9. Question No. 9—EnvironmentLAN PHAM (Green) to the Associate Minister for the EnvironmentQuestion No. 9—Environment9. LAN PHAM (Green) to the Associate Minister for the Environment: Does he stand by his statement For now the Government has agreed to suspend the obligation to impose SNAs under the NPS Indigenous Biodiversity and we're sending a clear message that it would be unwise to bother"?Hon ANDREW HOGGARD (Associate Minister for the Environment): I stand by my statement that the Government has agreed to suspend the obligations for councils to impose significant natural areas (SNAs) under the national policy statement (NPS) Indigenous Biodiversity. I also stand by my statement last week that there has been no change to statutory or regulatory obligations on councils. Those obligations continue to apply until they are amended. Cabinet has agreed to amend the NPS for Indigenous Biodiversity through a legislative vehicle and suspend the NPS requirements for councils to adopt new SNAs into their plans.Lan Pham: What if anything does he consider the biodiversity collaborative group—set up under the Hon Dr Nick Smith—got wrong when they developed the framework of rules for councils to follow when working with farmers and iwi Māori landowners to identify significant natural areas?Hon Chris Bishop: Point of order Mr Speaker. I'm struggling to work out how that is connected. With the greatest respect to the member who I know is a new member I'm struggling to understand how something to do with Dr Nick Smith in relation to something that the member said relates to the actually quite specific primary question around something that the new Minister has said in relation to the NPS for Indigenous Biodiversity. Ricardo Menéndez March: Speaking to the point of order. The primary did contain elements of the policy that the supplementary questions followed. Additionally it is following comments from the answer to the primary question so that's well within what has happened before where people pick up on a statement that touches on a policy and then they ask supplementary questions in relationship to that policy. SPEAKER: Well the member is a very good advocate for that cause. I'll hear from the Hon James Shaw.Hon James Shaw: Thank you Mr Speaker. According to the point of order the national policy statement—SPEAKER: Just a minute—just a minute. You're very hard to hear there. People might need to do something about that. Hon James Shaw: Speaking to the point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Oh now you're there. Welcome back.Hon James Shaw: Thank you very much. The National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity is derived from the work that was established by Dr Nick Smith in the biodiversity collaborative group for that purpose. I would have thought that the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform and the Minister responsible for that national policy statement would know that.SPEAKER: Yes I think the point is though it doesn't matter who was the Minister at the time policy endures. So I think the question might be better worded. Do you want to have another crack at that question Lan Pham?Lan Pham: Thank you Mr Speaker. What if anything does he consider the biodiversity collaborative group got wrong when they developed the framework of rules for councils to follow when working with farmers and iwi Māori landowners to identify significant natural areas?Hon ANDREW HOGGARD: The biodiversity collaborative stakeholder group did not actually reach a consensus in the end. There was a minority statement by a number of groups so there was no consensus on an outcome. The decision was not taking into account what the biodiversity stakeholder group—actually they didn't land on a decision. So that's the answer.Lan Pham: What according to his own ministry's reporting is the proportion of native species in Aotearoa that are threatened or at risk of extinction? Hon ANDREW HOGGARD: I do not have those numbers on hand at the moment. I can come back to it.Mark Cameron: Why is it important to make this amendment to the national direction to remove the obligation on councils?Chlöe Swarbrick: Kill the birds faster.Hon ANDREW HOGGARD: Because the current use of SNAs are an unjustified intrusion on private property rights and they are a barrier to the great work that landowners have already been doing on their farms. This change will give us time to review the operation of SNAs and formulate ways to work with landowners to recognise them for the work they're already doing and to incentivise them to do more.Hūhana Lyndon: Did the Minister engage specifically with whenua Māori landowners in the suspension of SNAs and if you did what was their feedback?Hon ANDREW HOGGARD: No consultation has been undertaken in this. There will be consultation going into what will be the future use of SNAs. Basically this was signalled in our coalition agreement in the 100-day plan.Hon David Seymour: What is the effect on people in rural New Zealand when they hear statements from urbanites such as "they want to kill the birds faster" as the Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick just heckled while he was answering questions about a serious topic?SPEAKER: Yeah we'll try the question a different way.Hon David Seymour: What is the effect on the psyche morale and mental health of those in rural New Zealand when it is assumed they want to remove intrusive regulations such as SNAs in order to "Kill the birds faster." as I just heard from a member opposite?Ricardo Menéndez March: Point of order. I don't believe the Associate Minister has any responsibility for the first part of that question beyond the fact that it is frankly just ridiculous that it is even being asked.SPEAKER: Well that would really render question time quite useless if we took that view because in the end every Minister's decision affects New Zealanders. If you couldn't ask a question related to that then we'd be in big trouble here.Hon ANDREW HOGGARD: I think rural New Zealand are sick and tired of being portrayed as people who don't care about their land. Our land is so important to us—it is vital. Up and down this country I see more and more farmers engaging in planting activities on their farms creating wetlands planting off streams riparian planting—this is all happening. This is happening under farmers' own steam at the moment. We intend to encourage that and incentivise them to do more.Hūhana Lyndon: How then will this Government protect indigenous biodiversity and taonga species on private land once the requirement for councils to do so has been stripped away and undermined?Hon ANDREW HOGGARD: How we will encourage this is by encouraging the behaviour that has already been happening. As I have said to this House a number of times in my time in farming I have seen a complete mind shift from farmers who are doing more and more every day on protecting biodiversity on their farm encouraging more of it. That is how we are going to be working with farmers to do more of this.SPEAKER: Before we move to question 10 can I just make a broad plea to the House that when questions are being asked or lodged with the Clerk's office the use of acronyms is absolutely minimised so that everybody reading the question can know fully what it's about. During the course of the answers there we had those various acronyms used in their full names—it would be good if they were also in the question. So if the House could take that on board that would be useful."