Parker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Parker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 25 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5563. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
6. 
Hon DAVID PARKER (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: Does he stand by his statement that “exporters are actually doing their best and they need all the help they can get from a Government that is actually in favour of exporting and investing”; if so what support has the Government given Solid Energy to prevent layoffs and redundancies? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 The Government has kept in touch with Solid Energy’s board during this difficult time starting with analysis produced by the scoping study for potential sale back in 2011 and has received advice from the board that the mine in question simply is not viable in the longer term. That of course has made for a very difficult decision-making process for the company and even more difficulty for those who are adversely affected by it. 
Hon David Parker 
: Given that the Spring Creek Mine contributes $37 million in wages and services to the Greymouth economy what steps has he taken to ensure any closure does not economically decimate the local community? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The initial impact of that could certainly affect the community. In light of the fact that coal prices have fallen by about 60 percent in the past 15 months we look forward to the support of the Labour Party in asking objectors to the Bathurst Resources mine to withdraw their appeals so that that company can get on and provide up to 400 jobs on the West Coast which many of these highly skilled well-motivated Solid Energy workers could apply for. 
Hon David Parker 
: What reports has he seen about how different Solid Energy’s performance would be if New Zealand’s currency was not overvalued by 15 percent as estimated by the International Monetary Fund? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: I have not seen any reports on that but what I do know is that there is another company keen to open a mine under exactly the same exchange rate on the West Coast. I would hope that all politicians in this House could call on those who are objecting to the opening of that mine to withdraw their objections so that the people who visited Parliament today can believe that the Opposition politicians believe what they said to them which was that they would do— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The member is not responsible for the Opposition politicians. I call the Hon Damien O’Connor. [ 
Interruption 
] Order! I want to hear this question. 
Hon Damien O’Connor 
: Why don’t you listen for a change? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! There is no need for that exchange. 
Hon Damien O’Connor 
: Can the Minister give an unequivocal assurance to the House that there are no links whatsoever between the job losses and the restructure of Solid Energy and the Government’s plans to float the company on the stock market? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Yes I can give that assurance. The primary driver of the decisions as has been pointed out by the board has been the drop in the coal price. I sympathise with the member who has a problem that he wants to see more jobs on the Coast as we do but his political colleagues stand in the way of those new jobs. 
Hon Damien O’Connor 
: How can the Minister and the chief executive of Solid Energy continue to deny that the sale of Solid Energy was not part of these job cuts when on page 8 of the Solid Energy review document the priorities were to “maximise medium-term cash generation and value uplift consistent with our potential listing objectives [from] our shareholder …” and “preparing Solid Energy for a potential listing at some stage in one to three years”? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Close scrutiny of Solid Energy which began last year has shown that that company needed to have very high coal prices in order to continue with its strategy regardless of any future sale. The coal price dropped by 60 percent. That particular mine has been losing millions of dollars per month. The answer for the workforce is for the objections to the Bathurst Resources application to be withdrawn so that that mine can get up and going providing 400 jobs. We hope the Opposition parties will join with us in calling on those objectors to withdraw in the interests of the people who lost their jobs yesterday. 
Andrew Williams 
: At a time when more than 60 workers are being laid off at the State-owned Solid Energy Huntly coalmine and coal production is being scaled back why in the very same town of Huntly is the State-owned Genesis Energy power station importing coal from Indonesia when the Huntly power station was built in this very location because of the coalfields in the area? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: I am not familiar with all the commercial arrangements that Genesis Energy makes. I understand that what the member is pointing to has been in place for some time. What is clear though is that despite Solid Energy’s difficulties Bathurst Resources is keen to continue with a mine on the West Coast— 
Andrew Williams 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Bathurst Resources has nothing to do with the question I raised. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! And that has got nothing to do with a point of order. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The requirement for the Minister to be terse and to the point has got everything to do with the Standing Orders of this House. And going off from a North Island coalmine to the South Island the West Coast— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The member is now debating the issue. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Bathurst has got nothing to do with it whatsoever. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! It is not a point of order. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: It is so! 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I am not sure what it has got to do with the proceedings of the House. All points of order must relate to the proceedings going on at this time in the House. The quality of an answer is nothing to do with the proceedings. The Minister answered the question. The member Andrew Williams could have raised a point of order in a proper way but that was not the proper way to raise one. 
Andrew Williams 
: Is Solid Energy still a contender for the Government’s planned 49 percent share sell-off or is this another energy State-owned enterprise that is increasingly becoming unsaleable such as Mighty River Power with its Waikato River water rights issues? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: I do not agree with the member’s assertion about Mighty River Power. In the case of Solid Energy the Government can sell it in a public offering to New Zealand mums and dads only if the company is in a viable and sustainable form. We intend to work closely with the board to see whether that can be achieved.