The new Resources Minister and Associate Energy Minister has launched a blistering attack on the "hysteria surrounding climate change".
Shane Jones used his Address in Reply speech in Parliament to launch an attack on policies enacted by previous Governments to address climate change.
It includes a revelation that he doesn't believe New Zealand will hit its 100 percent renewable energy target by 2030.
"We are not going to meet the 2030 dreamy fairytale aspirational figures that will be freeing ourselves of fossil fuels as generating energy," Minister Jones said.
Labour brought in the renewable target as part of its 2020 election pledge and this year it was backed by the world's largest investment firm, Blackrock. It created a fund to support investment in renewable technology.
"We're going to bring rigour and commonsense to the hysteria surrounding climate change," he said.
"Whatever work has been happening at the Ministry for the Environment - not unlike Thomas Becket the meddlesome priest - that is now stopped."
Lifting the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration is part of the Coalition Government's policy manifesto - and Jones spoke of that happening at pace.
"I look forward to leading the debate, changing the law and enabling gas and oil exploration, wealth development to take place yet again in New Zealand."
Mining on Department of Conservation (DoC) and Stewardship land is also in the pipeline, Jones said.
"We are going to extract the dividend from Mother Nature's legacy on the DoC estate and those areas previously known as Stewardship land.
"There'll be a fast track for mining, fast track for energy, that's the thing coming in your direction," said Jones.
An earlier version of this story referred to the 2030 Paris Agreement target, not the renewable target.
