Hughes Gareth: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHughes Gareth: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 27 August 2013. Volume:693;Page:13108. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]9.GARETH HUGHES (Green) to theMinister for the Environment: Why has her Ministry proposed that applications for exploratory deep sea drilling won’t require public notification given that it is the same activity that the Deepwater Horizon was engaged in when it exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010?Hon AMY ADAMS (Minister for the Environment): The discussion document released yesterday is for consulting on classifying exploratory drilling as “non-notified discretionary” meaning that the regulator will have total discretion to consider and determine the application on its merits and to impose any required conditions. The critical point is that until now there has been zero environmental oversight of such operations but now under this Government there will be.I consider that this classification is appropriate because exploratory drilling takes place over a short space of time involves the drilling of a very small hole in the seabed and when operating as intended has low environmental impact. At this exploratory stage of the process it is the environmental impact that the regulator needs to be satisfied of. Oil spills from exploratory drilling are rare. In the Deepwater Horizon event referred to my understanding is that the failings related primarily to bad well design and integrity and inadequate containment measures. Regulation of both those aspects falls under other pieces of legislation.This Government is committed to ensuring that all petroleum and minerals activities have rigorous environmental and safety controls which means having procedures in place to stop spills from happening and having effective response mechanisms in the unlikely event that spills occur.Gareth Hughes: Can the Minister explain the logic in shutting the public out from having a say on proposals for the riskiest phase of oil drilling which is exploratory drilling but allowing the public to have a say on proposals for production drilling and is the Minister aware that it actually takes the same amount of time 4 to 6 weeks to drill both?Hon AMY ADAMS: These exploratory wells have been drilled in New Zealand for more than 45 years without any environmental oversight and without actually any history of serious issue. The point of this part of the process is for the regulator to be satisfied that the proper environmental controls are in place. And yes I am satisfied that it is appropriate that they do that based on the evidence and on the information and bearing in mind that this is an exploratory fact-finding part of the process. Before anyone could move to full production they would absolutely have to have a full public process. I consider that that is the appropriate part of the process for the public to have their say.Gareth Hughes: So is the Minister seriously telling the people of New Zealand that this Government will ask Kiwis their opinion on what colour to paint Department of Conservation huts but has proposed to deny the public their say on proposals for deep-sea exploratory drilling?Hon AMY ADAMS: What I am telling the public of New Zealand is that the National-led Government is the one that has put in place any environmental protections and safeguards in the exclusive economic zone and that the Labour-Green Government did not see fit to bother with any regulator discretion and certainly no public notifications. So I think the New Zealand public can be very satisfied with the protections we are creating.Hon Maryan Street: Given her reference to the regulator which is the Environmental Protection Authority what contribution to environmental protection can the Environmental Protection Authority offer when it does not have environmental protection as one of its stated purposes?Hon AMY ADAMS: The critical aspect that members need to be aware of is that under the proposed classification the Environmental Protection Authority has full and complete discretion to accept to refuse and to impose conditions based on the merits of the application and on the information put in front of it. I have full confidence that the authority will be absolutely satisfied before it makes its decisions.Gareth Hughes: Given that the Minister cannot guarantee that we will not see a Gulf of Mexico - style oil spill from an exploratory well in New Zealand’s waters why will she not protect our economy our environment and our “clean green” reputation and make exploratory deep-sea drilling a prohibited activity?Hon AMY ADAMS: Well largely because there is no scientific evidence that backs up the member’s assertion that that is necessary.