Chris Hipkins: Labour leader talks oil and gas exploration, a Canterbury Super City Council, the speed limit changes for the Southern Motorway

John was joined by Labour Leader Chris Hipkins on the show today for their regular catch up.

John was keen to find out where Labour stands really on oil and gas exploration in New Zealand - if they get back into power will they honour any contracts in place? Does Hipkins agree with the proposed speed limit change on the Southern Motorway, given the Road To Zero campaign it supported? And is it time for a Super City Council in Canterbury in his view? 

Labour's leader is encouraging councils to take a closer look at their governance structure. 

Some councils in the lower South Island have voted this week to continue discussions on creating unitary authorities.  

Chris Hipkins told Canterbury Mornings it's a good thing to talk about amalgamation in the context of improving local government services. 

He says it's a conversation local councils should have with many councils in New Zealand relative to its size.  

Hipkins says if you were to design a local government system on a blank piece of paper you wouldn't design the one we have.  

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's Podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Regular catch up with Opposition leader and Labor leader Chris
Hipkins Morning.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Chris, gooday, John, how are you very well right?

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Can you clarify a couple of things? First of all,
what is the Labor Party's current policy on oil and
gas exploration.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
We don't think that we should be exploring for new
oil and guess. We've always been clear that people who
have existing exploration permits and contracts should be able to
continue to use those. So we're not going backwards. We're
not canceling things that were already underway, but we shouldn't
be going out there proactively looking for new oil and gas.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Exploration right At some time in the future, if when
you find yourself back in government and you find that
the government before you has signed up new oil and
gas exploration contracts, what will be your approach.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
It'll be the same as we did last time. So
we bend new off sure oil and guess exploration, but
we honored existing arrangements that were in place. I don't
think governments should come in and override previous contractional obligations
entered into by previous government. In fact, I've only seen
one government do this in New Zealand's recent history, and
it was the current one. When we became the government

(01:24):
of twenty seventeen, we honored the agreements that were entered
into by previous New Zealand governments and I think that
that for New Zealand's international standing. I think that's actually
very important.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
So that commitment to honoring existing contracts or new contracts
that might come up or run or emerge before you
are next in government. Is that the position of Chris Hopkins,
current leader, or is that the position of the Labor
Party and a position that will ensure beyond any leadership change.

Speaker 3 (01:53):
Well, that is the Labor Party's long standing position on
oil and gas expiration and so that hasn't changed. Our
position in twenty seventeen is the same as a position
that we've got. Now. We shouldn't be seeking new off
sure oil and gas expiration, but you know, we're honor
existing contractual commitments that the Crown has entered into.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
Would it be hypocritical fear to do that?

Speaker 3 (02:18):
No, because I mean I think, I mean, I don't
think the government should be offering new offshore permits but
we have to respect the fact that they are the government.
And I think we start to get into very whisky
territory for New Zealand as a country when you've got
governments coming in and effectively repudiating contracts entered into by
the previous government. You've already seen that with the Inter

(02:39):
Island Theory contract, for example, where the current government came
in and effectively terminated a contractual obligation a previous government
had entered into. That damages New Zealand's international reputation when
that sort of thing happens, because if you're a shipbuilder
or you're that doesn't matter. You can name any type
of multinational corporation who may be wanting to do work
in New Zealand and in Western New Zealand. They're going

(03:01):
to look sideways at New Zealand if they think that
a change of government's going to mean that their contracts
suddenly going to be terminated. The only government that's done
that in New Zealand's recent history is the current national
One would.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
If future labor government be as understanding of any new
mineral extraction or mining contracts signed.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
It very much depends on where that process is at.
So we have said that, you know, we are concerned
about the fast Track, for example, in terms of you know,
the potential to overturn decisions where where previous consents have
been rejected. So we're concerned about that. So we would look,
we may look to review some of those things. But

(03:42):
contracts and consents are different issues, and.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
So you would honor, you would honor any content, you
would honor, you would honor any contract.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
Yeah, I mean, I think that's important.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
All right. What do you make of the government's proposal
to increase a speed limit on the Southern Motorway between
Roliston and christ Church to one hundred and ten case.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
If they can do that safely, I've got no problem
with higher speed limits on the newer motorways, which have
been built to a pretty high standard overall. There's also
conversations happening about you know, Transmission Gully and Wellington for example,
and potentially increasing the speed limit there as someone who's
driven that a loss since it's been opened, and I
think they could probably do that quite safely.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
You means, despite despite the fact that when you get
to either end of that stretch of right it comes
to complete standstill.

Speaker 3 (04:26):
Well, yeah, but you need to think about where you
start to slow the speed, and it might be that
the speed has to slow before the very bitter end
of the of the new expressway or motorway. So you
know there's there's ways to mitigate that. But if a
road can have its speed limit increased safely, I've got
no problem with that.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
How does it effort in with the Road a zero
campaign that your government pushed for the last six years.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
Even with Road to zero we were we increased the
speed limits on the Way out to Expressway to one
hundred and ten because it was safe to do that.
Where we were looking at reducing speed limits was on
the roads where people were dying, and you know the
expressways and the new expressways and motorways were not those roads.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
The Southlands local government environment might be getting a bit
of a sh with four councils there looking at merging
and creating two new unitary authorities, and the councils in
Dunedin are going to have discussions about doing something similar.
Do you think more councils should be thinking about amalgamating.

Speaker 3 (05:19):
Yeah, I mean I think it's a conversation local councils
should have and we do have a lot of councils
in New Zealand relative to our side.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
Do we have too many? Have too many?

Speaker 3 (05:29):
I mean, I think that's a matter for local communities
to decide overall, if you're designing a local government system
on a blank piece of paper, you wouldn't decide to
what we've got now. And so I think you know,
we're councils are having conversations about how to achieve economies
of scale and you how to improve the overall quality
of local government services. If amalgamation is part of that conversation,

(05:49):
I think that's a good thing.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
You think Christ at Selwyn and why making that you
could start talking to each.

Speaker 3 (05:53):
Other, I'd certainly, you know, if they want to do that,
I've encouraged them to do that. I mean again that
the population demographics in those three areas has changed so
dramatically in the last ten to fifteen years since the
earth quakes, it is sensible for them to be having
conversations about that.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
Are you saying that you would be in favor of
a new christ Church supercity.

Speaker 3 (06:15):
I think that's I mean, I don't think that's something
central government should impose.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
No, but you're but you're I'm asking you you you
think that would be a way to go.

Speaker 3 (06:24):
If that's what those communities want, I'd support it, Thank
you very much.

Speaker 2 (06:28):
We'll catch up in a fortnite cool not Chris Eppens,
opposition leader and label eddies with us every two weeks.
There we are a kind of out of a round
about why I'm saying you get talking christ at Selwyn?
Why make a lady? That was yesterday's discussion, wasn't it?

Speaker 1 (06:44):
For more from Canterbory Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
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