Heatley Phil: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Heatley Phil: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:632;Page:4355] 
PHIL HEATLEY (National—Whangarei) 
: 
 I was intrigued by the Minister’s explanation today to the House of Representatives—and I guess to those in the country who are enthusiastic enough to listen in to it—as to why power prices for every home commercial enterprise and industry in New Zealand have skyrocketed over recent years. I was involved in the 1999 election campaign 7 years ago—the Government having been in office for 7 years now. Labour said then that it would effect a change to power prices—that it would stabilise power prices and bring them under control for New Zealand voters. All we have seen in that time is a 40 percent increase on average across the country in power prices for residences throughout New Zealand. Labour has been in Government for 7 years and that is what we have seen. 
I was intrigued by the Minister’s answer to a question today in which he said that the reason why power prices have skyrocketed under Labour over the last 7 years is the cheap cost of Maui gas prior to that and the rundown of Maui gas in recent times with cheap gas becoming more and more scarce. He said that for that reason power companies are starting to build other facilities that are cost-effective and cost-competitive in their use of resources whether they are burning coal or oil or whether they are into hydro or wind generation and that electricity is being generated at a much higher cost than before. In other words he conceded that one of the solutions to keeping power prices low is to find a replacement for Maui gas—to discover other massive gas reserves which we know exist around this country. 
I ask the Minister why he has allowed the Associate Minister of Energy Harry Duynhoven to oversee a bleak rundown of exploration enthusiasm around the country. The block offers—the offers put up off the coast of Northland in recent months—have not been taken up by exploration companies. Around Taranaki and the East Coast of the North Island block offers have not been taken up in recent months by exploration companies. I know that Trevor Mallard said in the House that that was because of tornadoes or hurricanes off the coast of America. That is funny because an awful lot of exploration by rigs seems to take place everywhere else in the world regardless of tornadoes and hurricanes off America while no exploration is done in New Zealand. So that cannot be the reason. I will tell members what the reason is. Here is a headline from the  
Independent 
: “Govt drags its feet on oil exploration”. Bryan Gundersen a partner at Kensington Swan stated that overseas investors “highlighted barriers to investment” in oil exploration and gas exploration in New Zealand. Another headline from the  
Independent 
 is: “Explorers’ begging bowl goes unfilled”. 
No enthusiasm exists for exploration in New Zealand for two simple reasons. Firstly the Government’s regime of taxation and royalties is such a burden to investors that they are not bothering to invest here. Secondly the Government has clamped down on work programmes for exploration companies so much that they cannot meet the goals the Government sets. The hurdles are just too tough; the bureaucracy is too stern. The exploration companies are being ground under the heels of bureaucrats. That is why exploration companies across the world and even in this country will not take up the challenge of finding more cheap gas under our territorial seas which would help to keep electricity prices under control. The Minister will stand up and brag about a whole lot of block offers that have been taken up recently but he will exaggerate the truth. The number of block offers put up compared with those that have actually been taken up is absolutely appalling. We have seen a rundown in exploration enthusiasm in this country.