Ngarewa-Packer Debbie; Brown SimeonDEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader—Te Pāti Māori): Tēnā koe e te Pīka. I did but—kei te pai.So first of all—I don't actually know where to start after hearing that. You sort of want to grab the unicorn by the horn and carry on! I think what's really important first and foremost is that Te Pāti Māori will always talk on the side that we believe in in rights and interests. So this side of the House actually I found myself uniquely agreeing at times with Minister Jones which is an unholy feeling—an unholy feeling because Te Pāti Māori also found itself at odds with certain parties on this side of the House and that was because they did not support our seabed mining bill.So I want to make it really clear that no Māori iwi affected in Taranaki support the opening and the continuing of that sector. But they do want to hear solutions and what a transition would look like. There were no solutions or transitions that came through. We do have a concern about energy equity. We do have an appetite towards community solutions and community solutions that can be about renewable energies. So I do want to sort of put ourselves in a unique position here to the Minister to ask: what are the time lines? Gosh sometimes I think the Minister on this side wants to join this party because he sometimes talks more for me than I get to talk for myself. But one of the things I do want to gauge from the Minister is how is the Government engaging—and I mean truly engaging not the type of Zooms that we see Minister Jones having with iwi leaders where he's the only one who gets to speak. How are you engaging with Māori on the issue—on the issue of gas on the issue of coal in Aotearoa? And what are some of the economic considerations that can make I guess the transition for us particularly in Taranaki—I mean we do have some infrastructure. We do have desires to continue on.So despite what many over here think there are some great aspirations there are some kōrero coming through and I do think that they had started with the Minister on my right but things didn't progress. And they are some of the largest investors—they are some of the largest investors and they are also part and parcel of some of the largest ongoing stakeholders" for want of the right word not only because we have rights as Tiriti but also they will continuously invest in Taranaki. So I would like to gauge from the Minister where and how you see those transitions looking and more importantly the time line.Rawiri Waititi: A very mature speech.DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER: Because while we sit here and watch the—thank you; I felt mature. While we sit here and watch the padder tennis going on people really want to know: what are you going to do that's any better than the last? When are you going to do anything better than the last? And I guess too—part of our policy was to address the fact that we established funds to be able to counteract what it is that was being withdrawn. When decisions were made in the last Government no one gave that sector or our community a transitional fund. So I do want to be really open about it. We want to see the end of the sector. It is a finite source. It is a finite source but we are the energy Mecca of Aotearoa and we intend to keep that role in a way that we can be sustainable economically proud and environmentally assertive. So I would like to gauge that from the Minister.The other thing that I would like to also get from you is: how are you going to address the community energy inequities and how do we assure that as in Taranaki we support some of the wind activity being proposed—how do we ensure that we get the benefits? And I don't just mean in a social licence sense. You know iwi were leading and they were extremely progressive and you'll know between the last couple of Governments in best practice engagement with some of these sectors—how do they then leverage off that? Because they're better at this business than the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and actually politicians?Rawiri Waititi: Absolutely.DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER: Absolutely—absolutely! They have been involved in the energy sector much longer than anyone else in this House including our esteemed members over on the left. So I would like to gauge from you: what is the engagement and the level of commitment that you're going to do and those aspirations in addressing again community and their energy inequities and how we can grow in a partnering way not in a co-governance way—in a partnering co-investing way into what your vision is for those communities. Kia ora rā.Hon SIMEON BROWN (Minister for Energy): I thank the member for her engagement and the questions. The reality is that iwi have an important role to play when it comes to investing in our energy sector—whether that's in the oil and gas sector whether that's in offshore renewables whether that's in renewable energy there is a critically important role. But this Government wants to open up those pathways for investment in New Zealand so that is why we are going to repeal the ban on oil and gas exploration. That is why we're progressing the fast-track legislation so that we can actually make it quicker and easier to build the infrastructure that New Zealand needs. Whether it's offshore renewable energy in Taranaki—we need to have the legislation in place to be able to allow that and make those decisions a lot faster so I ask the member and her party to back the Government so we can create these opportunities so that iwi across New Zealand can invest and can be part of that success.The other element I would make in terms of the equity issues is that all New Zealanders need access to affordable energy. When have a tight energy market like we have now—when we have low gas production and we have those challenges which mean the price of gas goes up—it means the costs go through to consumers and ultimately all New Zealanders including Māori pay more and that is bad for New Zealanders.DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader—Te Pāti Māori ): Thank you. What are the Minister's views therefore on unregulated energy the rights and interests of Māori and ownership and certainly where that sits within the Crown Minerals Act? I know they are different portfolios.Hon SIMEON BROWN (Minister for Energy): Well I'm not responsible for the Crown Minerals Act but what I would say is that ultimately the Crown does have an important role to make sure it upholds Treaty settlements.Scott Willis: Mr Speaker just two additional questions that I'd like addressed please.SPEAKER: The time has passed. I call on for a reply in this particular ministerial statement the Hon Simeon Brown."