National Swallowing the Climate Change Lies
The National-led Government was careful to try and hide one major piece of mindless spending in last week's budget... setting aside over half a billion dollars for the false religion of "climate change"!!
That $550 million pot would have almost paid for the so-called "unaffordable" tax cuts for the next two years!
The ruse was uncovered by former ACT Party MP Muriel Newman at the NZ Centre for Political Research and kindly alerted by Not PC.
Newman says most of this $550 million has been earmarked for buying carbon credits for businesses, to help get the Emissions Trading Scheme going.
She says despite the illusion of an ETS review, National's true intentions were revealed in the budget...
Those who believed that the Government was genuinely awaiting the outcome of an “independent” Select Committee review will be disappointed to see that the die is already cast.
And consumers worried about the added cost of an emissions trading scheme will be especially concerned to find out that the half a billion dollar cost is only the beginning of what will be an enormously unproductive drain on our already fragile economy.
ACT's 2008 Confidence and Supply agreement with National noted the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme would be delayed until a review by a special select committee was completed...
National agrees to a review by a special select committee of Parliament of the current Emissions Trading Scheme legislation and any amendments or alternatives to it, including carbon taxes, in the light of current economic circumstances and steps now being undertaken by similar nations.However a delay to the ETS legislation did not take place, with the existing ETS continuing in the meantime. The select committee's review was due to be completed by March of this year, with "any subsequent amendments to the NZ ETS" to be passed by September 2009.
National further agrees to pass forthwith an amendment to the ETS legislation delaying its implementation, repealing the thermal generation ban and making any other necessary interim adjustments until the select committee review is completed.
One of the terms of reference was to “examine the relative merits of an emissions trading scheme or a tax on carbon or energy as a New Zealand response to climate change”.
On May 13th, committee chairperson Peter Dunne (yes, seriously) advised they had completed hearing submissions on the review of the Emissions Trading Scheme (278 submissions, including 102 oral submissions).
Dunne said the committee will "now move into a period of consideration", followed by "our written report and any recommendations to the Government that we may wish to make".
Muriel Newman says National [and ACT] seem to have abandoned their promoted vision of growing the New Zealand economy, and catching up to Australia by 2025...
National appears to have become somewhat captured by the bureaucracy to the point where they are satisfied with tinkering with their predecessor’s socialist spending promises rather than implementing real, badly needed reform.I do find the lack of spine shown by Rodney Hide and ACT in extracting any genuine policy gains from National somewhat surprising and very disappointing.
NZ First and the slimline United Future drove hard bargains with Labour in the last administration. Winston extracted genuine gains for his party, like an increase in the minimum wage, an increase in superannuation, and free public transport for the oldies.
Even Peter Dunne with his very small handful of MPs managed to get a Family Commission, and was able to make all charity donations tax-deductible.
Surely National's own "support partners", ACT and the Maori Party - should have been the first cabs off the rank for any new initiatives??
* Great Global Warming: News and Truth about Global Warming
* An Honest Climate Debate: Exposing the truth about the Man-Made Climate Change theory
Posted at 7:04 pm
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