Heatley Phil: Environmental Reporting Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHeatley Phil: Environmental Reporting Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 05 March 2014. Volume:696;Page:16362. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon PHIL HEATLEY (National—Whangarei): I stand to support the first reading of the Environmental Reporting Bill. I was intrigued by Moana Mackey’s discourse saying that the Government is in some way interfering with the process because it is deciding what areas are going to be reported on. As it happens we have decided that the areas to be reported on are air atmosphere and climate fresh water land and marine with biodiversity as a theme across all the domains. What we have decided is that it will cover everything. I am not sure whether the Labour Party is upset because we have missed out the spiritual realm we have missed out the fourth dimension or we have missed out outer space. We are not reporting on outer space. It is true that Amy Adams has said the environmental reporting will be on the five environmental domains. It covers everything—air atmosphere and climate fresh water land and marine. I say sorry to the Green Party that it does not include the spiritual realm it does not include the fourth dimension and it does not include outer space but apart from that it does in fact cover everything.This bill creates a national-level environmental reporting system—which incidentally the Labour Party never had in the 10 years it was in Government—reporting on the environmental condition of these five domains on a regular basis. It will be independent and trusted by the public as independent fair and accurate. I am glad because the reality we have seen in the past particularly with the Green Party over the last 5 years is that it will bring statistics from here statistics from there statistics from elsewhere and anywhere in the world when that might suit its argument but very rarely does the Green Party use statistics from New Zealand. I will give you an example from the oil and gas industry. The Green Party never holds up New Zealand’s oil and gas industry’s track record because that is so very very good. What it does is it picks out isolated incidents that might occur elsewhere in the world however rare. It always does that. It never talks about Taranaki and how successful that has been environmentally. It decides to pick out what has happened elsewhere in other parts of the world.I would like to thank Amy Adams for bringing this particular piece of legislation forward because it fulfils a key commitment made in our 2011 environment manifesto. It provides comprehensive mandatory and independent environmental reporting. New Zealanders will be better informed about the state of our environment and they will get the information regularly. The plan is that reporting on each of those five domains—fresh water land marine air and atmosphere and climate—along with biodiversity will happen at least every 6 months. Every 6 months there will be a release on one of those domains and then at the culmination of a 3-year period there will be an overarching report on the five of them and how they interact with each other. So 3-yearly we will get a comprehensive report on each of those five and their interactions and that is a huge step up from the environmental reporting that has occurred previously particularly under previous Governments. So I thank Amy Adams for bringing this bill forward now as part of our policy manifesto going into the 2014 election.I know that a considerable amount of work has been done. I thank the Green Party for its support on the bill. It is supporting it. I am disappointed in the Labour Party. It is not supporting any of National’s good stuff. I am not sure why. I think it just wants to make a point but the Green Party sees the environmental benefits of us doing this. The Labour Party does not. The Labour members are just sort of opposing it for the sake of it—good for them. The signals they are sending out there to the electorate are a bit unusual—they are kind of a bit all over the paddock—but there is a game plan in there somewhere. There is a game plan in there somewhere. I do not know whether the leader has been consulted on their stance.Hon Member: Which one?Hon PHIL HEATLEY: I do not know whether David Cunliffe has been consulted on their stance—sorry Mr Cunliffe the press secretary. I do not know whether either of them has been consulted but it would be a good idea if Trevor Mallard got off his seat ran upstairs and told David Cunliffe what is going on down here. The Labour Party is voting against the environment. The National Party is voting for it. The Green Party is voting for it. I understand that New Zealand First is voting for it. Every party in this House is voting for the environment today except the Labour Party and I do not know why. I support Amy Adams. Thank you Amy.