Hobbs Marian: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Hobbs Marian: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:635;Page:6628] 
7.  
Hon MARIAN HOBBS (Labour—Wellington Central) 
 to the  
Minister responsible for Climate Change Issues 
: What reports has he received on New Zealand leadership in climate change policy? 
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister responsible for Climate Change Issues) 
: 
 I have received reports that climate change is now firmly on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group’s agenda. APEC leaders in recent days pledged to find further ways to reduce their countries’ carbon emissions. This move was personally led by Prime Minister Helen Clark. Labour is proud to have a strong and decisive leader who recognises the importance of climate change. Some other parties are not as lucky as Labour is. 
Hon Marian Hobbs 
: Has the Minister received other reports on New Zealand leadership on climate change policy? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: Indeed I have received a report from a recent climate change event in Auckland that indicates that a prominent American was “particularly impressed with the tremendous leadership that New Zealand is providing.” That report praising the New Zealand Government’s leadership was from the former Vice-President of the United States of America Al Gore. It is clear that the Government’s leadership on climate change will bring both economic and environmental benefits to New Zealand. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: What sort of leadership is New Zealand providing when the official United Nations’ figures on emissions show that during Helen Clark’s prime ministership to date New Zealand’s emissions have grown by 8.6 percent as compared with the United States’ growth of 3.8 percent or Australia’s growth of 5.1 percent—or does this Government dispute the official figures published under the Framework Convention on Climate Change? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: New Zealand’s emissions excluding our agricultural emissions have increased substantially but at a lower rate than Australia’s. 
Peter Brown 
: Does the Minister share New Zealand First’s view that by getting climate change on the APEC agenda the Prime Minister has advanced the possibility of the issue being effectively addressed by the nations that are actually responsible for the majority of the problem and that this is a far greater achievement than penalising New Zealanders and making them feel guilty about switching their lights on? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: I agree that it is a significant advance that APEC is now looking at further emissions cuts. I do not agree—if the implication was intended—that the Kyoto instrument is a bad instrument. It is the best current instrument in the world and indeed is the most effective cause of emissions reductions around the world to date. But it remains true none the less that emissions reductions by other major emitters including the United States and China are vitally important in order to win the overall battle. So we see this as progress. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: What sort of leadership is this Government providing on climate change when the policy has been one botch-up after another including the failed carbon tax the failed animal emissions levy the failed energy efficiency strategy the billion-dollar bungle over carbon calculations the collapse in the negotiated greenhouse agreements and the dropped tender round for projects to reduce emissions; and when the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says that climate change policy in New Zealand is a vacuum how does a vacuum equate to leadership? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: That was an enormous list to try to respond to in an answer to a supplementary question. There are answers to virtually all of the points that the member misrepresented in that question. Suffice it to say that this Government has been consistent in its pursuit of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Give us one! 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: I will give Dr Smith one example. The most recent National flip-flop of course is in respect of the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative which was passed last week in this House in substantially unaltered form to that which that member and the party he belongs to opposed strenuously at earlier stages. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: What sort of leadership is this Government providing on climate change when forest plantings have collapsed from 45000 hectares per year in 1999 when Labour became the Government to a net loss of forest last year—the first time since 1953—and when the Government is turning a blind eye to the ongoing clear-felling of indigenous forests in Southland; and do not we have a Prime Minister who says one thing internationally while at home her Government is doing exactly the opposite of that? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: The greatest drop in forestry plantings actually occurred before this Government came into office. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Not true! 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: It is true and I will table a graph to show that when I have finished responding to this question. But it was not the National Government’s fault that that decrease in planting occurred; it was a consequence of the change in the relative economics of forestry compared with agricultural land use. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Does the Minister agree with Stephen Tollestrup the executive director of the TEAR Fund when he commented at the end of the Nairobi conference of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol that “Sadly this conference has been marked by a lack of urgency and leadership. This must change quickly if we are to halt a significant climate shift in the future.” and what did New Zealand do at the Nairobi conference to provide leadership towards greater action to prevent climate change? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: I agree that it is clear from the really undisputed advice from the scientific community coordinated by the United Nations that the Kyoto Protocol emissions reductions already in the pipeline through annex 1 countries between 2008 and 2012 are insufficient to avoid the risk of quite extreme climate change and that more needs to be done by both annex 1 Kyoto countries and other countries including China and the United States. What is New Zealand doing? Members have already seen in the last week at APEC the Prime Minister taking a lead on this issue in an international forum. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Why does the Minister in explaining the collapse in forest plantings in New Zealand from 45000 hectares a year when Labour became the Government to net deforestation last year use the excuse of the relative economics of forestry as compared with other land uses when across the Tasman Australia with exactly the same economics as New Zealand has been able to increase the amount of forest plantings in each and every year over the same period; why is Australia achieving substantial reforestation while this Government is overseeing massive record deforestation? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: Whatever Australia has done in respect of afforestation it certainly has not been through the devolution of carbon sink credits because of course that country does not devolve any. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I asked the Minister to explain why in his response to an earlier question he said it was economic factors that had resulted in a collapse of New Zealand forest plantings and to explain why there was the opposite situation to that in Australia. The Minister’s answer did not in any way address the question; he just stated some irrelevancy around the fact that in Australia credits are not allowed for forest as is the case in New Zealand. That was not an attempt to answer the question. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: The policy announced by that member had no part to play in Australia’s policy so therefore it was not the reason why there was a difference. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I am not sure that was a point of order. By virtue of the member raising the issue of Australia I thought the Minister did address the question. 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: I seek leave to table a graph showing the rate of decline in New Zealand forest plantings over the last decade. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I seek leave to table the huge increase over the same period in Australia’s forest plantings. 
Document not tabled.