Robertson Grant: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRobertson Grant: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 17 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6792. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]6.GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all his statements?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance): Yes in the context in which they were made.Grant Robertson: Does he stand by his statement of 6 September 2014 in relation to the sale of Lochinver Station: “We will not block that sale.”?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I do not actually recall the context in which that statement was made. What I can say is that decisions made about that sale have been made consistent with the law with the Minister exercising their statutory responsibility knowing that like the CraFarm decision it could be reviewable by the court.Grant Robertson: Which of the following statements is correct: Paula Bennett’s who said that the large size of the Lochinver Station was a factor in the decision to reject the bid to purchase it or Steven Joyce’s who said it was a “ridiculously small amount of land” in the North Island?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I think the member needs to understand the way that this process actually works. Anyone can have an opinion about any particular transaction but the decision is actually made by two Ministers who have to ensure that the application complies with I think 23 separate tests. The fact is that New Zealand has by any world standard a tough set of tests for anyone to be able to buy sensitive land in New Zealand.Grant Robertson: Does he agree with Steven Joyce’s statement that opposition to the sale of Lochinver Station is “xenophobia”? [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! We are descending back to where we were last week with a continual interjection going across the House between the front benches. It will cease.Hon BILL ENGLISH: If he was making that statement about Labour Party opposition then it certainly would be xenophobic because those members oppose anyone with a Chinese name buying anything in New Zealand. What else could he call it?Grant Robertson: Does he stand by John Key’s statement that “we as a Government try to be both predictable and consistent and I think that’s really important when it comes to foreign investors.” and how does he think that accusing anyone who opposes the sale of xenophobia accepting 716 applications and now accepting one might be inconsistent and hypocritical rather than consistent and predictable?Mr SPEAKER: Order! That was a very long question.Hon BILL ENGLISH: No I do not believe that the Prime Minister is hypocritical. I believe that a party that pretends that it stands for diversity and welcoming of migrants and then says that if you have got a Chinese name you are not allowed to buy a property might meet the criteria the member referred to.Dr Russel Norman: Does he stand by his statement that climate change presents a significant challenge to the country’s infrastructure and therefore will he extend the sentiment in that statement to agree with Pope Francis who said recently in his encyclical Laudato Si’ that climate change represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity today?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Yes and no.Dr Russel Norman: Does he agree with the International Energy Agency the World Bank the OECD and the United Nations which have warned that at least two-thirds of discovered fossil fuels will have to stay in the ground to avoid catastrophic climate change and hence will he support moves to divest from fossil fuels?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I have not seen the advice given by those organisations. But probably the best thing the member can do to ensure those fossil fuels stay in the ground is to stop using his car stop catching a bus and bike everywhere—oh and stay out of the airplanes.Dr Russel Norman: Does the Minister understand that it is about structural change so that we can have low-carbon alternatives; and is it ethical for the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to be investing in fossil fuel companies effectively taking a bet that the world will take no action to avoid catastrophic climate change?Mr SPEAKER: Again either of those two supplementary questions—the Hon Bill English.Hon BILL ENGLISH: I think it is a kind of Green Party ethics that said it is a structural problem about which they do not have to do anything in their personal capacity—like stop catching planes.