Tabuteau FletcherFLETCHER TABUTEAU (Deputy Leader—NZ First): Madam Assistant Speaker thank you for this opportunity to speak this evening. I also thank the member Paul Goldsmith for his contribution because his compatriots who were speaking before him were on message online and to be fair they were making me angry. But then Mr Goldsmith got up and he just took the wind out of the entire side of the argument on that side of the House. That member Mr Goldsmith spoke about vandalism. Well the only vandalism that I can speak to and attest to of any member in this House is Mr Goldsmith's vandalism of his own hoardings in not the last election but the election before. That's the only vandalism we have on record in this House so it is a bit rich for the member to use those particular words.Brett Hudson: Yeah selling out the regions by New Zealand First.FLETCHER TABUTEAU: Yeah well they use the words selling out".What I do have to say this evening is congratulations to the National members on the other side of the House because their fearmongering has been incredibly effective. I have been into New Plymouth and Taranaki many times before and after the announcement from the Prime Minister and the engagement has been fantastic and the conversations have been incredibly positive.So let me put this in perspective for the members of the New Zealand public who would actually like to hear the actual situation. So for the benefit of those members opposite the announcement was made to enable a transition period from gas and oil. This is a transition strategy that will more than likely take 30 years—30 years-plus. Yet what we've done here is as a Government said and acknowledged that we cannot rely on this source of energy long term. Let's acknowledge that let's discuss that now and let's develop a legislative strategy going forward. This is a generational solution where we transition and that seems to be lost on the members opposite.Since the announcement for example there has been more than $100 million invested in Taranaki and the oil and gas industry by the oil and gas industry of Taranaki. They have invested in oil and gas in the gas solution because they know like we do that gas is a transitional energy that we need to take advantage of as the member Mr Young himself pointed out in his contribution. Yet the members opposite seem to close their eyes to the fact that this is not the book closing now; this is merely a turning of a page where we will continue to work on this for the next 30 years. Thankfully New Zealand businesses—and overseas business actually—have invested more than $100 million in Taranaki post the announcement from the Government because they agree with us: this is a transition energy and we need to make sure that we take advantage of it.The fearmongering of gas prices for cars is abhorrent. This Government is also working on solutions for alternative energy vehicles. We're looking at the electric vehicles. I'm personally doing a lot of work in the foreign affairs space. I'm trying to engage overseas investment in hydrogen so that we can look at hydrogen as a solution for large vehicles or transit vehicles in New Zealand. Already there are examples of that around the world whereas those members opposite seem to close their eyes to the fact that China themselves India themselves have declared openly that they cannot and will not continue to rely on oil and gas and coal as their energy solutions. They themselves have said they are making rapid progress towards their own low-carbon futures. They themselves who those members opposite seem to insinuate we're going to source our energy from have made those brave decisions about what the future of energy looks like.Jonathan Young: You were already doing it before you made this decision.FLETCHER TABUTEAU: So this—yeah we're already doing it. Good on you. Yes. Yeah we've got an acknowledgment from the other side of the House that we are already doing it and we are on the road to transition.I would like to add to that that this is not the end of anything. As the member from the area knows all too well I have been into his electorate many times and the conversations with those big exploration companies—and they know it: if it's there go and get it go and get it and if it's as big as Māui if we've got 30 years out of it or 50 years out of it long may that continue. But the industry knows that we this Government will support that exploration. We are giving them years to have confidence and make that investment and I have heard that first-hand from those who would make those critical decisions to gamble those tens of millions of dollars.It is a very big gamble for those companies and I appreciate that. It is their money that they are gambling with so this side of the House says "We will give you the time you need to make those decisions to invest to take the gamble and by goodness you will make some money out of it." And fair enough because it's a risky business and we want them to do well in it as long as New Zealand is benefiting from it and as long as they do it safely sustainably and comply with our environmental laws—and all the while security of supply and solutions for the transition from oil and gas.Actually just to use a couple of minutes up there are examples around New Zealand already of industry that were as of a year ago looking at gas as their main sources of energy. I won't go into who it is and what they are doing—it might be confidential and I don't want to give anything away; they gave me a briefing. They themselves before there was any question about this announcement or any of this—I don't know how to describe it politely—nonsense from the other side of the House were making their own decisions to say actually even gas probably isn't the transition fuel for them that they needed themselves to look at alternative energy solutions for their operations. We're talking tens of megawatt operations and they are going to move away from gas. The Government didn't ask them to; the Government didn't say they had to. They as good citizens of the world have said "As big business we need to go beyond this now."So New Zealand First as a party to this coalition Government stands in full support of this legislation. Thank you very much Madam Assistant Speaker."