On the right side of history
If you ask people to name their big concerns, in amongst their fears about the monthly bills, having a warm, dry home they can afford and getting access to public health care is another deep and growing concern. I’ve asked Dunedin South households this question for a few years now and I am taking a punt that, further south, people feel the same.
They are worried what sort of world it will be for their children and their grandkids and they want action on climate change.
The bottom line is this: If we want the next generation to inherit a strong and growing economy, and a safe and stable environment, we’ve got to step up and take serious action on climate change.
This Government refuses to accept that the problem of climate change is too hard to solve. It may be a long-term challenge, but it’s critical that we start now. Because if we don’t it will take longer, cost more, and be harder to fix.
With two years in office, we’ve already started making real progress.
Three weeks ago, in what was a historic moment for New Zealand, we passed the Zero Carbon Act which sets up an independent Climate Change Commission and puts us on a path to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. We’ve also set a target of 100 per cent clean, renewable electricity by 2035.
Last month, in another big milestone, we launched a world-first agreement between the Government and farmers, joining forces to measure, price, and reduce emissions at the farm level by 2025. It was great to see politicians and farmers co-operating to tackle a huge problem that affects us all.
These actions build on our earlier work. We banned single-use plastic bags, stopped new permits for offshore oil and gas exploration, and invested in a cutting-edge clean energy centre in Taranaki.
We launched a Green Investment Fund to help companies move into high-value, lowemissions industries. We’ve boosted the Sustainable Farming Fund to help farmers come up with new ideas for cleaner farms, and we’re helping rural communities to clean up our rivers, streams and lakes.
We’re making big investments in energyefficient public transport, and the number of clean electric cars on our roads has tripled since we came to office and started investing in things like more public charging stations.
We’re on our way to planting a billion trees over 10 years. We’ve started new programmes to make sure Kiwi homes are better insulated and more energy efficient, and we’re funding new, innovative recycling schemes that will reduce waste across New Zealand.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said recently in Parliament: ‘‘We take our nuclearfree moment so that the next generation doesn’t have to.’’ I’m proud to be part of a government that’s finding lasting solutions to long-term challenges. For the first time in a while, New Zealand has a government that’s looking 30 years ahead – not just three.
We are tackling the deep-seated issues in health, housing and education alongside action on climate change. I reckon that’s what most people want from their government.
When the next generation looks back on our time here, I think they’ll see that we in New Zealand were on the right side of history on climate change. And that’s something we can all be proud of.