Energy and Resources Minister, Gerry Brownlee, has welcomed the passing of the biofuel law, describing it as a pragmatic environmental step.
The law removes the obligation on oil companies to sell a small percentage of their fuel blended with biofuels.
"To meet the biofuels obligation of the old law oil companies were required to blend 10 million litres of biofuel into petrol and diesel sold in New Zealand this year."
"This would mean much of the biofuel would had been imported before environmental sustainability standards had been put in place," said Mr Brownlee.
"There seemed no point making oil companies sell biofuel when even the Parliament Commissioner for the Environment questioned its sustainability and when it was also going to increase the price of fuel", said Mr Brownlee.
"There has been a lot of mock outrage from the opposition over this repeal, but the reality was the previous government's law was no more than an exercise in greenwash and could have created more damage than good, he said.
The government wants to promote biofuels and a biofuel industry by applying consistent tax incentives.
"We are looking at sustainable biofuels being exempted excise and road user charges in proportion to the blend. A 10 percent blend would get a 10 percent exemption," said Mr Brownlee.
Additional reading on Biofuel Obligation from New Zealand-
1. http://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/energy+fuels+levies+and+references+biofuel+obligation+repeal+bill ( Energy Biofuel Obligation Repeal Bill - 16/12/2008)_
2. http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/biofuel+law+change ( Biofuel Law changed - 11/12/2008)
Source: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/biofuel+obligation+law+repealed
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