Norman Russel William: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate 
Norman Russel William: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate 
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Dr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader—Green) 
: 
 The next economic wave of innovation is the smart green economic revolution. It is a revolution in renewable energy sustainable food sustainable transport green chemistry cradle-to-cradle design low-carbon buildings and so much more. The green economic revolution presents an opportunity for New Zealand to create thousands of green jobs. It is a great opportunity. It is an opportunity to build from the platform of our “clean green” reputation in order to sell high-value food to a world that is hungry for natural safe food—a world that is willing to pay a premium for it. It is an opportunity to leverage our experience in clean energy generation to sell clean energy technologies to a world that is desperate for ways to cut carbon emissions. It is an opportunity to harness our smartest minds and our brightest entrepreneurs to embrace a $1.3 trillion global greentech market—a market that is not only the next big thing but also part of the solution to the survival of our very civilisation. The Green Party says that for the sake of our children for the sake of our planet and for the sake of our economy let us ride that green economic wave. 
Today I want to talk about one particular part of the green strategy to catch that global green wave that global green economic revolution. If we want to catch the global green economic wave we need to build on the success of our existing publicly owned energy companies. They are the launching platform for the smart green New Zealand economy. Let me explain. These companies are the nucleus of the growing clean energy sector in New Zealand. All of them have some renewal generation experience. Even Solid Energy now has a biofuel operation although it is otherwise involved in coal. These companies have the size and critical mass to compete internationally unlike many other New Zealand companies. These energy companies have the kind of intellectual property and hands-on practical experience that is desperately sought after in a world that is hungry for clean energy and low-carbon energy. These publicly owned energy companies are worth more today than they were yesterday and they will be worth much more tomorrow. That is why selling them is a huge mistake. They can form the nucleus of the clean energy sector in New Zealand—a sector with truly massive export potential. They have already started to look for export opportunities—for example some of them are building geothermal generation in California right now but in fact the sky is the limit for the export of clean energy technology. The clean energy sector is booming internationally right now. The solar wind and biofuels sector is worth $190 billion in sales this year and it is projected to grow to $350 billion annually within the next decade. New Zealand can get a piece of that global action by being focused and strategic in building on our existing strengths. 
We can also tap into the creative sectors in the private sector beyond the public energy companies. The public energy companies are only the start. I believe that we have a fantastic entrepreneurial spirit in New Zealand. I believe that we have the imagination and the drive to patent new ideas and new technologies that will be part of the global green economic revolution. 
We need to back ourselves instead of relying on other people. Every year at the sustainable business awards there are dozens of new start-ups bubbling with great green ideas. An Investment New Zealand report identified 250 companies and organisations involved in researching developing and commercialising clean technologies in New Zealand right now. These cleantech entrepreneurs need a partner. They need a partner with expertise and capital in order to do the research development testing and marketing to launch their products into the world. That is where the publicly owned energy companies come in. The public energy companies can step up to form alliances with cleantech private partners. They can form partnerships with greentech bright sparks who have new ideas but need a strong partner. Supercharged public energy companies can form the hub of a network of clean-technology joint ventures. Some of them have already started—for example Meridian owns 93 percent of Whisper Tech but we can do so much more. Supercharged energy companies can launch our green entrepreneurs into the world together at the same time as building a safer future for our kids. New Zealand would be renowned for its creative solutions to global problems and global challenges if we did that. Instead of us paying to use other people’s ideas why not invent our own ideas and they can buy ours for a change? 
However a small country like New Zealand will always face the risk that successful companies will be bought up by overseas owners and have their intellectual property their headquarters and their research moved offshore. What happens is we get left with a branch office that sends the profits offshore and has no focus on exporting from New Zealand. It is an all-too-familiar story and it happened to Contact Energy. But we can do something about it: we can keep it Kiwi we can keep the public energy companies in public ownership so that they stay here and form the launching platform for a clean energy export sector. We should keep the energy companies in public ownership so that they stay in New Zealand but we should let them partner with private sector cleantech entrepreneurs. Those partnerships then have an anchor in New Zealand so that we get the ongoing benefits of jobs and research and we do not lose critical mass overseas. Now that is what I call a mixed economy. 
The Government’s so-called mixed-ownership model actually loses the public element of the mix and ultimately leads to the loss of these companies to overseas owners as the anchor of public ownership diminishes. We miss the opportunity as a country to catch the green energy wave. That is not an economic strategy; that is a white flag. That is not a vision for New Zealand; that is a plane ticket for our best and our brightest. Why does this Government want to be a second-rate follower instead of a first-rate leader? National says that energy companies need access to capital. Well fair enough but we do not need to privatise them in order to give them that access. There is an alternative way to get access to capital and that is for the publicly owned energy companies to issue green energy bonds directly to the people of New Zealand. It is a win-win solution. 
After the debacle of the finance companies collapse many New Zealanders are looking for a safe place for their retirement nest egg. Green energy bonds would provide such a safe place while giving public energy companies access to the capital that they need so that they can take advantage of global green energy opportunities. It keeps companies in public ownership and in New Zealand. Supercharged public energy companies partnered with bright green Kiwi entrepreneurs funded by Kiwi mums and dads with safe green energy bonds— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I am not signalling to the member; there is too much chatter going on. 
Dr RUSSEL NORMAN 
: Supercharged public energy companies partnered with bright green Kiwi entrepreneurs funded by Kiwi mums and dads with safe green energy bonds exporting clean technology—now that is a vision for a bright future for our country. I say to National that we tried the old recipe of privatisation and foreign takeover in the 1980s and 1990s and it did not work. We can have supercharged public energy companies partnered with cleantech entrepreneurs funded by Kiwi mums and dads. We can have a clean green economy that works for everyone. 
It is our collective destiny to live at a time of extraordinary opportunity and extraordinary danger. There is a giant wave of economic opportunity headed in our direction. It is a green economic revolution. It is time to put up our heads look forward and start paddling for all we are worth because our very children’s lives depend on it.