Monday, November 23, 2009

ACT to support ETS

ACT has just announced it is going to support the ETS legislation. This appears to be a move to curtail the Maori Party demands and prevent legislation being passed under urgency and before Copenhagen. This is intriguing however:

Mr Hide said that while ACT was strongly supportive of foreign investment and the private sector, it also had concerns about proposals to allow private companies, foreign or domestic, to establish carbon farms on the conservation estate.

“If a company, foreign or domestic, earns carbon credits from planting trees on the DoC estate, but then sells those credits offshore, it does nothing to improve New Zealand’s fiscal position under the Kyoto protocol. It is as if the trees had never been planted.

“If National wants more trees on the DoC estate, it makes most sense for DoC to plant them itself – then the Government will own the carbon credits which would reduce its Kyoto liability to the benefit of all taxpayers.”


ACT advocating state ownership of production. Sure carbon credit trading creates a phoney market, but don't similar principles apply as to the production of any goods or services? I am struggling with the difference. And surely the gain to the government (and benefit to the taxpayer) comes from leasing the DoC land rather than owning the carbon credits? What am I missing here?

15 comments:

Andrei said...

Got that release in my in box an hour or so ago

Fell into a deep depression.

You would hope that there would be one parliamentarian prepared to speak on principal and not take us down this nonsensical path to poverty.

Berry said...

What you are missing is the one thing that aligns all politicians of every colour and creed, all over the world: their never ending and all devouring lust for power at all cost and against all principle.
The only thing that might save us is absolute restriction on political and government power. I can't see that happening in a hurry, so we are simply fandangled. For instance the fact that the warming hoax has now been thoroughly exposed and that this not even appears on the radar, shows that politicians are not at all interested in substance, only in what's in the trough.

Lucy said...

Well it is now official. There is no political party in NZ with the guts to put the NZ peoples interest first.

Time to join the Scorched Earth bloggers.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't surprise me, either, anything to be noticed, huh. Principles in NZ went out years ago, started in rhe Rogernomic years, they're just more practised at it now. Act, one of them, also. Troughers. MMP sure does suck.

OECD rank 22 kiwi said...

Aren't ACT in danger of breaking more election promises than National?

ACT appears to be comprehensively rewriting its election manifesto for the 2011 election.

FAIRFACTS MEDIA said...

As I have blogged over at my place just now, instead Rodney Hide should be on the steps of parliament explaining why ACT won't be supporting an ETYS.
Those emails have cast sufficient doubt on the veracity of the claims made on AGW by the scientific community.
Therefore, we need a cup of tea to allow further consideration of the matter.

Anonymous said...

Read Hide's release more carefully. All he says is that Act will support interim legislation to stop the Maori Party deal. Very smart politics.

FAIRFACTS MEDIA said...

Indeed, my interpretation was not as alarmist as some commenters here.
But I would have liked a more aggressive stance on ETS from Rodney Hide.
I do believe Climategate calls at the very least for a pause and consideration ocer the whole AGW science and industry.

Anonymous said...

More hypocrisy from Hide and colleagues.

He's shown to be as crook as any other, keen to sell his soul for the baubles of office.

What happenned to principles?

KG said...

"What happenned to principles?"

Whatever happened to them, using the word when discussing the actions of politicians is pointless. You may as well spaek Sanskrit for all they'd understand.

KG said...

"speak" dammit. typo....

Gooner said...

ACT did not announce any such thing. Back to school for all of you. As anon @ 2:23 says, ACT simply wanted to buy time which is better than passing National's corrupt, crazy scheme. If you read it properly, ACT said it would vote in favour of scrapping Labour's scheme (which is what National want too) and then for the Maori deal to go through public scrutiny etc. In six months we could revisit things. ACT is outvoted here so is actually trying to do something to stop this mess becoming law.

Oswald Bastable said...

If they haven't told the NATs to stuff it where the monkey hides his nuts, they are also just a bunch of neutered catamites!

Lindsay Mitchell said...

Gooner, I think I understood the politic manouvering and described the reasons for it in my post. But nobody has addressed the second part of the press statement and my questions about it.

Shane Pleasance said...

Actually, it IS enough
I can handle the usual bumbling incompetence and general fuckwittery we have had in politics in NZ for the last 20 years.
Almost.
Well actually, no I cannot.

But race based politics and our rush to third world status with the unjustifiable and evangelical ETS despite science & sense really is terrifying. We are moving from squandering the incredible opportunity which is NZ, to outright destruction - rather than our usual general soporific sheep munching in a paddock decline.

It actually IS enough to make you vote Libertarianz.