10. Question No. 10—Climate ChangeHon SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel) to the Minister for Climate ChangeQuestion No. 10—Climate Change10. Hon SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel) to the Minister for Climate Change: What was the total sum of money paid to the Crown by Emissions Trading Scheme participants using the fixed price option for the year ending 30 June 2019 and has additional revenue if any been offset with any tax reductions?Hon JAMES SHAW (Minister for Climate Change): In answer to the first part of the question in the year ending 30 June 2019 the Crown received $421 million from participants who chose to use the fixed price option instead of surrendering New Zealand Units under the emissions trading scheme. In answer to the second part of the question no there has been no offset because the fixed price option does not represent any additional cost to those businesses. Those businesses have chosen to pay $25 to the Government instead of surrendering a unit purchased from the market because they consider this to be the lowest cost option available to them.Hon Scott Simpson: What will happen to the $421 million collected from fuel users industry and electricity users?Hon JAMES SHAW: The simplest analogy that I can think of is that it's like having someone pay $25 into your cheque account when you still owe money on your mortgage. You might have money in your cheque account but if your liabilities still outweigh your assets you could spend that $25 on something else other than your mortgage but you'd still need to generate revenue to pay your mortgage.Hon Members: What?SPEAKER: Yeah I am going to ask the member to ask the question again because I think it was pretty specific and I'm not sure that the Minister got that close to it.Hon Scott Simpson: The question was: what will happen to the $421 million collected from fuel users industry and electricity users?Hon JAMES SHAW: Well it's an asset held against the liabilities of the Crown.Hon Scott Simpson: Does the Minister agree with James Shaw MP who said Every single Kiwi over 18 will also get a $250 dividend bonus at the end of the year based on the carbon tax revenue."; and if so is he planning to return this $421 million to New Zealanders in the form of a carbon tax dividend?Hon JAMES SHAW: The fixed price option under the emissions trading scheme is not a carbon tax.Hon Scott Simpson: Does he agree with James Shaw MP who has said "We say tax pollution more and tax people's incomes less."; and if so will he therefore now be arguing for a $421 million tax cut to be legislated?Hon JAMES SHAW: In answer to the first part of the question yes; in answer to the second part of the question no. There have been no decisions made on the recycling of revenue in relation to the emissions trading scheme. But I want to point out that cash that comes in as a result of the fixed price option does not count as revenue because it is held against the liability of units that are still in circulation under the emissions trading scheme (ETS). The member might know that because it was the National Party that put the fixed price option in place in 2009.Hon Scott Simpson: Will the Government amend the ETS to remove the price cap option and will this increase the price of petrol by around 18c a litre if the emissions price rises up to around $100?Hon JAMES SHAW: The Government has already announced that we will be replacing the fixed price option with a cost containment reserve and that is in amendments to the emissions trading scheme legislation that will be entering into the House shortly."