Labour sees just transition as core of future energy policy

Megan Woods said the party wanted to learn from its previous just transition pilots in Taranaki and Southland, to see what had worked or was not working. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Labour has hosted a forum on just transitions, as it starts to develop energy and climate policy ideas to take to the next election.

The forum, held rather ironically at the same time the government announced it was reinstating offshore oil and gas exploration, was designed to facilitate conversations between unions, climate groups, local government, and industry on how policy can be developed to ensure workers and communities were protected by a shift to a low-carbon future.

Labour energy, resources and climate change spokesperson Megan Woods said the party wanted to learn from its previous just transition pilots in Taranaki and Southland, to see what had worked or was not working.

"We'll continue to talk to all the parties, as we did in government, and it's important that we also facilitate getting some of these people, that find out when they get in a room with each other, that actually they agree on far more than they disagree on, and that there's really constructive and productive relationships that that can spawn from that."

Taranaki's just transition was developed after the offshore oil and gas ban, to support the region move to clean energy.

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New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom told the forum while there had been some investment in programmes like Ara Ake, there were still workforce issues.

"We've seen no investment in our tertiary education facility in Taranaki to actually underpin that transition. We're losing 10 jobs a week. There's not many things that I lose sleep about, but I'm looking at a 20 percent reduction in the GDP of my area," he said.

"We're nickle-and-dime shit in New Zealand. We're not prepared to pay and it's our workers that are going to be the first people that get screwed."

New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom says Taranaki was looking at a 20 percent reduction in GDP over the oil and gas ban. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin

The forum also heard from representatives of New Zealand Steel, which received a $140m contribution from the previous government towards a new electric arc furnace as part of the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry fund.

NZ Steel general manager Maria Orchard said just transition was a learning curve.

"How do we have those discussions around security and certainty? Because we're not looking at job losses with the electric arc furnace. We obviously do need to help our employees in terms of learning to make steel differently."

Other discussions focused on the kinds of renewables that should be developed.

Tuhi-Ao Bailey from Climate Justice Taranaki did not believe offshore wind and hydrogen were long-term transition solutions.

"We need things like solar, which we can make here, which will last 50 years, and it's replaceable and recyclable," he said.

Alex Johnston from Common Grace Aotearoa said the 'will-they-won't-they' question of Tiwai Point's closure highlighted the risks of a just transition not being in place.

"There needs to be a backstop of if they're not going to provide that justice and redeployment for the workers, what is the government going to do to fill that gap?" he asked.

"And that's a critical piece where there could be place-based transitions before we get the full picture of what it looks like across the economy for those individual sectors where those fast exits might be upon us, because we don't want to be caught off-guard and have people left in the lurch."

Woods said the forum highlighted the need for certainty.

In 2023, Labour proposed a Minister for Just Transitions at the election. Woods said while all policies were back to the drawing board, just transitions sat at the core of many of Labour's policies and informed its thinking on many things.

"Each region is different, but critically, there has to be partnerships, whether that's between central government and industry, or central government and workers, central government and local government. We've got to be willing to partner.

"But governments cannot sit back and just leave this to the market and think it's magically going to happen," she said.

Labour's spokespeople for finance, economic development, tertiary education, environment, small business, and workplace relations and safety all attended the forum, and Woods charged them with going away and thinking about how they could be involved.

In opening the forum, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he was willing to work with the government on matters of energy storage and dry-year solutions.

"I do think we need more stability when it comes to the debate about energy security. We're particularly interested in working with the current government, if they are willing to work with us."

Hipkins said Labour would not agree to restarting oil and gas exploration. The government announced it was doing exactly that just a few hours later.