6. JONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth) to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What are the benefits to New Zealand from the Kupe gas project?

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister of Energy and Resources) : The $1.3 billion Kupe gas project was opened by the Prime Minister this morning. It is now fully operational and is one of New Zealand’s most important new infrastructure developments. Over its lifetime it is expected to supply 254 petajoules of natural gas, about 1.1 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and almost 15 million barrels of light crude oil. At its peak it is expected that Kupe will produce 10 to 15 percent of New Zealand’s current annual gas demand, and 50 percent of our current annual LPG demand.

Jonathan Young: What economic benefits have already accrued from the development of the Kupe project?

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: There has been a big benefit, particularly in Taranaki, where job creation has been significant. At the height of construction approximately 1,000 people worked on the production station site, and more than 6,000 hours of labour were expended while maintaining a very strong safety record on that site. There has also been a big benefit from the use of New Zealand operators in the supply chain. The project awarded New Zealand companies nearly three-quarters of the overall project expenditure, with about $600 million coming to New Zealand companies. Finally, the Crown is expected to receive around $300 million in royalties over the life of the field.

Charles Chauvel: In light of the Electricity Commission’s warnings about a looming energy supply crisis, is he concerned that, despite having a contractor take all the gas that Kupe field can produce, Genesis Energy recently told the Commerce Committee that after 2016—

Hon Dr Nick Smith: Why does the member hate children?

Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr SPEAKER: Point of order, Brendon Burns.

Grant Robertson: Grant Robertson.

Mr SPEAKER: Grant Robertson—I beg your pardon.

Grant Robertson: I am considerably younger, Mr Speaker.

Mr SPEAKER: I apologise to the member.

Grant Robertson: I regret to interrupt my colleague, Mr Speaker, but while he was asking that question there was an intervention from across the House asking: “Why do you hate children?”. I object to that statement being made in this House.

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: He wasn’t talking to you.

Mr SPEAKER: A point of order is being heard, and it is a fair point of order. An interjection was made that a member has taken objection to. I did not hear the interjection—I have to be honest about that—so all I can do is to ask whoever made it to please treat the House with a little more respect than that and not make that kind of interjection. It can cause offence.

Charles Chauvel: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Perhaps I could begin the question again.

Mr SPEAKER: Yes, Charles Chauvel may recommence the question.

Hon Rodney Hide: Answer the question.

Charles Chauvel: To the Minister—

Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. You may have missed Mr Hide asking the member sitting behind me to answer the question—the question no doubt referring to the previous comment that you ruled out of order. That means that that member is certainly out of order, and I ask that you remind him.

Mr SPEAKER: Again, I did not hear that, I am sorry, because I was focused on the request from Charles Chauvel to recommence his question. Because I did not hear it, there is not a lot I can do. But I ask members to please show the House more respect. I have called Charles Chauvel to start his supplementary—

Hon Rodney Hide: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think that the House is getting all too precious, because it certainly cannot be out of order for some member—and I did not hear the interjection—to call out “Why do you hate children?”—

Mr SPEAKER: I ask the member to resume his seat. I ask him how that is helping the good order of the House. Offence, rightly or wrongly, was taken, and for understandable reasons. Members do not like the innuendo that they hate children, and I do not blame members for that. I did not ask anyone to withdraw and apologise for it; I simply ask members to show a little more courtesy. That should be the end of the matter.

Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think I will regret challenging you, but I am now. We have had a member tossed from the House for challenging your authority. You had previously ruled on this matter. You had a member who then got up and repeated a comment that he had been told was offensive to members opposite, and he appears to have got away without even a requirement to withdraw and apologise for doing that. In my opinion, it was a much more open and blatant attack on your authority than the one earlier.

Mr SPEAKER: Members are testing my patience now. The reason why the Hon Clayton Cosgrove was asked to leave the Chamber was because he questioned my fairness; he actually said in an interjection: “Another fair decision”—very sarcastically—“by the Speaker.” That is intolerable; the Speaker cannot allow that kind of thing to go unchecked in the House. I did not hear that it was the Hon Rodney Hide who had made the original interjection. I did not know from the point of order raised that it was that member. But I ask members to just be more respectful of this House. It is this House that matters. I ask members to be slightly more respectful. Interjections at times can be very appropriate and very clever, but some are very unhelpful.

Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sorry about pushing this, but the point I was referring to was not the original interjection, or the repeating of it by Dr Nick Smith, it was the fact that by way of point of order—

Mr SPEAKER: The Speaker has dealt with the matter and that is the end of the matter.

Charles Chauvel: In light of the Electricity Commission’s warnings about a looming energy supply crisis, is the Minister concerned at all, despite having a contract to take all the gas that the Kupe field can produce, that Genesis Energy recently told the Commerce Committee that after 2016 it does not have enough gas to run its existing gas-fired power stations?

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: No, and I make two comments. First, I think the Electricity Commission overstated its concerns about security of supply. We have made a huge effort to change the circumstances in which electricity is governed and produced and the way in which the companies operate, in order to focus more clearly on security of supply. Secondly, I would point out that the previous Government introduced a thermal ban on electricity, which saw a long period of no significant new gas discovery, and we are suffering from that as far as projections are concerned. I am quite confident, now that we have a Government that actually has its head out of the sand and recognises that gas will be a significant contributor to the energy picture in the years ahead, that more discoveries will be made.