Norman Russel: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeNorman Russel: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate[Sitting date: 24 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18794. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader—Green):I rise on behalf of the Green Party to talk in this imprest supply debate which is rather a broader debate about the Government’s economic and social policy performance and about what the alternatives might be. Contrary to the Government’s position the world is changing. Climate change is becoming a central issue for Governments around the world if not for the New Zealand Government. Many Governments around the world are investing in sustainable transport and putting their investments towards that rather than in the direction that this Government is going. People all around the planet are embracing the importance of the environment and protecting the environment even while we have a Government in New Zealand that is hell-bent on destroying the environment.Hon Dr Nick Smith: Rubbish.Dr RUSSEL NORMAN: This is the kind of world we are inheriting. It is changing. Of course the Government members say “Rubbish.” but the world is changing even if the National Party does not realise it.It is also important to realise that the issue of inequality which characterised the policies of Government in New Zealand through the 1980s and 1990s driving an increase in inequality has now become a global problem. Even very orthodox organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and the OECD are both very concerned about the impacts of inequality even as our Government increases inequality and does not consider it to be a serious issue.In a world where we have these new challenges and issues that were once put to one side have come to the fore we have a Government stuck in the last century. It is most unfortunate for New Zealand because instead of embracing the opportunities for the 21st century we are kind of locking ourselves into the 20th century. We need some new ideas and we need some modern thinking in order to take advantage of the opportunities and the amazing innovation that is going on around the planet. We need a Government that can recognise that and can see that we need new ideas to solve these old problems and that we need some new ideas to solve the new problems as well. The Green Party is very much oriented towards that. We will in Government focus on investing in children and our environment. We will help New Zealand to embrace the economic opportunities that are coming our way rather than turning our back on them as is the current Government’s practice.Let us compare some of the reality against the current Government. National’s focus is on coal and oil. That is one of its major economic development strategies. On “Planet Key” the Prime Minister goes and opens the national headquarters of Bathurst Resources coal which is a coalmining company that wants to destroy a beautiful natural ecosystem on the Denniston Plateau where we have a kiwi habitat in order to extract coal. The Government is very focused on supporting the oil industry so it has opened up a marine sanctuary to oil exploration even though it is likely to drive those last 55 Māui’s dolphins towards extinction as a result of the impact of seismic surveying which is like a very loud noise underwater which deafens the dolphins and drives them towards more dangerous places. There is also the risk with exploratory drilling of oil spills. This is not about the existing production facilities in Taranaki; this is about new exploration. That is National’s focus. So you would think that what must be happening around the world is a huge focus on the oil and coal industry.In fact the fastest-growing sector in electricity generation right now globally is the renewable electricity sector. The International Energy Agency is the organisation that keeps the statistics on this on behalf of the New Zealand Government and other Governments and it says to us that the fastest-growing sector internationally is renewable electricity generation. Yet we have a Government in New Zealand that is firmly focused on the 20th century—even on the 19th century when coal was king—and is very focused on coal and oil as in the 19th and 20th centuries while the whole world is embracing renewable energy. Of course New Zealand could be a global leader in renewable energy particularly in electricity because we have considerable experience in it. We are in fact world leaders in geothermal electricity generation but it is very difficult for those companies to take advantage of that situation because we have a Government that directs all its support towards the fossil fuel industry rather than supporting the renewable electricity industry. Where New Zealand could be taking a lead we are instead facing and supporting the industries of a bygone century. We are getting locked into what the Secretary-General of the OECD called stranded assets as we lock ourselves into these very old carbon-intensive industries. So while the National Government is heading down a coal and oil path the reality is that the rest of the world is going towards renewable electricity.Let us think about some of the other issues where this Government is heading down a different path—climate change. When you look at the Government’s own projections on greenhouse gas emissions New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions are to increase by 50 percent in net terms over the next decade and that is according to the Ministry for the Environment’s projections under current policy settings. There is no other country within the group of advanced countries that is planning to increase its net greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent in the next decade. You would struggle to find any country on the planet that is going to increase its net emissions by 50 percent in the next 10 years. There will be some countries but no other advanced industrialised countries. So New Zealand’s climate change policy is deep denial. The Government as in so many things is in denial about the science and does not want to confront the science around climate change. So it is proposing to increase New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent over the next decade. When you think about it from the point of view of the planet of course it is a disaster. When you think about it from the point of view of New Zealand’s economy it is a disaster as well because we are locking ourselves into carbon-intensive industries which over time will become stranded assets and will be extremely poor-quality value producers for the New Zealand economy in the future.The Green Party by contrast has looked to the world. In the rest of the world we are seeing action on climate change. In the rest of the world many countries are introducing real prices on carbon. The Green Party has put forward a climate tax cut plan whereby we would introduce a price on greenhouse gas emissions in the New Zealand economy in order to drive innovation. The revenue that is raised from that climate tax cut from the carbon tax is returned to taxpayers in the form of a tax cut. Households would be better off because the first $2000 of income would be taxed at zero percent—that is the tax cut for households—and companies would face a lower company tax rate with a reduction in 1 percent in the company tax rate from 28 percent to 27 percent.The climate tax cut is all about saying that we do need a price on greenhouse gas emissions. The OECD is absolutely clear that this is a cornerstone of any country’s climate policy. So we need a price on greenhouse gas emissions. But we want to make sure that the revenue that is generated by that price on greenhouse gas emissions is returned to households and companies in the form of a cut in income taxes—so the first $2000 is tax-free—and a cut in the company tax rate. That means that New Zealand businesses that are innovating and are becoming less carbon-intensive get a double win. On the one hand they get an advantage over their competitors because they face a carbon price. If they are carbon-efficient they get an advantage because of that. In the second place they get another advantage because they have a lower company tax rate. So it is a win-win for the New Zealand economy and pushes our economy in an ever - so very gently way at a pretty low price towards a more efficient economy in terms of greenhouse gas emissions which prepares us for the economy of the 21st century where those who have low carbon-intensive economies will prosper and those who lock themselves into very carbon-inefficient economies—like New Zealand’s where we have much higher greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP—will suffer as the world starts to clamp down on greenhouse gas emissions.Unfortunately the Government is looking backwards to the 20th century and the 19th century by locking New Zealand into this high carbon - intensive economy while the Green Party is very much focused on innovation and on taking advantage of the opportunities that are in the world. The Green Party looks out to the rest of the world while National looks inward and does not understand what is going on in the rest of the world.There are a few other I think salient points with regard to the Government’s economic strategy. If you look at tourism Tourism New Zealand is currently seeking ideas for how to protect the “100% Pure New Zealand” brand because it is being degraded by all the stories about the degradation of New Zealand’s natural environment—in particular the extensive pollution of our fresh water. Our rivers and our lakes are highly polluted. There is another way other than propaganda or public relations to protect “100% Pure New Zealand” and that is to actually take action to clean up our rivers and lakes. The Green Party will take action to clean up our rivers and lakes. It is entirely doable. It is not easy to do but we will do it. Under the current Government it is literally subsidising increased water pollution to the tune of $400 million so the taxpayer is having to subsidise more water pollution.When you look at transport the Government is increasing spending. Tens of billions of dollars are being spent on new motorways while the rest of the world is embracing public transport—that is buses trains and ferries. The rest of the world is also embracing walking and cycling to make more livable cities with lower carbon emissions and much cleaner air. That is the opportunity for New Zealand. We have a Government heading in the wrong direction. It tells us that we must have more cars and more roads. Actually the reality is that the whole world is heading towards having much more carbon-efficient transport much more livable cities and much greater support for public transport walking and cycling. The Green Party will take New Zealand down that path.When it comes to the primary sector of course our entire primary sector exports are built on being clean green and safe. The Government is intent on destroying that brand by undermining the environmental foundations of it. The Green Party will clean up our natural environment and hence protect our “clean green and safe” brand which is the foundation of our food export sector.In all these different ways the Green Party I think is demonstrating the way forward while National has its face to the past and does not understand the opportunities and the realities of the 21st century globe in which we live. Thank you.