NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) : I am pleased to support the Sustainable Biofuel Bill. I acknowledge what Kevin Hague said about consensus on this issue. One thing I am proud of is that this Government has been able to build relationships across the political spectrum, not only with the Greens but also with the Māori Party, ACT, and United Future.

I want to take a moment to recognise the memorandum of understanding we have with the Green Party that covers home insulation, energy efficiency, and the regulation of natural health products. I also acknowledge the work Kevin Hague has done in terms of the cycleways to ensure that many New Zealanders will have the opportunity to ride them in the future.

The important question in this bill is, what is a sustainable biofuel? That is a debate I am glad we will be able to have in the select committee process, and that is why I am supporting this bill. It is important to talk a bit about the history. In 2008 the previous Government passed the Biofuel Bill. The bill required fuel companies to progressively introduce biofuel blends into the fuel mix in increasing incremental amounts to 2.5 percent of total energy by 2012. Many people called it a biofuels sales obligation. An important point about this legislation is that decisions about which type of biofuel was to be supplied, how much it was blended with fossil fuels, and where it came from would have been up to the industry.

Members opposite have asked for the reasons why we opposed that bill. We opposed it for three particular reasons. We opposed it firstly because we believed that it was mandating the introduction of biofuels, and that was a philosophical point. We did not believe that biofuels should be introduced because the Government was forcing people to do it, but because Governments were responding to commercial, environmental, and market considerations rather than that sense of compulsion. The other reason why we opposed it was we believed that the bill the previous Government put forward would have loaded uncertain costs on to consumers. The evidence from the oil companies that came to the Local Government and Environment Committee was that meeting the obligation, when fully implemented, would add anywhere from 2c to 8c a litre to the cost of fuel. That is why we opposed it.

One thing we are very proud of, and the Minister has talked a lot about it today, is the bio-diesel grants scheme. The key point that we signalled was that we were concerned about the unequal tax treatment between bio-ethanol and bio-diesel. National promised this at the election, and, along with the many good policies this Government has implemented, we have delivered on it. There is $36 million over 3 years to provide a 42.5c per litre grant to produce bio-diesel fuel. I am really pleased that five companies are set to take part. The companies are using a range of sustainable feedstocks to produce bio-diesel, such as tallow, used cooking oil, and rapeseed grown as a break crop. The important thing to note is that the scheme will help to increase the fuel choices available for New Zealand consumers and businesses.

The whole issue, and I acknowledge what members on the other side are saying, is that what we have in this legislation is a first start. I look forward to the select committee looking further at the principles that the Greens have put into this bill. I think it is a really important debate to have about what exactly is a sustainable biofuel, and I acknowledge Rahui Katene’s comments in that regard. We have to do better as a country, in terms of the environment. One good point that Kevin Hague made is that biofuels are part of the argument, but we also have to think more about things like electric cars. Yes, they will serve only a certain number of people, but I think public transport is an important part of this debate about reducing car usage. Biofuels are part of this debate, but so is our use of cars in New Zealand. We have to think more about that, and I am very proud that at the election I supported integrated ticketing. The other day the Government announced that the New Zealand Transport Agency is moving forward. We have seen some significant progress in the area of integrated ticketing, and I really hope that that can be delivered under this Government because we want to encourage more people to use public transport.

This bill is another step the Government is taking that will, in my view, lead to a better and cleaner New Zealand. I am very pleased to be supporting the Green Party. This is another example of the Government working with parties across the House.