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Welcome to the Block Offer 2012 Awards Ceremony.

It’s a great pleasure to be hosting this event to award the permits from the Government’s first annual Block Offer. 

In August last year we announced the move to an annual block offer process and the abolition of the Priority in Time permits.

Block Offer 2012 areas have now been consulted on, tendered, carefully considered, and today, permits are being awarded to the strongest bids and to those companies most capable of delivering their proposed work programmes. 

We are very fortunate in New Zealand to have an abundance of energy and minerals resources.

These provide us with unique opportunities to grow our economy, ensure we have a secure supply of affordable energy, and respond to the global challenge of climate change. 

The oil and gas sector is already a major contributor to our economy. It’s our fourth-largest export and directly and indirectly supports around 7,700 jobs.

When the National-led Government came into office it was well known that the country’s housing stock was under par. There was ample and growing evidence that this was impacting on New Zealanders’ health and well-being, not to mention their power bills.  Something had to be done, and we did it.

I’m very pleased to be invited to jointly open this very first six-star Best Home - thank you.

We’re all familiar with the expression “five-star” meaning excellent, top of the line, but you don’t hear “six-star” very often!

This fantastic house, New Zealand’s first under the Best Home trademark, demonstrates that a house earning six stars for its energy efficiency can be built for only about 5 per cent more than the standard cost and certainly not the 20 per cent or so more that people think. 

Today we’re unveiling the Government’s business plan for this development, agreed with the Hobsonville Land Company.

In large part this is a continuation of the work that’s been going on here, and there is certainly no change to the vision of a high-quality, diverse urban community for all New Zealanders.

However, since the cessation of the Gateway programme, there have been questions raised about the role of affordable housing at Hobsonville Point.

It hardly needs to be said that it’s a sad comment on our society that a service like Women’s Refuge is needed. 

But needed it is, and what a fantastic job you do. I’m in awe of the level of commitment and the depth of the work you do supporting women and children getting out of terrifying situations, the worst kind of crises. I’m proud that Housing is able to be a part of that.

The corporation worked closely with Te Whari Tiaki Wahine Refuge to find a replacement refuge around the Titahi Bay/Porirua/Whitby areas when it was needed.

Believe it or not, there are some bonuses to flying into Wellington’s wind, as I do frequently.  It means that I get a bird’s-eye view of the degree of change Wellington City Council’s social housing has made to the cityscape in certain areas.

There are now large areas of Newtown – with Te Ara Hou, Regent Park and Hanson Court apartments, and here in at Central Park, that have been transformed, and the positive changes show, even from the air.

Good morning everyone, I’m very pleased to have this opportunity to talk to you.

First, I would like to thank the leaders of your three groups for the opportunity to open this year’s gas industry forum:

It’s great to see Housing New Zealand here in the inner city. Congratulations to everyone for making it happen.  There are signs of progress all around us here and that's very encouraging.

But today I’d like to talk more about the people who live here – in Christchurch and further afield, and what Housing New Zealand is doing to revitalise and rebuild houses in Canterbury.

Many thanks for inviting me to join you in marking this important milestone for Windflow Technology.

It is great to be here and it’s great to see an innovative New Zealand company take off  into the global energy market with the first wind turbine to be exported from New Zealand. 

Renewable energy is going to play an increasing role in our energy future. Our target is for 90 per cent of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2025. In 2011, 77 per cent of New Zealand’s electricity was renewable - beyond that of most countries.

Good morning and thank you for inviting me to your conference.  It’s a great pleasure to be able to speak to you and to tell you about the Government’s housing policy and legislative programme. 

I like the theme of “Spring into Action” you’ve chosen for this conference.  It’s a theme this Government thoroughly endorses and the busy policy and legislative programme we have shows that we are putting in place lasting reforms that will build a more productive and competitive economy.

E Nga Waka                          [Distinguished representatives]

E nga Mana                           [Esteemed guests]

Mr Speaker, I move that the Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Commerce Committee to consider the Bill.

At the appropriate time I intend to move that the Bill be reported to the House by 30 January 2013.

This Government’s Business Growth Agenda is an ambitious programme of work that will support New Zealand businesses to grow in order to create jobs and improve New Zealanders’ standard of living.

First, I’d like to acknowledge the importance of road transport to our economy.

Our size, and the significant distances between our towns, cities and ports, mean the roading network is vital for us all.

From roofing iron and aggregate to ice-cream and i-phones, heavy vehicles (or trucks as most of us call them!), play a part in moving nearly everything we need.

The cost of freight is built into the retail price of goods, so the amount of fuel used by the heavy vehicle fleet affects everyone.

I’m very pleased to be here tonight to recognise this important milestone and to join my colleague Hon Jo Goodhew in congratulating ESITO on the success of the ‘Women in Power’ initiative so far, and now the launch of phase two, Ultimit.

The future of the electricity sector is an exciting one.  ESITO’s role is crucial to ensuring that the sector has the skilled workers it needs to support business growth, not to mention keep powering New Zealand homes and enable our increasingly digital lifestyles.

I’m delighted to be part of these awards tonight, to celebrate the achievements of a sector that has contributed so much over so long to New Zealand, and that will be a cornerstone of New Zealand’s economic growth.

And it’s great to see the industry stepping forward and celebrating its successes with a bit of glamour and finesse!  Well done.

These awards are a great opportunity to showcase your achievements to, and for, New Zealand, and to recognise your contributions.

The launch of the Code of Conduct for Minimising Acoustic Disturbance to Marine Mammals is another of the many steps this Government is taking to ensure that we make the most of our promising petroleum potential in a manner that is well managed and consistent with the wider values we hold as a nation, and to the highest international standards.

New Zealand has a long history of innovative demand management, starting with the deployment of the first ripple control systems 60 years ago.

Ripple control, while it has served us well, is becoming outdated technology.  New technologies and systems are available that have the potential to dramatically change the way consumers interact with electricity systems. 

I believe the potential for smart grids in New Zealand is significant.  

I’m delighted to be here today to share with you this exciting development in the Tāmaki Transformation Programme, and ultimately a positive advancement for the future generations of Tāmaki residents.  

I’m joined today by the Mayor of Auckland Council to sign the Tāmaki Heads of Agreement between the Crown and the Council – a first in New Zealand. This will see the people of Tāmaki placed at the centre of all future regeneration and development activities.

Thanks for the invitation to your conference. I’m glad to be here.

To start by going back a bit . . . in 1937, Mickey Savage carried a dining table through the front door of 12 Fife Lane, Miramar, here in Wellington, and opened New Zealand’s first state house.

He backed an excellent model.  It kicked off the development of mass state housing, provided shelter for generations of New Zealanders, and for several decades the state picked up the tab for good quality social housing used by working people.

Thanks for the invitation to talk to you today. It’s my first time at this Forum as you know, so it’s nice to be here, getting a little of that special Coast flavour into my day! 

Before I talk about the minerals sector I’d like to just quickly cover the background to the economic work we’re doing.

The Government has set ambitious economic goals for New Zealand that require a significant improvement in our economic performance.

Thank you for inviting me to address your conference.

This is the first chance that I have had since taking up my Energy and Resources portfolio to meet with a cross-section of engineers from the electricity industry.

I thought that to begin with I would briefly talk about the Government’s priorities in the energy area. 

Your primary focus is on electricity issues, but I’m sure you will be interested in the way in which our broader energy framework influences the long-term development of your industry.

Welcome to Wellington! And in some cases, to New Zealand. Thank you for inviting me to open this conference. It is a pleasure to be here with you this morning.

Fossil fuels make a valuable contribution to the energy needs of all countries, including New Zealand. At the same time many countries are looking to develop technologies to help address concerns about oil prices and about how to efficiently use fossil fuels as a precious resource.

Just before I start I’d like to congratulate Jeanette Fitzsimons on her Outstanding Contribution award. Jeanette, you’ve played a central part in promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, and helped with important work that Governments can build on. This is very well deserved recognition and I’m glad I was here for it.

Jeanette and I obviously have different views on many things, but we do share a strong desire to see Kiwi families and businesses, and the wider economy, benefiting from greater uptake of energy efficiency and renewables.