All Aboard? - Sustainability Debate on the New Rainbow Warrior
By Mark P. Williams
Last week saw the arrival in Wellington harbour of the new Rainbow Warrior and the release of Greenpeace's 'Future Is Here' report. To mark the publication of the report Greenpeace held a debate on environmental sustainability for the three
major parties on board the ship.
Representatives from the National, Labour and Green Parties were given opportunities to answer important questions about
how their policies would help New Zealand create a sustainable future. The Greens were represented by their Co-leader
Russell Norman; the Labour Party by Deputy Leader Grant Robertson, Labour Spokesperson for the Environment; and the
National Party by Nicky Wagner, Chair of the Environment Select Committee and Chair of the BlueGreens Caucus Committee.
The event was chaired by veteran business journalist Rod Oram, whose steering hand maintained the focus of the debate.
Each speaker was given the opportunity to explain how they saw the relationship of the central questions of
sustainability to their vision for the future of New Zealand.
All three debaters were asked to respond to the primary question:
Clean energy - It's here, it's global and it's only going to get bigger. What is your party going to do to make sure NZ
seizes these economic opportunities?
The debate was broadcast live.
Russell Norman's speeches marked out clear sets of expectations and articulated the problem in terms of economic sector
development. Norman suggested that the current government was placing its infrastructural emphasis on the wrong economic
sectors: investing in extractive industries rather than research and development of ITC; and investing in raw dairy and
agricultural export rather than what he called 'value added' products. He suggested that one of the benefits of New
Zealand being a small country, or a 'village society', is the nation's ability to choose strategic directions, such as
investing in green industries, which will have a larger and longer term effect for the country. He stated that New
Zealand required nothing short of a revolution in its attitudes toward sustainability.
Nicky Wagner's speeches countered Russell Norman by insisting on taking an 'evolutionary' rather than 'revolutionary'
approach, which she interpreted as meaning a more gradual movement towards a sustainable economy. She focused
enthusiastically on the possibilities of technological innovation as a solution, while insisting on taking a 'Holistic'
approach to the balance of economic pressure and environmental preservation. She spoke about New Zealand's world-leading
position in geothermal power and suggested that biotechnology was another area that the government was interested in
developing further.
Grant Robertson's responses stood out for stating the case in the most concrete terms, related to the lives of ordinary
New Zealanders while also adhering very strongly to the central problem and complementing the thrust of Russell Norman's
argument. He spoke about the need for reconcile 'living within our limits' to the desires and expectations that New
Zealander's have for their lifestyles, saying clearly that an environmentally sustainable future requires a change of
economic expectations.. He said that there needed to be 'a quantum shift' in levels of investment in innovation in New
Zealand but that at present the government was only taking small steps. His more general political call was for
leadership from the government, directing the course of the New Zealand economy by investing in innovation.
The three party representatives then took a few questions from environmental journalists and activists.
Questions
Party representatives were asked how they reconciled words like 'evolutionary' with the government's stated priority for
oil and gas exploration which were effectively ensuring that New Zealand was left with a legacy of increased greenhouse
gas emissions.
Nicky Wagner responded by reiterating that there was a need to take a holistic point of view, starting with looking at
investing in energy efficiency, insulating homes and businesses.
Grant Robertson suggested that the present mechanisms, such as the Emissions Trading Scheme, which was the government's
primary means of regulating greenhouse gas emissions, were simply inadequate to addressing the need for change, adding
that he felt that the ETS had become more of a bureaucratic exercise.
Russell Norman concurred but emphasised that the ETS was always a marginal measure, while more significant reductions
could only be achieved by regulation but the political will to do so had been drained by framing it in terms of 'Nanny
State' interventionism.
Another questioner asked why the word 'sustainability' had been removed from government documentation and policy. Nicky
Wagner said that the government was very much committed to sustainability, and that the question of what was meant by
'sustainability' was precisely the nature of the debate.
Bunny McDairmid from Greenpeace concluded the debate by saying that it was incompatible with the present environmental
and economic situation to consider the problems faced by New Zealand in 'holistic' terms. She said that New Zealand is
in a unique position as a small country with enormous potential to develop a clean economy and it was time for New
Zealanders to make a decisive choice.
After the debate we were given a fascinating tour around the ship by Captain Joel Stewart. He explained how sustainable
energy policies were integrated into every detail of the ship's specifications. This ranged from its use of lower
density steel in the hull to enable it to maximise the use of sail power, to the use of hydraulic and electric motors
for the rigging which enabled the sails to be set by only two crew members at any one time.
The new Rainbow Warrior is an example of how sailing ships can be made commercially viable in the future; it is a
living, working example of sustainability and innovation unified to a specific purpose. As it sails away from New
Zealand to undertake its first circumnavigation of the globe, we should all hope that it leaves a bit of its spirit on
these shores.
Captain Joel Stewart
Dave the Dolphin facing across Wellington Harbour
ENDS