Bayly AndrewANDREW BAYLY (National—Hunua): It is a pleasure to be talking in this appropriations debate because this is a very important issue to New Zealand as a number of speakers have already alluded to. I think the debate we have been having is around water quality which is part of it and I am going to come back to that in a minute but also what the Government is doing around climate change and what we are doing around conservation.I am particularly proud to be able to stand here as the chair of the Local Government and Environment Committee but also as a Bluegreen and someone locally who has done some of this work in his electorate with what we are seeing with what is going on with—The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Trevor Mallard): I am going to get the member to sit down for a second and say that it is really important in these debates when it comes to titles that people are factual. I think there is a minor thing called an election" to happen before the member can claim the title.ANDREW BAYLY: Thank you Mr Chair. In terms of the three areas that we are talking about water is the one where there has been a bit of a discussion. I think some of the reforms that the Government has put in place over the last 12 months have been absolutely revolutionary in terms of what we are trying to do with the environment and with water claims.What we have heard today is we have heard a number of people talking about what is going to happen around water with the degradation of the water quality. In fact I would like to remind you that we are now having this debate because the Government has put in place the measurement around water courses so we actually know what the quality of water is. If we did know what the quality of water was as we have for so many years we would not actually be having a lot of the discussions. We have actually put in place these measurements and we are requiring councils to measure them on an ongoing basis. That is a great start point in terms of trying to remediate some of the adverse waterways that we have in New Zealand. It is not just in the rural areas; it is also in the urban areas. At least it is an honest conversation. I do just want to acknowledge the $500 million that the dairy industry and the Government has put into cleaning up the waterways and the further $100 million that was committed earlier this year which are all good things because we all believe in cleaner waterways.I want to also just touch on the wonderful work that Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett is doing in the area of climate change. I think the change this year—not only in terms of signing the Marrakesh Agreement which has been a great thing to set in motion. New Zealand was at the forefront of signing that agreement and to see a 30 percent reduction below 2005 levels by 2030 is great. I also thank her move to reduce the two for one on the emissions trading scheme which again has been a courageous and good move and a good steer for New Zealanders to know which way we are headed—towards minimising our carbon emissions. Also the work that all parties played in the GLOBE International report that has recently been announced about how we are dealing with issues around climate change and reducing our footprint not only in the areas of forestry and how they can mitigate some of those but also a number of other factors that were raised by that very valuable report. I do commend all members of the House in terms of the work that they did in that area.The final area is the area of the Hon Maggie Barry particularly in the area of conservation—this is fundamental to New Zealand protecting our fauna and flora. I think her work in terms of giving the life and the money to actually pursue some of the fundamental protections we want to put in place is absolutely to be valued. Her War on Weeds and protection of our bird species—they are both very credible strong and good initiatives in terms of some of what we are trying to protect. Obviously the kiwi is absolutely important to New Zealand but some of the other very important birdlife that we have in New Zealand—the takahē and things like that—some of those programmes are wonderful and I fully endorse them. Then we get on to the War on Weeds Maggie's list of ten—it has been fantastic in terms of trying to reduce these invasive weeds. Again that conservation is really really important to New Zealand. We all have a right to make sure that these species are removed from our environment and we move to a situation where New Zealand can justifiably continue to be proud of its credentials as a wonderful place to live in terms of protecting our birdlife. I just think the work that has been very comprehensive over the last year and going forward is a valuable contribution to New Zealand."