1. METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement “Notwithstanding the public consultation process, it is my expectation that the Government will act on at least some of these recommendations and make significant changes to Schedule 4.”?

Hon BILL ENGLISH (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes. The Prime Minister expects that at the end of the process, which will include public consultation, some areas of Crown land will be removed from schedule 4 and some areas may be added.

Metiria Turei: Which mining consultation date does the Prime Minister stand by: Gerry Brownlee’s October 2009 date, their December 2009 date, their February 2010 date, or their March 2010 date?

Hon Gerry Brownlee: I guess I know which one I’d bet on.

Hon BILL ENGLISH: I agree with the honourable Minister that probably the date ahead of us is the most likely one. The discussion document will be released shortly, and there will be plenty of opportunity to comment on it.

Metiria Turei: Is the Prime Minister saying he has no idea when his Government intends to release the public consultation document so that the public can know for sure which areas in schedule 4 he intends to be mined?

Hon BILL ENGLISH: I can confirm that the consultation will not begin in November 2009 and it will not begin in February 2010. It will begin shortly, when the public discussion document is released.

Metiria Turei: Which figure does the Prime Minister think is the most correct: his Government’s assertion that there is $140 billion of mineral wealth in New Zealand, the figure of $85 billion from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, the World Bank’s figure of $14 billion, or Statistics New Zealand’s $6.5 billion of mineral wealth in New Zealand?

Hon BILL ENGLISH: There is clearly a range of estimates about what that wealth should be. The Government has made clear its intention to go and look to see whether we can get a better idea about that.

Metiria Turei: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. My question was very specific: which of those figures does he think is the most correct? He failed even to attempt to address that question.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: No. The Minister has given an indication of a spread of possibilities, and he has answered the question.

Metiria Turei: Has the Government been misleading the public, then, on the value of mineral wealth in schedule 4 lands, given that the Minister cannot even affirm a particular figure?

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am sorry; I could not hear the member. I ask the member to repeat the question. Members will please keep the noise level down, so that we can hear the question.

Metiria Turei: Has his Government been misleading the public about the value of mineral wealth in schedule 4 lands, given that the Minister cannot affirm a single figure?

Hon BILL ENGLISH: The answer to that, of course, is no. There is a range of estimates, and the Government will issue a discussion document where the opportunities for looking at schedule 4 will be publicly discussed. I understand that the member herself visited Oceana Gold a while ago, and I think she would agree that considerable wealth has come from that particular mine.

Metiria Turei: Is it not incompetent of the Government even to consider moving Great Barrier Island out of schedule 4 for mining, when the Auckland district plan prevents, absolutely, any mining on the Hauraki Gulf islands, including Great Barrier Island?

Hon BILL ENGLISH: The Government is not, of course, at the moment prejudging the public consultation process by getting into those kinds of detailed discussions. A document will be released shortly, and the member will have every opportunity to comment on it.

Rahui Katene: What consultation has been undertaken already with iwi about Crown land, including some land administered by the Department of Conservation that has been returned to iwi and that might be under consideration in terms of the changes to schedule 4?

Hon BILL ENGLISH: There is extensive consultation with iwi about all kinds of Crown land, and in more recent times there has been significant discussion with them about the use of conservation land. I cannot answer the question directly on an overlap between land returned to iwi and land that may be in schedule 4. But I say again the consultation document will provide all the information that any iwi will need if it wants to raise issues.

Metiria Turei: Is it not correct that his Government’s schedule 4 mining policy is in complete disarray, because the Government does not know its dollars, does not know its dates, and does not know its law, and the public hate it?

Hon BILL ENGLISH: No—the answer is no. In the context of the Government’s overall economic programme, which is designed to lift incomes and create new jobs, the Prime Minister signalled in his speech to Parliament at the beginning of the year that the Government would explore speculative opportunities around, for instance, the aquaculture industry, the better use of water storage in Canterbury, and expanding the mineral estate. The Government is setting out to do that. There will be a consultation document, with plenty of opportunity to discuss it. But the Government is quite firm in its desire to improve New Zealand’s economic prospects and to use the tools available to it to do that, rather than to sit around letting incomes drop, as the previous Government did, and hoping that everyone who is smart will get on a plane and go to Australia.