Simpson ScottHon SCOTT SIMPSON (Associate Minister for the Environment): It is a pleasure to take part in this Estimates debate and it was a privilege also to attend for the first time the Estimates hearings held by the Local Government and Environment Committee along with my colleagues the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Climate Change Issues the Hon Paula Bennett and of course the Minister for the Environment the Hon Dr Nick Smith. We were able collectively to put to the select committee during the Estimates hearings the case for New Zealand being better off in terms of its environment and natural resources under this National Government than under any previous Government in the history of New Zealand.I am very proud to be part of a National Government team that is delivering on environmental conservation and waste management issues for New Zealand and New Zealanders. We bring to this debate—and it is tangibly proven in terms of the vote Estimates on environment conservation and climate change issues—the investment that is being made in terms of improving what has been for many parts of the country some less than desirable outcomes in environmental terms.It is a bit rich to hear members of the Opposition stand in this Chamber and criticise the water policies announced by the Hon Dr Nick Smith. During the 9 long years of the last Labour - New Zealand First administration there was absolutely nothing done—zero zilch nada done—in terms of improving the water quality of New Zealand waterways and for them to now have the audacity to criticise a plan that is solid robust and practical in the way that they do is entirely inappropriate from their point of view.We bring to the debate on environmental issues our Bluegreen philosophy and that is a pretty simple one. It is one that works very well and it is one that actually represents the largest parliamentary grouping of environmentalists in this House. Often it is the parliamentarians in the Green Party who appear sometimes to claim the moral high ground on environmental issues—that is when they are not talking about social justice issues or whatever. Increasingly they do not represent environmental care and responsibility in this Parliament. It is actually the 44 National Party caucus members who make up our Bluegreen caucus advocating and responsibly bringing policy to the Parliament and to the people of New Zealand in terms of environmental protection enhancement and conservation.I just want to focus on a couple of things in the time that is available to me. One of them is something that has captured the minds and imaginations of I think just about every single New Zealander and that is the big hairy audacious goal of having a predator-free New Zealand by 2050. In my part of the world on the beautiful Coromandel groups volunteer groups NGOs and organisations have just embraced this concept because many of those organisations have been for years—for decades—working away with gritty stubborn determination to control predators in one of the most beautiful parts of New Zealand. But now with the inspirational aspirational goal of Predator Free 2050 they have approached the challenges ahead of them with renewed vigour.I am very confident that in a part of the country like the Coromandel which is geographically defendable in terms of its location it is an ideal and perfect spot for a Predator Free 2050 initiative to be given a really good burst. So as part of our Bluegreen approach that we bring to policies and initiatives run by this Government—an approach that is characterised by sensible pragmatic and environmental decision-making—we are not the party of placards and protest. We just want to get on with it and do things in a pragmatic way.I have been given the delegation for waste and waste minimisation. I have got to say that in the few short weeks that I have had this environment role I have been incredibly impressed with the work that has been done by so many organisations around the country to minimise waste to reduce rubbish going to landfill and to recycle and reuse. We have got some terrific initiatives around the country and I hope that over the next little period of time we will be able to shine a light on some of this terrific work that is being done in the North and the South and the East and the West. Around New Zealand innovative ideas that are great for our environment and for our country. So it was a pleasure to submit to the committee's hearings and I commend the Estimates to the Committee.