Congratulations Maori Party

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 pm, August 31st, 2009 - 13 comments
Categories: climate change, maori party, national/act government - Tags:

Looks like the Maori Party has decided to stand by their principles and oppose weakening the Emissions Trading Scheme. Their stinging minority report rules out supporting any weakening of the already too weak ETS and calls for a far greater commitment to the environment from government:

The Maori Party continues to oppose the introduction of an ETS on these grounds, and would do so more strongly if a replacement scheme were to be less effective and more inequitable…We remain unconvinced that the market is the best mechanism to set a price on carbon. The continued rise in oil costs from pending peak oil production and global shortages of fresh water alert us to the fact that the world’s economy is not so much in a temporary recession as in a state of major change, and that the current mode of living in developed countries is simply not sustainable into the future.

Rahui Katene followed that with a strong press release: “The time is past for scheming and trading – we want an Emissions Reduction Programme. We want a regime that is transparent and fair, and requires polluters to pay.” Awesome.

Pity they tried to weasel out of it first. Pity they wanted to zip their mouths and swallow those fine words.

Last week they were screwed on the Maori seats in Auckland. A few days later, National was begging them to support weakening a climate change law they already thought was too weak. They should have slammed the door in Key’s face straight away. Instead, they were prepared to make a bargain, as Katene admits: “we offered to withdraw our minority report, in an effort to maintain open dialogue with National on issues of concern to the Maori Party”. I’m thinking the bargain went something like: ‘we’ll help you turn a blind eye to climate change, if you promise us a better deal on the foreshore and seabed. The failure to bury their minority report put that idea to bed. It’s one thing to obviously be sell-outs. It’s another to have the proof right there, written in your own hand.

Now though, deal’s off and the Maori Party can pretend they never entertained selling out Papatuanuku for the right to grow a few mussels. Instead, they stand tall and stand up for the environment.

Hopefully, they’re learning that ‘compromise’ with the Nats is a one-way street. If they haven’t learned yet, I’m sure they will when the Government screws them over the foreshore and seabed.

13 comments on “Congratulations Maori Party ”

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  1. IrishBill 1
    31 August 2009 at 9:19 pm

    I think you’re being too hard on the Maori party.

    • outofbed 1.1
      31 August 2009 at 9:26 pm

      I agree with the Irish one.

      Katene comes across as a bit of a political novice
      I think more cock up then conspiracy

      In the end all that seems to have happened,
      is that act has delayed the original ETS bill

      They really are not very nice people

      • Zetetic 1.1.1
        31 August 2009 at 9:34 pm

        well, Katene admits they were prepared to hide their real views to keep National happy. It’s hardly conspiracy theory.

        and has the ETS actually been delayed? I mean it passed last year, and they haven’t passed a law suspending it have they?

  2. Zetetic 2
    31 August 2009 at 9:30 pm

    I don’t reckon bro.

    I mean honestly, it’s great that they believe these things. It’s great they can make such strong statements on the environment. But they tried to suppress those opinions. In my mind, it’s worse that they clearly have these strong views and were willing to sell them out just to keep the Nats happy, especially as the Nats had just screwed them over and are bound to screw them on the f&s as well.

  3. Ianmac 3
    31 August 2009 at 10:56 pm

    It seems a bit like altering your test paper after it was written and time up. Worse if pressure brought to bear to change your paper- isn’t it?

  4. Madeleine 4
    31 August 2009 at 11:57 pm

    I hope that the deal went “we’ll help you turn a blind eye to climate change, if you promise us a better deal on the foreshore and seabed.” Climate change is a money grabbing crock of rubbish whereas the denial of due process caused by the foreshore and seabed act needs to be righted.

    The Maori Party should focus on what they stood for and leave the junk science to the greens.

  5. Madeleine 5
    31 August 2009 at 11:58 pm

    I hope that the deal went “we’ll help you turn a blind eye to climate change, if you promise us a better deal on the foreshore and seabed.’ Climate change is a money grabbing crock of rubbish whereas the denial of due process caused by the foreshore and seabed act needs to be righted.

    The Maori Party should focus on what they stood for and leave the junk science to the greens.

  6. mickysavage 6
    1 September 2009 at 7:59 am

    Prey tell Madeleine. What are your qualifications? PHD in Climate Science? Masters in meterology? What qualifications do you have which allow you to promounce with such certainty on something as compled as climate change science?

    I hope you are right.

    If you are wrong and the earth goes to hell can we expect an apology?

  7. Anne 7
    1 September 2009 at 9:46 am

    Nope. Madeleine has no scientific qualifications. Her choice of words gives that one away. She listens to Climate Change Denier supremo, Leighton Smith?

  8. Pascal's bookie 8
    1 September 2009 at 10:09 am

    Item:

    “The permafrost now has small holes. We have found elevated levels of methane above the water surface and even more in the water just below. It is obvious that the source is the seabed,’ Oerjan Gustafsson, the Swedish leader of the International Siberian Shelf Study, told the newspaper.

    Don’t worry though Madeleine, it’s probably just whales farting or something.

    “science”

    pffft.

  9. BLiP 9
    1 September 2009 at 4:00 pm

    It seems almost as if Science is being dumbed down in New Zealand. The public relations department made short work of Dr Salinger. Education funds by the tens of millions are being used to develop property for businesses to lease back in about a hundred years. Food Safety is a big worry. Actually, any sort of public science seems unavailable, unreliable, and inconsistent. How long have fish, dogs, and dolphins been dying on Auckland’s foreshore and what is causing it? And what’s with that $14 million “weather computer” ? Anyone had a blood test lately?

    Welcome to National Ltd McScience

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