Young Jonathan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Young Jonathan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 27 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5751. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
6. 
JONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth) 
 to the  
Minister of Energy and Resources 
: What steps is the Government taking to encourage the development of New Zealand’s oil gas and mineral resources? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY (Minister of Energy and Resources) 
: 
 Yesterday the Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill passed its first reading in this House. The bill is a significant step in the Government’s commitment to promote responsible exploration and production of oil gas and mineral resources. The bill will also ensure that the country receives a fair financial return for those minerals so they can contribute more to our economic development as well as providing New Zealanders with greater confidence in how the Government allocates rights to resources and how it is managing and regulating those rights. 
Jonathan Young 
: What reports has the Minister seen on the potential of the oil gas and minerals sector? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I have seen a report from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment that shows that New Zealand is set to earn more than $3 billion in royalties from oilfields and gasfields already in production. If patterns of exploration and development increase future royalty income could generate up to $12.7 billion for New Zealand. This is new money that can be invested in schools hospitals and roads. This is why the Government wants to realise the economic benefits from developing our oil gas and mineral resources in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. 
Jonathan Young 
: What other work is the Government progressing in relation to ensuring a strong regulatory regime for oil and gas exploration? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: The Government recently passed new environmental legislation that will allow us to carefully manage development in an environmentally responsible way of our enormous resources that lie in our oceans. We also recently reviewed New Zealand’s marine oil spill preparedness and response capability. The Government is also currently reviewing the health and safety regulations that apply to petroleum operations and is reviewing the minimum insurance requirements for offshore installations. I wait with interest for the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s investigation into hydraulic fracturing. So as you can see there are several reforms going on at the moment that will ensure that we have a more robust but progressive regulatory regime. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Kia ora tatou. Does the Minister agree with the submission of Ngati Porou in response to the review of the Crown Minerals Act that preceded the legislation he mentioned earlier that “the Crown is proposing what Ngati Porou considers to be the progressive removal and/or softening of environmental protections and the already limited protections available to iwi.”; if not why not? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: No. The Crown’s obligations to iwi and to the environment are already significant. Processes for discharging those obligations are established through the minerals programmes. Those obligations and principles set out in the minerals programmes are sound and broad enough to take care of what the member raises.