7. Question No. 7—Foreign AffairsSIMON COURT (ACT) to the Minister of Foreign AffairsQuestion No. 7—Foreign Affairs7. SIMON COURT (ACT) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: How much if any of the $30 million of funding for the Pacific Community Climate Change Flagship Programme will be directed to constructing climate resilient infrastructure in the Pacific and how much if any will be spent on management and programme development?Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Foreign Affairs): To the first part of the question the $30 million Climate Change Flagship investment will deliver capability and capacity across the region to enable 27 Pacific Island countries and territories of the SPC the Pacific Community to achieve their own climate change mitigation and adaptation priorities. This will help them access international climate finance. To be clear climate resilient infrastructure is not a central part of this particular investment.Simon Court: Point of order Mr Speaker. I don't believe the Minister addressed that question because while the Minister did make the point that the programme's not intended to invest in infrastructure—sadly—the second part of the question was how much will be spent on management and programme development and I don't believe that was answered.SPEAKER: Yeah but it was definitely addressed. You could ask more supplementaries about it.Simon Court: Can the Minister explain why according to her reply to written parliamentary question (PQ) 13298 $5.6 million of the Climate Change Flagship programme is going to project development $3.9 million to project management while only $760000 is intended for direct support of Pacific nations?Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: There were a number of PQs that were in response to questions asked by that member but let me be very clear: I did clarify in written question 8330 that in relation to adaptation $43.3 million has been spent on adaptation activities. If he cared to look at the range of adaptation activities that we support we do help Pacific nations to devise their national infrastructure investment plans that help New Zealand to be able to target our funding towards projects within each of those Pacific nations to help their resilient infrastructure aspiration.Simon Court: Can the Minister explain how using a high level 'programmatic' funding model" helps build climate resilience in the Pacific if at all?Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: Quite simply put there are four strategic pillars to our Pacific resilience approach and in being able to inform how climate finance can work for the Pacific. Firstly we support the Pacific to accelerate climate change mitigation. We enable the Pacific to enhance their resilience and adaptation plans as devised by them to respond to direct climate change impacts. We support the Pacific through investing in regional institutions to improve access to climate finance through technical support reducing administration to enable the backroom functions of targeted support to occur. And we also help to crowd in finance through the strategic investment of our own efforts so that the Pacific can be supported. If we did not do that it would be very difficult for the Pacific to access international climate finance.Simon Court: How much if any of this $30 million funding is going to pay the salaries of more than 54 full-time Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) staff working on climate change - related work and why wasn't this money simply given to Pacific countries to directly fund climate resilient infrastructure projects like Australia and Japan are doing?Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: That member misrepresents the nature of this particular funding which goes to a regional institution the Pacific Community. It will help the region to reduce duplication improve coordination create a platform to leverage additional funds to the region. It's an important investment for the Pacific. MFAT is funded through its own baselines."