Turei Metiria: General Debate 
Turei Metiria: General Debate 
[Volume:635;Page:6309] 
METIRIA TUREI (Green) 
: 
 How funny it is to hear National and Labour fighting about who has the best environmental policy! It is the most bizarre thing I have ever heard. Suddenly National has decided to take climate change seriously and to talk about sustainability. I have to say though that the National Party has had a poor poor record—fighting Kyoto opposing the carbon charge opposing the “fart tax” that would have dealt with methane emissions from agriculture attacking the Resource Management Act supporting much more money going into roading and private car use and of course always putting economic growth above all else. But I have to say that that also sounds very much like Labour Party policy. It was Labour that got rid of the carbon charge and refused to stand up for it when it should have done so that got rid of the “fart tax” when it should have stood up and defended it that has itself undermined public involvement in the Resource Management Act that has invested billions of dollars in roading when it should have gone into public transport and that also still puts economic growth over and above environmental sustainability. 
There is no doubt that this is a very interesting little battle. But the fact is that it is the Green Party that has environmental issues in hand. It is the Green Party that has actions in place and proposes things that can be done right now. That is what I want to talk about this afternoon. The Green Party has six members’ bills that it is putting into the ballot tomorrow afternoon all of which will provide immediate solutions to a number of the problems around climate change emissions and peak oil. They will not fix everything but they are actions that can be taken now. Neither National nor Labour has said a single thing about what they will do right now to fix those problems. The Green Party has some of the solutions right here. 
The first one of our bills is the Climate Change (Government Vehicle Procurement) Bill which will require all State sector organisations when buying or leasing passenger vehicles to purchase only those with an engine capacity of less than 1800cc and that are in the top 10 percent in terms of fuel efficiency. It is a good model for the community. The second bill the Climate Change (Electricity Fixed Charge) Bill relates to getting rid of fixed charges so that people who conserve electricity in their own homes get the financial benefit of not being charged a fixed charge. There need to be incentives to conserve electricity. The third bill is the Climate Change (Airline Emissions) Bill and it will require airlines in New Zealand to cap by 2012 their total greenhouse gas emissions at the level they are at in 2007 and require them to take measures to reduce their emissions to 1990 levels putting them on a par with similar industries in that sector. 
The Climate Change (Public Transport Funding) Bill will require two-thirds of national land transport funding to be allocated to public transport walking cycling rail coastal shipping and travel demand management. That will help us to deal with both the impact of climate change and peak oil by saving fuel and decreasing the transport-related carbon dioxide emissions. The Climate Change (New Zealand Superannuation Fund) Bill will require that the managers of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund consider climate change and broader environmental impacts when making investments. The Climate Change (Rail Electrification) Bill will set targets for the electrification of different parts of the rail network and require the rail operator to use bio-diesel on those parts that are not electrified until 2012 ultimately reducing our carbon dioxide emissions. 
These bills address some aspects of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on oil. They are a demonstration of leadership on these issues—leadership that is lacking from the Government at the moment and that is absolutely absent from any of National’s policies at all. Two of the bills—those relating to vehicle procurement and New Zealand Superannuation Fund investments—require action from only the Government. The Government could do what they propose right now by ministerial directive; it does not need legislation. It needs to take action now and it can. Three of the bills deal with transport emissions given that those are the second-largest contributor to our overall emissions in New Zealand. The bill that gets rid of the fixed charges for electricity goes directly to incentivising and supporting the community to make changes in people’s own homes. 
With this level of change at a structural level by the Government and with the modelling the Government can provide in addressing issues around business transport and incentivising families and communities we cannot go wrong. The package deals with all of the issues and really shows that we are taking leadership here. We expect given the arguments between National and Labour about who has the best policy and who is more environmentally sound than anybody else that if and when these bills are pulled out of the ballot those parties must support them. We must take action. Rhetoric from both big parties is no longer acceptable. We simply do not have the time. I challenge the other parties to come up with similar bills to put them into the ballot also and to support the ones that are pulled out so that we are involved in a cross-party solution-setting process and take action now to protect our country our future and this planet. Thank you.