Source: New Zealand Parliament – Hansard
Questions No. 2—Prime Minister
2. Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government’s statements and actions?
Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON (Prime Minister): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Yes, especially our action to support young families with the cost of living. As of yesterday, low to middle income families with young children can register for the new FamilyBoost payment to help them meet the cost of early childhood education. That’s good news for all those families in the squeezed middle, who have been hit hard by the cost of living crisis in recent years. The last few years have been tough, especially for those young families juggling work and childcare. As this is a Government for working Kiwis, FamilyBoost is just one of the actions, along with tax relief, to get on top of the rising cost of living and support Kiwis to get ahead.
Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Is the Government still committed to meeting its emissions reduction obligations under the Paris Agreement; if so, is it the Government’s intention to meet those obligations solely through domestic emissions reductions within New Zealand?
Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Yes, the Government is on track to deliver on its commitments for 2050.
Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Point of order. I was asking the Prime Minister whether he was intending to meet those obligations through domestic reductions within New Zealand.
SPEAKER: Well, he addressed the question.
Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Is it the Government’s intention to meet those emissions reduction obligations within New Zealand by reducing New Zealand’s emissions?
Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: This is a Government that is deeply committed to delivering on our net zero goals for 2050. We have a comprehensive climate strategy that involves transport, energy, waste, agriculture, public EV chargers, doubling renewable energy, and, obviously, giving more tools to farmers, including gene editing.
Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: If the Government doesn’t meet its emissions reduction obligations by reducing New Zealand’s emissions, will it purchase international carbon credits to offset its failure to reach those targets?
Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: What I’d say to the member is that we are on track to hit the first and second emissions budgets. We have actually been consulting on our draft emissions reduction plan. It is out there—[Interruption] It is now, and we look forward to reporting back on that in the fourth quarter of this year.
SPEAKER: Just calm it down. The general sort of, what would you say, interjection across the House, when it’s coming from more than one person, is very difficult.
Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Well, does he agree with Simon Watts that it wouldn’t be realistic for New Zealand to use overseas carbon credits to meet the 2030 target; if so, how does he intend to meet New Zealand’s obligations under the Paris Agreement, given the latest emissions reduction plan indicates the Government will fall short of the target?
Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: I do agree with Simon Watts. He’s doing an excellent job as the Minister of Climate Change, and what I’d say is that we have sent a draft emissions reduction plan out. Consulting, I think, is now closed, and in the next quarter you’ll see a final emissions reduction plan that will lay that out exactly.
Hon Shane Jones: How does a trip to London by a parliamentarian seeking economic and political salvation contribute to the reduction of global emissions?
SPEAKER: Well, the Prime Minister would have to answer for half the House if he was going to do that.
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Point of order. This is a Parliament where you’re allowed to debate ideas and concepts, and it’s a very innocent question as to whether our country’s carbon footprint is enhanced by this needless travel or not.
SPEAKER: That might be true, but, if you go to the heart of it, the arbiter of whether or not a question can be asked is actually the Speaker. And, obviously, that one can’t be.
Hon Shane Jones: Point of order—
SPEAKER: No, no. Don’t argue with the Speaker’s ruling.
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Mr Speaker, the arbiter is not just the Speaker; otherwise, we are going to be the victim of—
SPEAKER: Hang on—wait on.
Hon Willie Jackson: No!
SPEAKER: Who spoke then?
Hon Willie Jackson: Me.
SPEAKER: Just do not speak while there is a point of order in progress.
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Mr Speaker, the arbiter is not the Speaker’s personality; it is tradition and precedent, and I’m afraid this Parliament is being—excuse the words—negatived by unfair rulings. This is a place of waging war in terms of political ideas and debate. We welcome it. We’re one of the world’s great democracies, so please don’t spoil that development.
SPEAKER: And I quite agree with you, but if you look at the Speakers’ rulings that I quoted today, you’ll find that that’s where your argument is. Come along to the Standing Orders Committee and make a case, but, in any event, the Prime Minister has no responsibility for anything that the Opposition does.
Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Is he aware that the Government’s decision to scrap the clean car discount and lower the clean car standard increased New Zealand’s emissions by more than the annual emissions of Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Tonga, Vanuatu, Palau, Solomon Islands, Samoa, and Fiji combined?
Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well, I am well aware that we are going to deliver emissions reduction budget No. 1, emissions reduction budget No. 2. We have an emissions reduction plan that is out there, which you’ll see in the fourth quarter, but I’d just say to that member: if you’re very serious about delivering on net carbon zero 2050, actually support our fast-track legislation; actually support ending the oil and gas ban, because all we’ve had is a just transition from stopping getting domestic gas to importing foreign coal, and that doesn’t seem right.
Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Will next year’s Budget account for the New Zealand Government’s financial liability in the event that the Government doesn’t meet its emissions reduction targets; if not, why not?
Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: You’ll have to wait till next year’s Budget.
Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Point of order, Mr Speaker. I can’t see how that could possibly be Budget sensitive. It’s asking whether the Government is actually going to be accounting for the significant multibillion-dollar financial liability that New Zealand will have in the event that it doesn’t meet its targets.
SPEAKER: Well, that’s a hypothetical, to say the least, and the Budget for next year clearly hasn’t been set. Do you have another question?
