7. Question No. 7—EnvironmentHon SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel) to the Minister for the EnvironmentQuestion No. 7—Environment7. Hon SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel) to the Minister for the Environment: What is his response to the Initial Economic Advisory Report on the Essential Freshwater Package which says The cost-effectiveness of policies targeting nutrients is likely to be questionable" and that under bottom lines for nutrients he has proposed the area allocated to dry stock farming in the Waikato-Waipā catchment is likely to fall by 68 percent?Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister for the Environment): Firstly the quote is taken out of context because the statement that he refers to asserts that it's made only in respect of macroinvertebrate health whereas the scientific advisory group recommended the nitrogen attribute because the current national policy statement (NPS) does not protect wider ecosystem health. However I would respond in respect of the question that the initial report is interim not final. It's from Local Government New Zealand and the modelling includes costs for changes that were required to be made under the previous Government's policy but have not been put in place. It also assumes that a single NPS nitrogen attribute applies across the whole of the country and does not vary by region. It also assumes that immediate change in land-use practices is required whereas phasing in a policy sometimes over decades is an important part of the design of the freshwater package because of course it spreads the cost of implementation over time. Finally I would note that in the past week misinformation claiming that the proposed changes to farming practices and land use need to be in place by 2025 is incorrect and this is perhaps why he has misunderstood the report.Hon Scott Simpson: When will his Government's economic modelling be available so that the public can judge for themselves the robustness of Local Government New Zealand's findings?Hon DAVID PARKER: There's already as I think I said the other day in the House some 20 pages of economic analysis in the report. There will be further economic analysis once final decisions are taken as to the nitrogen attribute. I would note that Pattrick Smellie in a piece in today's New Zealand Herald said that at $100 million a year which is what he totes up the cost these costs represent less than 1 percent of the roughly $12 billion of raw agricultural output that Statistics New Zealand measures annually.Hon Scott Simpson: Does he agree with the authors that there is little evidence of a strong correlation between nitrogen and phosphorous and microinvertebrate levels?Hon DAVID PARKER: I'm sorry Mr Speaker. Could that question be re-asked? I didn't catch it?Hon Scott Simpson: Does he agree with the authors that there is little evidence of a strong correlation between nitrogen and phosphorous and microinvertebrate levels?Hon DAVID PARKER: That was the point that I made at the first point when I said that the quote had been taken out of context because the scientific advisory group do not recommend a nitrate level on the basis of macroinvertebrates alone; they say it's necessary for ecosystem health more broadly.Hon Scott Simpson: How is he going to respond to the author's strong recommendation that an evaluation be undertaken of the entire package of policies proposed at both an industry and a regional level?Hon DAVID PARKER: Well more economic analysis will be done and indeed after I received that report—that initial report—some time ago it's one of the reasons why we are explicit that we are consulting upon a variation of nitrogen attributes rather than automatically assuming that it's across the whole of the country as the costing in that initial report does.Todd Muller: Does he think good faith consultation on his freshwater plan is occurring today in Winton when you have 150 people sitting outside 396 farmers having to put their apologies in because they're lambing and calving—is this good faith negotiation and consultation?Hon DAVID PARKER: After the strong interest that was shown at meetings yesterday where everyone was able to be accommodated there was an awareness amongst officials that there may not be sufficient space in the hall to which the member refers. A Facebook message was put out to locals last night noting that offering to hold two meetings and suggesting that they spread across that other meeting date. Officials will go back to meet that need.Todd Muller: Will he extend the consultation period beyond six weeks and provide an opportunity for rural New Zealand to engage on proposals that could fundamentally change New Zealand rural life?Hon DAVID PARKER: The six-week consultation period is similar to the consultation period that we use for submissions to select committees so we're not proposing to extend that date. However we have said as select committees normally do that if people are a bit late with their submissions we will still receive them.Kieran McAnulty: What other areas of New Zealand primary production have to respond when environmental limits are breached?Hon DAVID PARKER: It's interesting isn't it that in the fisheries area where environmental sustainability limits are breached systems have to change to bring the fishing industry within the ambit of what is sustainable. There is nothing different really being proposed in respect of this policy.Hon Nanaia Mahuta: Does the Minister believe that both urban communities and rural communities will need to contribute to make a difference to improve freshwater quality?Hon DAVID PARKER: Yes and this package is balanced in that regard and expects improvements from both city dwellers and rural areas. Indeed it's sometimes quite hard for officials to get the balance right. Officials in earlier rounds of consultation were criticised by non-urban populations for not highlighting enough the challenges that are to be met in urban areas. This time in order to meet that expressed desire of rural populations they have explained well what has been required of urban populations and then there has been some frustration expressed at some of those meetings that they're focusing too much on urban issues and not enough on the rural."