"A Bluegreen Future"

New Zealand National Party - 2001 Annual Conference

by Hon Dr Nick Smith

21st July 2001

Dress sense has never been my forte. I make Bill English look fashionable. As a schoolboy in the 80's my mother always told me, "Blue and Green should never be seen".

Leader Jenny, President John, Delegates

Fashions change. National must change too. This century economic success and environmental excellence must be meshed together. Our party must build a blue-green future for New Zealand.

This is about much more than politics. Yes, National does need to extend its support base beyond those wanting a strong economy. But more importantly, sound environmental policies are a prerequisite to securing high standards of living for New Zealanders.

Our economy is founded on nature. Over 70% of our forex comes from food, fibre and tourism. When you are half a world away you cannot win on price. We depend on environmental excellence and quality for economic survival.

It is not just in commodities that a clean, green New Zealand is important. Knowledge industries are far less constrained by distance - which is to New Zealand's advantage. The most important raw commodity in a knowledge economy is talent - skilled technologists. If we are to retain our best and brightest and attract those from other nations, lifestyle is important. A clean environment and a recreational mecca, are some of the cards we need to play to beat the brain drain.

In sizing up the environmental challenge, we need to know how good we are. You will have seen the 100% Pure Campaign run by Tourism New Zealand. Is it true? For the first time, this year we have a quantitative measure on environment sustainability. It is the Green equivalent of GDP, and it gives us 74 out of 100 for sustainability.

The World Economic Forum analysis on environmental sustainability of 122 Countries ranked us 6th. Most interestingly, it highlighted our areas of strengths and weaknesses.

On Air Quality we ranked No 1, which tells you just how badly polluted the air is in many other countries. On water quality No 3. On Forest Sustainability No 8. On soil degradation No 26. On biodiversity we ranked No 122 out of No 122. Perhaps you can understand why Simon Upton and myself put so much effort into the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy. It is New Zealand's No 1 environmental issue.

I also want to use this study to bury two green myths.

The Green party would have us believe that economic growth is the enemy of the environment. The opposite is true. There is an enormously strong correlation between GDP and environmental sustainability. The data shows countries are generally rich and green or poor and dirty.

The second myth is that socialist states are better at looking after the environment, than more capitalist economies. It is a total fallacy.

The greatest man-made environmental tragedy of the 20th century was the desecration of the Aral Sea in Central Asia by the Soviets. The Volga river matched its name and became the worst and biggest open sewer in the world under communist rule.

In contrast, rivers like the Thames in the UK, the Rhine in Germany and the Hudson in the United States substantially improved under market economies over the last century.

It is interesting to note that the top performing country in environmental sustainability is Finland, with an 81% score. And this is an economy that has outperformed us in growth terms for each of the past six years.

I say again - we must undo the Kiwi mindset that economic and environmental success are at loggerheads. And as we strive to be a fast growing economy, we must also strive for environmental excellence.

My goal, my vision, is that New Zealand be the No 1 ranked Nation in environmental sustainability by 2020.

It means zero tolerance of sewage being poured into the ocean.

It means ensuring the kiwi surviving on mainland New Zealand.

It means tougher standards on vehicle emissions and fuel residues.

It means getting proactive about soil erosion and land degradation.

It means stopping the clearfelling of Silna forests in Southland.

It means farmers taking seriously the issue of cattle run-off into natural watercourses.

It means declaring war on possums and ferrets.

It means city dwellers getting serious about recycling.

I'm not saying it is easy. I am saying it is possible and I am saying National is the only party that can provide the leadership necessary to deliver.

Nor should we be shy of our environmental heritage.

When we are No 6 in the world, and been in Government for the best part of the last 50 years, there is a lot that we can be proud of.

National Governments created the Mount Cook, Mount Aspiring, Nelson Lakes, the Urewera and the Kahurangi National Parks. And our newest National Park to be gazetted next year on Stewart Island, was initiated by the Shipley Government.

In the past decade, National passed six major environmental statutes.

The Forests Act required sustainability in indigenous forest management.

The Antarctic Protection Act made the ice into a world park.

The Biosecurity Act and instant fines meant better border control.

The Fisheries Act made sustainability of our fisheries resources a legal requirement.

The Ozone Protection Act ensured we did our bit internationally to phase out CFC's.

The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act was the first statute in the world to put sensible controls on genetic engineering.

In the 1990's we also established the Environment Court, the Environmental Risk Management Authority and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.

If I have a regret about Nationals Environmental policies in the 1990's it is that we were far too shy in selling our successes.

Those who were expecting environmental leadership from this Labour/Alliance/Green Government will be disappointed.

One of the big environmental challenges of our time is marine conservation. Over the last century, we have reserved 30% of our land area, but we have protected less than 1% of our coast and oceans.

Labour proudly boasted on the campaign trail it would have 10% of our coastline in reserves. The Alliance, upped the bidding to 20%. The Green party said it should be 50%.

From 1990 to 1999, National created 14 new marine reserves. This record was slammed by Labour and the Greens as pathetic. We had a further 8 in the pipeline. Do you know how many new reserves the government has created in its first 18 months? - ZERO. And to rub salt into the wound, the Budget proposes that not one new reserve will be created in the next 12 months.

The second Green failure I want to highlight is the political nonsense over sustainable forestry on the West Coast.

The Government has not got its environmental head straight. They cannot differentiate between sustainable forestry that is environmentally sound and destructive clearfelling that is environmental vandalism.

They blew $120 million to stop world class sustainable forestry by Timberlands on the West Coast while they turned a blind eye to Maori clearfelling of indigenous forests in Southland. It is economic and environmental lunacy. It is also another case of Labour's difficult rules, difficult race style of Government.

To rub salt into the wound, they then proceeded to deck out the Beehive top to bottom, wall to wall, in clearfelled African rainforest timber. National put a stop to that international embarrassment. This weeks revelations that the Forever Timber Company, using the Government's own money, has started up a new indigenous forestry operation on the West Coast is the ultimate humiliation for Helen Clark. You've got to give it to the West Coasters and Kit Richards. This is a coup of ordinary sensible New Zealanders against a stupid, arrogant government that got an issue all wrong.

The end result is that the Government has blown $120 million to stop 8000 cubic metres of indigenous forestry only to trigger a new 7000 cubic metres enterprise. It works out at $120,000 per cubic metre - or as a coaster might put it - "that timbers worth the price of gold".

The environmental tragedy is that during all this saga, the clearfelling of the Catlins and Rowallan Forests continues unabated.

And on energy efficiency, the Government has also gone astray. Here we are potentially facing a 1993 style power shortage with wholesale power prices at five times the normal level, and lake levels at 70% of average, and they cut the budget of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.

In Opposition Pete Hodgson described National's $10.8 million budget for Energy Efficiency as woefully inadequate, yet in Government with the Greens cuts it to $9.6 million.

But the greatest environmental tragedy of this Government is the crippling raid on the balance sheets of our environmental research institutes.

The key to so many of our environmental challenges is new technology and top research. Yet this Government, in the Budget just announced, has taken millions from our research institutes in direct contradiction to their election policy.

The National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research has been raided of $15 million. I bet Mr Hodgson is not telling climate change delegates in Bonn this weekend that’s he's robbed millions from the very research institutes that we rely on we need to help fund solutions to the technically difficult issue of greenhouse gas emissions. Landcare has been done for millions too. This is short sighted stupidity. And it is not just a one off raid. These Science Institutes are now going to have to give Government a profit every year. This policy of the Labour/Alliance/Greens Government would make Ruth Richardson jealous. Were these not the same people who deemed profit in public health an awful sin and, if so, why is public science any different?

The last issue in which I want to tackle the Government and the Green Party is cannabis. There is nothing clean or green about this mind altering, cancer causing pungent drug.

If cannabis smoke was put out by an industry, the Greens would want them prosecuted and shut down today.

Cannabis has no role in an environmentally clean and economically successful nation. It is a losers drug and only a losers Government would contemplate making it more accessible.

The Caucus sustainable Development team with the help of the Bluegreens has been doing the hard policy yards towards our 2002 policy.

There are five policy principles that we've signed up to.

The first and most important is sustainability. It is not wrong to fell a log or catch a fish; it is wrong to do so unsustainably.

Sustainability is not new but we have significant unfinished business to resolve on issues like forestry, land management and water use.

Practical application of this principal to an area like forestry would require some quite significant but logical law changes.

We should consider banning clearing of indigenous timber for firewood. It is a stupid anomaly that makes a mockery of the law.

We must resolve the outstanding SILNA forests issue. In 1993, we settled the Waitutu blocks; in 1999, the Lords River. A high priority must be put on ensuring all remaining indigenous forests are sustainably managed.

We must also remove the artificial ban on chip and log exports. The Governments only business is in ensuring sustainability.

The last step we should take, is controlling imports to ensure they too come from sustainability managed forests.

We cannot fairly tie our own forest managers up in tough ecological and sustainability rules and then expect them to compete with imports from countries allowing wanton forest destruction.

The second key principle is linking economic and environmental success.

A pivotal area in this regard is the Resource Management Act.

It has become a slave to bureaucracy, and it is damaging not helping our environment.

How environmentally friendly is having 300,000 vehicles gridlocked in Auckland each weekday morning? The extra emissions alone is an environmental tragedy. And the Resource Management Act is proving a major barrier to getting solutions.

Numerous projects that clean up sewage, improve roading, modernise rubbish tips are being delayed and made more costly because of the RMA.

Disappointingly the Government has ditched our reform bill. The onus is now on us to ignite the RMA debate and show we are up to the challenge of fixing it.

We also must look to public-private partnerships for solutions.

A fortnight ago, Lockwood Smith and I visited New Zealand's top environmental land fill. Most of this countries 200 land fills are Council run and they are a total disgrace. They are homes to millions of rats, leach poisonous chemicals into aquifers and rivercourses and bellow out methane into the atmosphere.

The irony of the Rodney landfill is it is the top ranked environmentally, but one of a handful run by private enterprise.

If we are serious about economic and environmental success, we have to become far more innovative about tapping the talent of private enterprise and developing public-private partnerships to problems like landfills.

The third principle is a commitment to a science based approach.

We must not let environmental debates get caught up in the quagmire of ill-defined spiritualism and all sorts of other vague notions.

We must present ourselves as the party that will give environmental debates scientific integrity.

The GM debate will test our commitment. Any one who says GM is all good or all bad is ignoring the science. We must be the party that commits to GM developing within the constraints of scientifically based risk assessments.

We must contrast ourselves with the Luddite Greens. Having put the country to the $5 million plus cost of the Royal Commission and claiming credit for it, they are now busy at work white-anting the expected outcomes. It is Green policies at it's most cynical. We must rise above this nonsense as the voice of reason.

The fourth principle is a commitment to consultation and choice.

Environmental excellence will not be achieved by centralist dictates on what is best for people. We must contrast ourselves with the 'watermelon' Greens (green on the outside - but pink in the middle) - who see environmental problems as an excuse to resurrect failed socialist ideologies.

The excessively litigious and dictatorial approach to the RMA is a classic example. Telling farmers how they must look after their bush through Council rules is like putting a red rag to a bull. We will achieve far more for the survival of native species through landcare groups and the QEII trust than spending millions on fighting landowners with lawyers in the RMA process.

The final principle adopted by our Caucus is recognising the unique birthright New Zealanders have in access and enjoyment of this beautiful country of ours. We are not the "lock-it-up" fraternity that want humans excluded. Nor do we want a bar of the exclusive overseas cultures in which only the rich get to enjoy natures best creations. National must be the champion for the trampers, hunters, fisherman and ordinary New Zealanders who want to share in this privileged land of ours.

There is an enormous challenge ahead in breathing life into these principles by making practical policy.

The Bluegreens is your vehicle for engaging in this process.

Be sure you get and distribute our latest newsletter.

Please join us for our 3rd Annual Forum in Auckland in October.

This is an exciting time to be involved in the National Party. We must be bold in our policy so that New Zealanders understand that we have the passion, the ideas and the will to look after our special natural environment.

Together we can build a Bluegreen future for New Zealand