Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment - Te Kaitiaki Taiao a Te Whare Pāremata

Annual Report for the year ended June 2010

Commissioner's Overview

The past financial year has been a busy one with reports, advice, submissions and presentations on a variety of subjects. These included smart electricity meters, water quality at the Stockton mine, advice on the Emissions Trading Scheme, and mining on Schedule 4 land.

In all the work done during 2009-2010 there has been an emphasis on making sure the reality of each environmental issue is understood and that actions I have recommended be taken to address each issue are designed to reflect that reality.

Climate change is the most significant environmental issue that we are facing. Managing the demand for electricity and thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions was a central element of my report on smart meters last year. This year there has been a great deal of interest in the topic from various groups. Since the release of this report I have learned a great deal more about both smart meters and the bigger area of smart grids, and have seen no reason for modifying my recommendations. It is pleasing to see smart grids being debated publically; for example, a recent edition of the Listener featured smart power as the cover story.

Freshwater – both its allocation and quality – continues to be an environmental issue of great concern to the public. One case which attracted great attention was the proposal to establish large scale cubicle farms housing 17,000 cows in the MacKenzie country. While many were worried about animal welfare, I was particularly concerned about the potential impact on water quality. In my report released last year on the South Island high country, I expressed my concern about threats to water quality in high country lakes.

Good reporting and measuring of our environment was the focus of my report How clean is New Zealand? We market our country as clean and green, yet New Zealand is the only OECD country without legislation requiring regular reporting on the state of our environment at the national level. A good understanding of the state of our environment is essential for developing good environmental policy.

One of my favourite adages is that the tradeoff is not between the economy and the environment, but between the short term and the long term. Often actions to benefit the environment also benefit the economy. For instance, smart grids that reduce peak demand for electricity will reduce the need to build expensive new power plants. The clean green image which is our comparative advantage in the international marketplace will be at risk if the reality is not consistent with the image. And the intertwining of environment and economy is essential for the world to move toward a low carbon economy.

This year has seen increasing interaction with Members of Parliament. I find this interaction to be especially rewarding as it goes to the heart of my role as a Parliamentary Commissioner.

I am pleased to present this annual report and look forward with my hard-working and talented team to a productive 2010/11.