Latest news with #SimonCourt
Scoop
4 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
ACT Speeds Up Consents To Keep The Lights On And Costs Down
ACT MP and Energy spokesperson Simon Court is welcoming the passage of the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill into law. 'ACT campaigned to end the ban on oil and gas exploration and to use New Zealand's Crown minerals – including oil, gas, and coal – to keep our lights on and our economy moving,' Court said. 'We also identified that the RMA made it virtually impossible to consent thermal electricity generation, even when it was critical for energy security. 'From today, gas and coal-fired power stations have the same one-year priority consenting pathway as wind and solar projects. That means generators renewing or seeking new consents for thermal plants won't be bogged down in years of red tape. The race to net zero has made one thing clear – without reliable thermal backup, there's a limit to how much renewable energy the grid can handle. When the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine, New Zealanders still expect to heat their homes, run factories, and keep the lights on. ACT is making sure they can. 'Experience here and in Australia shows that as more wind and solar comes online, the need for reliable backup grows, too. These reforms make it faster to consent that firming generation so homes and businesses can count on a secure power supply.' ACT is also welcoming the requirement for specified energy or wood processing consents to be decided within a year, with extensions allowed, but never exceeding two years in total. "We're cutting years off the consenting process and removing uncertainty for major energy projects. That's good news for the construction sector and especially ordinary New Zealanders who pay the compliance costs," says Mr Court. 'By speeding up projects and cutting red tape, ACT is helping to keep power prices and building costs under control.'
The Spinoff
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Spinoff
One MP, One Pint: Being a Survivor ‘super fan' and getting deported with Simon Court
Act MP Simon Court only has one political regret: providing menstrual advice. It's been a tense week in parliament, as the government spends the next month mulling over whether Aotearoa should recognise Palestinian statehood. The conflict in Gaza is a topic that Simon Court is particularly passionate about, with his pro-Israel stance informed by experiences with Jewish-New Zealander friends and the belief that there's not much difference between that small nation and ours. That position has become increasingly hard to defend (according to most of our allies and the rest of the world) but we are here for only one pint so I've left that particular huge argument to the House. There is something very different that Court and I agree on right away: west is best. Sure, he's not a native West Aucklander, but after spending summers in Piha as a teenager and field trips through the Waitākere ranges as a civil engineering student at Unitec, he's never looked back. Also, I once lived in New Lynn for four months and have had four boyfriends who lived along the 195 bus line, so I can vouch for the place being the best part of Auckland, too. What I like about Court right away is that he shouts our round. I've got a Parrotdog, Court's got a Panhead, and he's telling me about his favourite parts of the west, like the Sugar Grill and Delicious Café in Te Atatū, but he also reckons there's a way it could be made better. Court has a member's bill currently sitting in the biscuit tin, which would abolish the liquor monopoly held by the Waitākere Licensing Trust (as well as those in Invercargill and Mataura) – not the Trust itself, but its restrictions on the sale and supply of alcohol within a community, so that Westies could have the option of buying a bottle of wine from the supermarket, or establishing a few local venues to serve the area's creatives. 'We've got a lot of musicians in West Auckland – there's lots of bands and producers, and people like King Kapisi and Fur Patrol are all Westies – yet there's nowhere for them to play locally, where they can set up and we can go have a beer and watch the band,' Court says. 'The barrier, as I see it, is the liquor licensing monopoly … We can keep the Trust, we just want them to perform better and deliver back to their community.' And if there were more bars out West, there could be more opportunities for people to hear Court's best pub yarn: that time he got deported from Fiji. Court had been working in Suva as an engineer for MWH Global, managing Chinese government contractors the Fijian government had hired to build the largest island's roads. After discovering reinforced steel poking out of newly built bridges and soil dumped down hills (creating landslide risks), Court reported the shoddy works to the Fijian government, but 'it turns out that that was a bit embarrassing, a bit uncomfortable for everyone involved, [and] it's much easier to get rid of the Kiwi engineers [than] have a difficult conversation'. And voilà, deportation time. You'd probably expect someone with a background in environmental engineering to be sitting in the opposition benches, rather than with Act (and Court's pretty sure his wife, a former Forest and Bird employee who has worked on Green Party campaigns, has switched her vote too). But, Court sees himself as more of an 'engineered solutions' guy rather than a 'zero waste' guy, plus, there's a lot of value in having an open mind – like the fact that while Court would rather listen to the drum and bass beats by Liquid, he can still accept that David Seymour is a 'massive fan' of Dire Straits ('you know, the thing we never wanted to hear again in the 80s and 90s'). Truly, nobody is perfect, which is why Court is totally unabashed when it comes to talking about his greatest love: reality television. Or, more specifically, Survivor. As a 'super fan' of the Australian spinoff of the series, Court has taken his family on trips through Samoa to revisit former filming locations, like the campsite and those poles that the contestants cling to in those challenges sometimes (which you'd remember if you were a true super fan). And even though he's absolutely fizzing about the show, he doesn't reckon he has what it takes to win Survivor – 'I'll go to the gym for half an hour and that's enough'. 'Maybe I should start with Celebrity Treasure Island,' Court reckons. THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A How much should a pint cost? Whatever the market dictates. Do you have a karaoke go-to? The last time I was doing karaoke it was 'Bad Romance' by Lady Gaga … But if I'm at home singing in front of the TV with my boys, it'd be Faith No More's 'Easy'. Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa? Probably Dr Rudi's, down at the viaduct in Auckland. Which three MPs would be on your pub quiz team? [Act's] David Seymour, because he's exceptionally smart. [National's] Chris Bishop, because he's my mate now and he knows everything about New Zealand music and sport, and [Labour's] Dr Deborah Russell, because she keeps telling me she has three degrees, and I reckon she'd be really helpful in a pub quiz. Which MP from across the aisle would you most like to share a drink with? [Greens'] Steve Abel — I've heard he really likes craft beer, and I'd like to ask him how he kept his beers cold for the 240 days he spent in a tree in Avondale holding up a housing development. What's a policy area we've been nursing without finishing the glass? Well, I did read about a Vic Uni student's proposal to farm weka. I was thinking that maybe if we really wanted to think about our indigenous biodiversity from a market point of view, maybe we should think about farming some of our threatened species, because there's nothing that's farmed [currently] that's threatened. Cows aren't at risk of going extinct, so maybe if we farmed weka… of course, we could eat some of them, there'd be lots. What qualities make a good drinking partner? Somebody who's prepared to push the boundaries of a story one step further than reality. Somebody who's got this quality of embellishment, and they'll take you with them past [the point] where it's believable. You're along for the ride, you're second guessing, but you want to believe. Have you ever had a Schnapp's election moment where you regretted your political instinct? Well, quite a few – coming into politics after being in civil engineering and having to play it straight for 25 years, you always get the sense that, well, I could open my mouth and say something that could end my political career. But that didn't stop me. Maybe providing suggestions for women's health and the use of appropriate, cost-effective period products. As my partner pointed out to me, most women would love to know that a man cared about their needs – [but] that's not what they were saying in the emails.
Scoop
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Absurd Solar Consent Requirements Driving Up Power Bills
'Central Hawke's Bay's solar farm consent conditions show the absurd demands councils can impose, adding cost, causing delays, and driving up New Zealanders' power bills,' says ACT MP Simon Court. ACT has obtained details of the resource consents for solar farms in Central Hawke's Bay, which include requirements such as: Inviting mana whenua to perform karakia before removing any native trees or plants from the site. Providing written reports every six months until two years after construction is finished, outlining compliance with a 66-page Cultural Impact Assessment—with ongoing reporting beyond that. Submitting a detailed landscaping plan specifying: Every plant's botanical and common name. Exact location, spacing, and planter bag size. Soil preparation methods and planting techniques. The type and quality of materials used for planting like soil, mulch, stakes, and ties. A requirement to replace any dead plant with the same or similar species at the same size. Constructing a ' public viewing area ' with off-street parking, and informational and educational signage. "This is what's driving up your power bill. Councils say they want renewable energy, but then demand ceremonial chanting and spreadsheet-level detail about every shrub on site," says Court. 'One of the companies forced to deal with these absurd demands went bankrupt. How many more projects just never get built at all? 'All this while New Zealanders shiver in the cold, unable to pay their power bills and threatened with blackouts. We need more power generation, whatever form that takes. That requires freedom to build, and ditching this rubbish. 'We see the same thing happening with supermarkets, IKEA, even hospitals. This madness raises prices at the checkout and on power bills. 'We should be rolling out the welcome mat for anyone who wants to deliver more, cheaper power. Instead, we're burying them in demands based on metaphysical concepts and box-ticking reports. 'That's why ACT is committed to scrapping the beast that is the RMA and replacing it with a system based on property rights, without a general Treaty principles clause so we can build the things we need to make our lives better and more affordable.' The Resource Consent for the Centralines Limited project could power roughly 7,500 homes per year. Consent here. The Resource Consent for the Skysolar Limited (now in liquidation) project would power 18,000 homes per year. Consent here.
Scoop
02-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
City And Regional Deals Reflect ACT Policy Years In The Making
ACT MP Simon Court has welcomed today's announcement of the Government's expectations for City and Regional Deals and the signing of the first agreements to begin negotiations with three regions. 'For years ACT has championed the idea of genuine partnerships between central and local government to make sure important infrastructure actually gets built,' says Mr Court. 'Today's announcement puts that idea firmly into practice. By setting clear objectives for City and Regional Deals, the Government is taking a disciplined approach to solving New Zealand's infrastructure deficit without simply writing blank cheques from the taxpayer. 'These deals will mean local and central government can agree on joint priorities like enabling more housing, unlocking regional economic growth, and delivering better infrastructure. This is exactly the kind of long-term thinking that has been missing for too long in New Zealand. 'Before the 2020 election, ACT called for city and regional partnerships so infrastructure investment would be long term, coordinated between central and local government, and subject to robust cost-benefit analysis. That idea is now Government policy – straight from our Coalition Agreement. 'ACT has plenty more great ideas in this space, including sharing a portion of GST on new builds with councils – an ACT policy that our coalition partners have committed to explore. It would incentivise growth and development to occur while ensuring the infrastructure to support it can be funded properly. 'This is a great example of how ACT is making the Government better. We're delivering results for taxpayers and ratepayers who want value for money, certainty, and infrastructure that supports more housing, more jobs, and a stronger economy
Scoop
24-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
ACT Welcomes Draft Plan To End Infrastructure Whiplash
ACT is welcoming the release of the draft National Infrastructure Plan today by the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission. "This plan is a game-changing step toward getting the best-value infrastructure projects built, at the right price and on time," says ACT Leader David Seymour. "A fundamental problem with our approach to infrastructure planning has been a political cycle shorter than the project cycle. When decision-makers change, infrastructure priorities are jerked around by political whiplash, leading to costly stops and starts on major initiatives like Auckland rail projects, roading, schools, and hospitals. "The plan, once finalised, will deliver exactly what ACT has campaigned on: long-term infrastructure planning and prioritisation, smarter funding and financing, efficient delivery of critical projects, and better maintenance of assets. "Instead of going back to the drawing board every time there's a change of political guard, future governments will be able to draw from an established pipeline of planned and costed projects. "New Zealand ranks in the top 10% of OECD nations for infrastructure spending but the bottom 10% for outcomes. The infrastructure industry has been denied the certainty needed to bring in the investment, equipment, and talent they need to get the big stuff built efficiently. "This plan aligns with ACT's coalition commitment of regional deals between central and local government to ensure funding certainty. Meanwhile, Simon Court has advanced the refresh of the Public-Private Partnership policy and introduced a new strategic leasing policy so that once projects are identified the private sector can play its part in finance and delivery. "Simon's work to replace the Resource Management Act with a less bureaucratic system based on property rights also feeds in to make development faster and more affordable. Without ditching the RMA, projects will continue to be held up for years of arguments about effects that we already know how to manage well. "Crucially, the Infrastructure Minister is seeking cross-party engagement on the Plan. I hope all parties will engage in good faith, because cross-party agreement means certainty for industry, which in turn means more projects get built on time and New Zealand becomes a richer, more industrious, more prosperous place to live."
