Hobbs Marian: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Hobbs Marian: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:638;Page:8699] 
5.  
Hon MARIAN HOBBS (Labour—Wellington Central) 
 to the  
Minister for the Environment 
: What reports has he received from the OECD on New Zealand’s environmental performance? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Minister for the Environment) 
: 
 I am pleased to advise the House and my predecessor in this role that the OECD’s environmental performance review for New Zealand was released— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I am sorry; would the member please be seated. Would people please keep their conversations outside in the lobbies so that the level of chat in the Chamber can be lowered. Again I am not sure whether the member is talking into his microphone. 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I am pleased to advise the House and my predecessor in this role that the OECD’s environmental performance review for New Zealand was released today. The report acknowledges that New Zealand has made very good progress since the OECD’s previous New Zealand report. Specifically the report notes that New Zealand has done particularly well in the areas of keeping environmentally harmful subsidies in the agriculture and fishery sectors among the lowest in the OECD; improving drinking-water quality; improving integration and balancing of environmental and social concerns through the Resource Management Act; and expanding our protected areas including marine areas and indigenous forests. The report confirms that this Government is making good progress towards protecting and enhancing our clean green image which is so important to all New Zealanders. 
Hon Marian Hobbs 
: What is the Government doing to meet the recommendations for further action that are outlined in the OECD’s report? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Although noting the very good progress the Government has made the report does concur with our view that more needs to be done in particular areas. These include water and waste management and environmental reporting. I am pleased to say that progress is being made in all of these areas. The Sustainable Water Programme of Action is soon to produce a national policy statement on water quality and allocation. The Government is supporting the introduction of a product stewardship framework supported by a waste levy as set out in the Waste Minimisation (Solids) Bill currently before the Local Government and Environment Committee. The Ministry for the Environment is currently preparing a second  
The State of New Zealand’s Environment 
 report which will use a core set of agreed national environmental indicators. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: How can he and the Prime Minister say with a straight face that this Government is leading the way on sustainability when after 7-plus years of it being in office this authoritative report states that there has been a notable decline in water quality in rivers and lakes that greenhouse gas emissions are growing faster here than in most OECD countries and there is great uncertainty about how New Zealand will meet its Kyoto targets and that the Government decision to retain forest credits is contributing to the loss of forestry plantations and when the report highlights policy failures and waste in water in oceans in environmental indicators and in biodiversity; how could it be worse? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Easily. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The Standing Orders require that a question be addressed in the public interest. The answer “Easily.” when such important issues are being dealt with cannot possibly be seen as addressing the question. If the answer “Easily.” is going to be acceptable from the Government for any range of questions on environment health education and the like then we really are going to make a farce of question time and the accountability of the Government. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: Answers to questions should be concise. That means they should be as short as possible. A question starting “How” can be answered by an adverb. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I know that it is the last day of school so to speak but would the Minister please—[ 
Interruption 
] Would members who wish to stay in the Chamber please be quiet when I am speaking. Would the Minister please address the question. 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The question began with the words “How can the Prime Minister say” then went on to a number of statements that are a partial representation of what is in the report. My answer was completely accurate. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Your answer may well have been accurate but it was not full. Would you please add to your answer. 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: It is important first of all to note that in the words of the director of the environmental directorate of the OECD in Paris this report is a review of New Zealand as a whole taking into account the combined efforts of Government business non-governmental organisations and civil society over a 10-year period. It will not have escaped Dr Smith that his party was in Government for part of that period. None the less the performance is satisfactory. I can however assure Dr Smith that the next review from the OECD in 10 years’ time will refer to a period when there was only a Labour Government in New Zealand. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Is the Minister concerned about comments in the report that the greenhouse gas intensity of the New Zealand economy is the fourth-highest in the OECD that dropping the proposal for a carbon charge has created great uncertainty about how New Zealand will meet its Kyoto targets and that little progress has been made in applying the “polluter pays” principle; when will the Government take action to stop the taxpayer subsidy of high greenhouse gas emitters and other polluters? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Yes I am concerned as I believe we all should be about the criticism and suggestions—positive ones—that are made in the report. I am also very encouraged about the development of climate change policy as is I know my colleague. In this House we know only too well why that policy development was stalled and we should all welcome the fact that Opposition members—some of them it would appear—have finally acknowledged that climate change and global warming are realities. The member will be aware of the extensive consultation documents—there are five of them I believe; discussion on them closed recently—that will lead to the development of policy that makes great progress in these areas. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Will the Government review its decision as recommended in the report to allocate carbon sink credits and liabilities to forest owners noting that the report says that the Government decision to retain those forest credits is contributing to record rates of deforestation? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I am aware that proposals presented in the consultation documents I referred to which the Government has spent the last 3 months discussing with the public propose devolving sinks and liabilities. If New Zealand does that it will be the only country in the world to do so. This Government is however not about to give a windfall for past actions of forest owners. We want new actions to be undertaken and proposals such as the afforestation grant scheme proposed in the consultation documents provide such incentives. I must say that no one in this House has escaped the irony of National members supporting the devolution of windfall gains but not the liabilities that might be commensurate with it and that has been reflected in their extraordinary myopia about the rural sector’s methane emissions. 
I seek leave of the House to table the OECD environmental performance reviews of New Zealand. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.