11. Question No. 11—Prime MinisterLAN PHAM (Green) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 11—Prime Minister11. LAN PHAM (Green) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON (Prime Minister): Yes.Lan Pham: Does he stand by his Ministers' statement that Cabinet has agreed to recommend a suite of sensible changes to the Fast-track Approvals Bill" and if so would he say it is sensible for Cabinet to allow prohibited activities such as mining on conservation land or areas where critically endangered species call home to have a consenting pathway through the bill?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: In answer to the first leg of your question: yes.Lan Pham: Did his Cabinet consider it sensible that local communities iwi and hapū who have fought for decades to protect their local rivers beaches and forests from damaging development will be locked out of having any voice on fast-track projects in their own neighbourhood?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: What we thought was sensible was to address the infrastructure crisis the housing crisis and the energy shortage that we have.Lan Pham: Is the Prime Minister concerned that the sole Minister tasked with referring projects to the expert panel under the fast-track regime found it "very difficult to distinguish between private and public benefit" and if so can the Prime Minister outline for the benefit of his Ministers who the beneficiaries are of a public housing development versus the beneficiaries of fossil fuel mining in untouched indigenous forest?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: We want to get more jobs we want to have an economy growing and we want people to have more houses.Hon Shane Jones: How does the Prime Minister respond: "Any companies thinking of taking advantage of a fast-track process that shortcuts our democracy side-steps the scrutiny of our processes in Parliament should be well aware a change of Government could result in the loss of consent possibly without compensation." says Lan Pham?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well again we want to encourage investment in this country to get the infrastructure built that we need.Lan Pham: Does the Prime Minister agree with the Minister of Infrastructure that "Even things like mines—they have public benefits" and would he consider the fluorescent severely polluted Ōhinemuri River a public benefit of mining?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Yes. Because you know if you think about mining every electric vehicle (EV)—in answer the first leg of the question: yes because you need mining to make sure you've got an EV you've got a smartphone you've got solar power and you need to make sure wind farms need minerals. And I'll just say to that member the Greens should back fast-track to double renewable electricity. They should end the oil and gas bans so that we can lower emissions. They should back mining so we can have more EVs and more solar panels. And they should back genetic engineering gene tech regulation as well so that we can reduce on-farm emissions.Hon Chris Bishop: Does the Prime Minister accept that a wind energy project for example developed by privately-owned Contact Energy might be a private project but that there is clear public benefit in increasing renewable electricity to address our energy shortage?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Absolutely. This Government takes its net carbon zero 2050 goals very seriously."