Wagner Nicky: Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Wagner Nicky: Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:655;Page:4757] 
NICKY WAGNER (National) 
: 
 I rise to support the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill in its third reading. It is great to see so much support for this bill. It is extremely positive to have support right across the House and this consensus is a really important step towards a new reshaped emissions trading scheme bill that will be introduced into the House later this year. 
The cross-party Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee is working hard and tonight we have heard my colleague Hekia Parata tell us how complex the discussions have been. We are all very well aware that this work is taking time but we believe that it is time well spent if it means we get an intelligently-thought-out and well-supported sustainable emissions trading system. 
Climate change is a pressing complex global issue and the cost of getting the legislation wrong is high. Governments around the world are struggling to find the best way to cope with greenhouse gases and global warming without crippling their economies. In a time of international recession finding workable solutions is even more difficult. We want to make sure we get a good emissions trading scheme but we do not want to get it at the expense of our economy. New Zealand is committed to making emissions reductions but we want to reduce those emissions in ways that result in the least cost to our society and the least cost to our economy. We need to capitalise on the Kiwi can-do attitude and to focus on New Zealand’s creativity and innovation in order to develop new ways to manage our lives our organisations and our businesses so that we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and we can protect our environment. 
As we know New Zealand has a very unusual greenhouse gas profile. For a developed country it has a uniquely high percentage of agricultural emissions. Almost 50 percent of our greenhouse gases come from the farm in comparison with other developed countries which usually have only 12 to 15 percent of their emissions from agriculture. Unfortunately our emissions profile is particularly difficult to manage. We will of course be using all our expertise and New Zealand has a good deal of expertise in research and development in the agricultural and forestry sectors. We will use this expertise to try to reduce these levels. New Zealand will lead the development of an international research centre focused on greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector. This will be a great contribution from our country to the global issue. 
We will also be doing everything we can to tackle the other major areas that produce greenhouse gas emissions in our society: energy use and transport. One of the most vital things we need to do is cut back on our use of fossil fuel energy generation and we can do that; we can do it in several ways. 
Last week the Prime Minister announced the new home insulation fund Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart. I have to say that it has been particularly enthusiastically received in my home town of Christchurch. The combination of a cold climate old housing and an air pollution problem makes Christchurch a prime suspect for more insulation. Christchurch people will enthusiastically support the insulation fund and its clean-heating capacity. It is lucky that the Government has announced in the Budget that it is spending $323 million over 4 years to retrofit 180000 homes with insulating and clean-heating devices. The amazing thing is that over half a million New Zealanders will benefit from the scheme. They will benefit by using less energy and by keeping themselves warmer and drier. Insulation and clean heat will also cut greenhouse gas emissions from those homes and improve the carbon footprint of our cities.  
The Government is also focusing on renewable energy by working on the national policy statement for renewable energy generation and by streamlining the Resource Management Act processes. I have been working hard on that committee the Local Government and Environment Committee and we are convinced that the new processes will also improve the renewable energy consent process. Increasing renewable energy will allow a decrease in the use of fossil fuels to generate power which will cut our emissions. The bigger the percentage of renewable energy the smaller our greenhouse gas footprint.  
To help curb greenhouse gas emissions from transport the Government is supporting alternative fuels and transport options by allocating $36 million to a bio-diesel grant programme. We are also introducing legislation to exempt light electric vehicles from road-user charges. Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly more common and much more cost-effective. Their exemption should make them even more attractive. I have to say that my blue electric scooter is a fabulous vehicle for an inner-city electorate. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: It’s not a mobility car? 
NICKY WAGNER 
: It is an electric scooter. It is fun to drive it is almost silent in a noisy city and I never have any problem finding a park. 
New Zealand is a country that values its “clean green” brand. Our two major industries are predicated on having a quality environment. Tourism and agriculture lean heavily on our natural environment and we must understand that tourists are the first to appreciate clean green beautiful New Zealand. If one is buying food from a country one wants to make sure that the country is a safe place in which to produce food. 
New Zealanders identify closely with the natural environment and want to be responsible when it comes to climate change. Managing climate change and creating an emissions trading scheme is a complex difficult task. New Zealand has had a chequered past in trying to develop a successful response to managing greenhouse gases. The consensus that is developing in the House augurs well for the development of a long-term sustainable and successful emissions trading scheme. 
Getting back to the bill forestry is an important part of our environment our economy and our response to climate change. Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker Roy.