Woodhouse Michael: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Woodhouse Michael: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 25 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:3907. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) 
: 
 At the risk of sounding sycophantic I want to reflect on the National Party’s annual conference and in particular—[ 
Interruption 
] Never never really but I understand the risk. I want to talk about Phil Heatley’s speech to the party faithful at the conference in Auckland on Saturday because I think that it was one of the best speeches I have heard one of our Ministers do and in particular it was about the opportunities for oil and gas exploration in this country. He told the party faithful a story about a province in this country; a province that can successfully marry dairying tourism and oil and gas exploration completely comfortably and has done so for decades. That province— 
Hon Nathan Guy 
: Lucy Lawless would know that. 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE 
: That is right; Lucy Lawless would know exactly where that is because that is the province of Taranaki and the city of New Plymouth. I think it stands out as the model for what can be done when environmental risks are managed and when there is a comfortable coalescence with all of those things—dairying tourism and oil and gas. The numbers around Taranaki are quite compelling. Where New Zealand’s GDP per capita is at around $46000 Taranaki’s GDP per capita is at around $88000. Oil and gas is a significant contributor to the increase over the national average. 
There is another province in this great country of ours and it has dairying and it has great tourism and it may—just may subject to further exploration—have some fantastic oil and gas fields not far off its shores. 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: Canterbury? 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE 
: That is the province of Otago—close Mr Brownlee but not quite. In fact though it is at the south end of the Canterbury Basin I think they call it. 
I am particularly concerned to ensure that city leaders in Dunedin are unequivocal about their support that as long as environmental risk can be managed that resource should be exploited. So I was a little concerned to read in this morning’s  
Otago Daily Times 
 that the Dunedin City Council fracturing into two camps has narrowly decided to join calls for a moratorium on fracking. Never mind that there is no fracking going on in Otago never mind that the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has not yet completed her inquiry into the risks of fracking and certainly never mind that there was no community consultation before the council passed this motion. It is important because I think as a city leader that it is time to stand up and say this: as long as the environmental risks can be managed Dunedin must promote must lead and welcome the Anadarkos and the Shell Todds who have the exploration licences and head out off the shore at Karitane and down at Nugget Point and explore those fields that Mr Heatley pointed out. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Not Nugget Point! 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE 
: Yes Nugget Point; yes marine reserve that is right. It will be comfortably coalescing I am sure with the environment down there and the tourism opportunities and the dairying opportunities in South Otago. The three can coalesce because the city actually contributed to a multi-party economic development strategy that said: “Dunedin will be one of the world’s great small cities. It will be known as a confident competitive knowledge centre”. It then goes on to talk about things like business vitality a compelling destination a magnet for skills and talent and so on. When I was a child— 
Dr David Clark 
: How about Hillside? 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE 
: When I was a child—I will come to that Dr Clark—25 percent of the companies listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange had their head offices in Dunedin. In the late 1970s and early 1980s there was a flight north and across the Tasman. That 25 percent—that is right go and have a look at the numbers—the Donaghys the Fisher and Paykels the Shacklocks and the McLeods all had their head offices in Dunedin. I cannot stand by and look the people of Dunedin in the eye and say that it is sad what has happened to Hillside that they cannot compete with larger and more technologically adept companies internationally and then turn round and say that we are equivocal about oil and gas exploration. I cannot do it. So I stand up today and I say as a city leader that I support those companies coming in. They had expertise in mining and deep-water mining in particular and I think that this would be great for the city. I call on other leaders to do the same and in particular the Dunedin City Council.