Allan KiritapuHon KIRITAPU ALLAN (Minister of Conservation): It is with a deep sense of honour privilege and an overwhelming sense of obligation to future generations that I stand in this House as a member of this Government in affirmation of this Government's declaration of its action on climate in declaring a climate emergency. There are many people in this House that have dedicated their lives to the mana and the restoration of that mana of Papatūānuku. I have heard passionate speeches in this House today that speak to the guts of what this declaration is. It is a clear recognition that climate change is the defining long-term issue of our generation. This is an affirmation that this House has heard the call of our rangatahi of our taiohi asking that we turn our minds and make a declaration that climate change is in a state of emergency. This is an affirmation that we have heard the calls of our friends our relations from throughout the Pasifika nations asking that we declare that the climate is in a state of emergency. We have heard the call from our scientists for generations that have been stating on the best basis of the science available to us that our climate is in a state of emergency. And I want to acknowledge the leadership of the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern who said only three years ago when she stood at the Throne for the first time as our Prime Minister that this climate change is the nuclear moment of our generation. And there was a call that went up and down the nation in affirmation of those words because we know that climate change demands a complete change in the way that we have done things. I hear the spokesperson the new spokesperson for the National Party say But we want to continue to drive the cars that we want to drive." Well actually no longer can we just live a life of status quo because Papatūānuku is demanding something more of us. So this declaration is not without meat on the bones. This declaration comes with a clear indication from this Government that we will do things better. We have just heard from the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern that by 2025 the public sector is expected to become carbon-neutral. Chucking my Minister of Conservation hat on—I was sitting next to my colleague the Minister of Forestry. We are both here to help the Public Service in any way we can to help the Public Service achieve those goals.There is a huge impact on our conservation values. Many of Aotearoa's plants our birds our bats our insects our reptiles our fish—they are not found anywhere else in the world and they are all at risk right now from the impacts of climate change. This is time we cannot get back. Climate change poses much more risk to entire habitats being lost from extreme flooding or fire to changes in the range of distribution of pests. For only a couple of weeks now I've held the portfolio of Minister for Emergency Management. My colleagues from the National Emergency Management Agency across the country have had to adapt radically the way that they are responding to emergency management issues because there has been an uptake as a consequence of climate change. I have no idea why the Opposition may laugh and jest at these things because these are having real-life tangible impacts in rural communities in urban communities. Our future generations have asked us "Please House of Representatives please hear our call for urgent action." and I am so proud that we have a Government that will take bold action that is required. Last year we had floods in the Far North and in the deep South. In my home patch of the East Coast we've got Edgecumbe and Tolaga where our coasts are eroding. This declaration of a climate emergency is a declaration for those future generations and I thank you all those rangatahi for bringing that call to this House. Tēnā koe."