's been thrown out.So I have some real concerns about what you're doing here and I also really challenge the underlying idea that we can't build because we don't have the structure.CHAIRPERSON (Maureen Pugh): Come back to the bill please Mr Willis.SCOTT WILLIS: Look at the Kawaikawe—sorry there is a point I'm getting to here a question that I really do want an answer to—look at all the wind farms 73 megawatts sitting on that was given a consent in March 2023; nothing happening. The Puketoi Wind Farm Mercury—not being built. The Mount Cass—not being built 93 megawatts etc. Mahinerangi quite close to where I live stage 2 development up to 164 megawatts—not being built. There are wind farms galore not being built. This is called land banking. It's blocking the generation; it's blocking people who want to do it.The Minister responsible for RMA Reform says he wants to see more renewable electricity generation being built. There is plenty that is not being built. So look will the Minister commit to doing something to ensure that renewable electricity gets built? Don't talk about it; commit to doing it. Will you commit to put a date on when a national environmental standard will be delivered to the House so that we can see farmers who want to decarbonise—and I know quite a few and I work with quite a few—to build small-scale wind under 10 megawatts? What's the time frame? I want to see something substantial. I don't want to hear any more rhetoric; I want to hear something substantial.Hon CHRIS BISHOP (Minister responsible for RMA Reform): I do have to laugh at that last little epithet from the member. We're now well away from the bill but let me briefly address the member's questions. Firstly the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land is issued pursuant to the Resource Management Act; it's not affected by this repeal bill. There are issues with that which we'll get to in due course but it's not affected by that.In relation to the fact that lots of people have consents for wind farms yes that's true and you know I'm happy to have an offline discussion with the member about the way the electricity market works. The member actually sounds like he's pretty familiar with it; I acknowledge his expertise but we've designed a market where you know the generators—Scott Willis: The market doesn't work.Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Well the member says that but we have one of the most renewable electricity systems in the world. We have one of the most affordable electricity systems in the world and one of the most secure. We've got to do more but the market does work because we've designed a system where investors put up their own capital and they put them in a stack and the next cab off the rank when it comes to the economics in the system work. Yes there's a bit of a fight over the consents and bit of a fight for the best sites—that's good. That's a good thing. What we need to do is make it easier to get the consents so that people can do that. So that deals with that. In relation to the Hon Megan Woods' point I'm advised that the length of consents through the fast track that we are saving is up to the expert consenting panel. In relation to her comment around Will the Government look at 35-year consents?" the answer is yes we will. But that's not part of this bill and we will be taking advice and making decisions on that in due course."