Hughes Gareth: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Hughes Gareth: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:677;Page:662] 
7. 
GARETH HUGHES (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Energy and Resources 
: Does he stand by his statement that he is “not aware of any reason to justify a moratorium” on fracking in New Zealand? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY (Minister of Energy and Resources) 
: 
 Yes. 
Gareth Hughes 
: Are moratoriums on fracking in France South Africa Bulgaria and states in Australia Canada and the United States a reason to consider a moratorium on fracking in New Zealand? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I am aware that there are four or five jurisdictions that do have a moratorium. There are many hundreds that do not including New Zealand. 
Gareth Hughes 
: Are Selwyn District Council Christchurch City Council and Kaikoura District Council all wrong to have voted to call on the Government to enact an immediate moratorium on fracking in New Zealand? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: No fracking has occurred in Selwyn or in Christchurch or in Canterbury. No fracking is currently occurring in Selwyn in Christchurch or in wider Canterbury and no fracking is planned to occur in Selwyn or Christchurch or Canterbury. It appears there is a natural moratorium. 
Gareth Hughes 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question was not whether fracking was happening in those districts— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I heard the member’s question very clearly and he asked whether these councils were wrong. So he asked the Minister an opinion. The Minister gave his opinion in response to the question and where a member seeks an opinion like that there is no particular answer. 
Gareth Hughes 
: Is the Minister aware of numerous peer-reviewed scientific reports such as by Professor Vengosh currently in New Zealand of drinking-water contamination by modern fracking practices and is this a reason to justify a moratorium on fracking in New Zealand? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: Of the few international scientists saying that fracking is of significant concern there are hundreds who are saying that it is not. But I actually take my advice from officials and from the Taranaki Regional Council. They are very experienced in this technology in the New Zealand context and they say that there are no environmental effects from fracking that has occurred in New Zealand for the last two decades. Furthermore the technology is getting better and better.  
Gareth Hughes 
: Is this Shell Todd Oil Services and Taranaki Regional Council report from 2011 that found discharge of fracking fluids in Taranaki that resulted in groundwater contamination that was unsuitable for drinking water stock use and irrigation a reason to justify a moratorium on fracking in New Zealand? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: The Taranaki Regional Council asked Hill Laboratories recently to do water-quality tests on areas that were alleged to have been affected by fracking. The tests came back. The report is on my desk. It says that there is no contamination. Landowners were concerned there might be but it seems there was not. You might also be interested to know that the Taranaki Regional Council has got scientific evidence now from over 1000 seismic events in Taranaki that shows that earthquakes are not related to fracking practice anyway. The fact of the matter is that the science says that in the New Zealand context done properly fracking should not be of concern.  
Gareth Hughes 
: Regarding that report and those wells also outlined in the Shield Petroleum and Taranaki Regional Council report that found that over 2007 to 2009 fracking fluid leakage happened at those two well sites that breached the consents and that we saw in the Kapuni wells where we saw that benzene ethylbenzene total xylenes and naphthalenes all exceeded Ministry for the Environment acceptable criteria for drinking water are those two cases justification for a moratorium on fracking in New Zealand? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I do not consider that is a justification for a moratorium on fracking. It might interest the member to know that fracking is being used in both petroleum and geothermal energy resource use in New Zealand. Geothermal is something that the member supports. I would hate him to close the door— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: —on renewable geothermal— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will resume his seat now. That was not what the questioner asked and the Minister saw me on my feet and kept getting out what he wanted to get out. Question time is about answering questions not about making statements the Minister may wish to make. If the questioner is foolish enough to ask a broad question then OK Ministers can often get out a statement they want to make but that question was pretty specific and I think I let the Minister go on long enough. But I do not want to see that happen again.  
Gareth Hughes 
: Will it take a major groundwater contamination and Kiwis getting sick before he puts a moratorium on fracking in New Zealand? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: The member may promote scare tactics. The reality is that in the New Zealand context over the last two decades there have not been environmental incidents. Fracking is used in geothermal renewable generation. He should be very careful. If he rails against fracking he rails against renewable geothermal in this country which also employs thousands of New Zealanders.  
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Kia ora Mr Speaker. Kia ora tatou katoa. Have Maori tribal nations on the East Coast been consulted specifically about the possible practice of fracking in their waters; if not why not and what will the nature of the consultation process be?  
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I am advised that it is not proposed to do fracking in the waters off the coast where the member indicated. He may be interested to know that fracking is actually very very expensive on land. On sea it is almost prohibitive it is so costly. It is rarely done internationally and it has not been done in our waters nationally as far as I know.  
Gareth Hughes 
: I seek leave to table three papers. The first is a peer-reviewed study by Professor Avner Vengosh and others from the National Academy of Sciences that outlines methane contamination of drinking water in 85 percent of fracking water samples in the US.  
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.  
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Gareth Hughes 
: The second document is a US Department of Environmental Protection report outlining over 60 cases of water contamination in fugitive methane migration resulting from fracking in Pennsylvania.  
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.  
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Gareth Hughes 
: Lastly I seek leave to table the  
Shell Todd Oil Services Ltd Maui and Kapuni Production Stations Monitoring Programmes Annual Report 2009-10 
 which outlines contamination of benzine ethylbenzene total xylenes and naphthalenes from the fracking pits.  
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.  
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: How does the Minister reconcile those that propose 100000 green jobs from the development of geothermal energy which involves fracking with those same parties wanting a ban on fracking?  
Mr SPEAKER 
: I do not see how the Minister is responsible for other parties’ views on those matters.