“Jacinda Ardern’s “nuclear free moment” has become even more of a joke today as New Zealand has become a net importer of coal for the first time ever,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Labour has made it too hard to mine under the RMA, but you can still import dirty coal from other countries.

“It’s nuts. The fact that Huntly was built on a coal field but has to use imported coal sums up the logic of this Government and the difficulties with the RMA.

“According to figures from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) released today, coal use for electricity generation is up 29.5 per cent in the past year.

“If we want to avoid burning millions of tonnes of foreign coal in future, the Government needs to re-evaluate its oil and gas ban.

“For yet another quarter these figures have shown that this coal powered Government is all spin.”

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