8. Question No. 8—Economic and Regional DevelopmentNAISI CHEN (Labour) to the Minister for Economic and Regional DevelopmentQuestion No. 8—Economic and Regional Development8. NAISI CHEN (Labour) to the Minister for Economic and Regional Development: What changes has he announced to Government Procurement Rules to support the objectives of the carbon-neutral Public Service?Hon STUART NASH (Minister for Economic and Regional Development): The Government has a clear commitment to show leadership on climate change and part of this involves a transition to a carbon-neutral Public Service. Government agencies quite rightly need to play their part and lead by example and influence the private sector and NGOs. Alongside the Minister for Building and Construction I have announced a new procurement guide for public agencies. It is designed to offer practical guidance to the public sector to private sector suppliers and construction and industry reps to make the right decisions and to build a good understanding about the best way to approach tenders for public projects. I've long been a champion of greater use of low-carbon materials like timber in building and construction projects and we want that embedded in decision making and design thinking across the wider public sector.Naisi Chen: How was this procurement guide developed?Hon STUART NASH: This guide reflects the Government's goal to transition to a carbon-neutral Public Service. A number of Government agencies the construction sector and industry groups have contributed to the development of the guide. While it is not designed to be a technical document it is a first step towards supporting Government agencies to be a significant influencer for not only operating of the building but also construction itself. We know the greatest opportunity to reduce operational carbon emissions is at the planning and design phases of a project.Naisi Chen: How will this guide work in practice for Government agencies?Hon STUART NASH: The relevant agencies will apply the guide to decisions about new buildings with an estimated value of $9 million or over. They will record decisions about the way they choose design options at the outset. If an agency wants to proceed with an option that is not the lowest-possible carbon option available then it must be signed off by the chief executive. It is great to see that the use of low-carbon materials will be embedded in decision making and design-thinking processes. It is also in line with the recommendations of the Climate Change Commission's final report. The commission has confirmed that we are making good progress to reduce emissions but a step up is now required. The transition to a low-emissions future will create jobs and new opportunities for Kiwi businesses. By signalling our direction now we will provide businesses with certainty to invest in new technology or processes.Hon Todd McClay: Meeting the Government's new 5 percent requirement for Māori business procurement target will Government contracts be awarded based on ethnicity to meet this target rather than the best provider of a good or service; and how will that meet the requirements of this question?Hon STUART NASH: In answer to that what I've seen of the development and the engagement of Māori businesses they will well and truly meet that 5 percent.