ETS – last chance!

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, November 25th, 2009 - 40 comments
Categories: Environment - Tags:

Breaking news. It seems that turmoil within the Maori Party may derail the ETS after all:

EXCLUSIVE: An 11th hour revolt within the Maori Party is threatening to torpedo the Emissions Trading Scheme deal with the Key Government.

Even if the revolt does not succeed – Environment Minister Nick Smith is hoping to secure passage of the bill this afternoon – the damage to the relationship between the Maori Party and the Government could be irreparable.

The Maori Party’s national council, 26 senior representatives that make up the party’s ruling body, will hold an urgent telephone conference this afternoon or evening. Some of them, though it is unclear whether it is a majority, want the party’s MPs to scuttle the deal with the Government.

Excellent news that there are still some within the Maori Party who value the environment and value their principles. Thank you for speaking up, and I hope you can save both the Maori Party and New Zealand from this huge mistake. National’s ETS is a disaster, it won’t limit emissions, it will load huge costs on the taxpayer, it will damage New Zealand. If you, dear reader, have any influence within the party, or if you know anyone with influence in the party, now is the time to use it. Stop the ETS!

[Hat tips Lew and Lanthanide in comments, and of course great work by Grahame Armstrong in the Stuff piece linked above.]

40 comments on “ETS – last chance! ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Walter 1
    25 November 2009 at 10:58 am

    Wow!

    Rodney must be rubbing his pudgy little hands together. He’ll be like a kid with the keys to a toy store – “Now, what do I want?”

    I wonder if the ‘sensible’ and ‘elegant’ concessions to the MP will stay if they don’t vote for it?

  2. Michael Foxglove 2
    25 November 2009 at 11:01 am

    Labour must now try and delay the bill by drawing up as many amendments as possible.

  3. randal 3
    25 November 2009 at 11:02 am

    It looks like an orwellian job allright.
    How to say you are preventing pollution but just handing over taxpayers money to your biggest supporters.
    When the world comes to this sort of pass then we are really in trouble.

  4. infused 4
    25 November 2009 at 11:05 am

    Thank fuck people are waking up.

  5. Tigger 5
    25 November 2009 at 11:14 am

    “The Parliamentary caucus had not consulted some members of the party’s ruling body.”
    Combined with taking Harawira out of the picture (yep, got him out of the way but only created a ticking time bomb if the ETS goes ahead) it points to a party that is truly losing touch with its people – or at least some of them..

  6. Doug 6
    25 November 2009 at 11:23 am

    Sounds like Gordon Armstrong interviewing his keyboard.
    Not reported in any other News source.

  7. outofbed 7
    25 November 2009 at 11:27 am

    Hekia Parata from National has been given the job of sitting next to Te Ururoa Flavell in the House to make sure the Maori Party do what they promised in their dirty deal. Now he’s been taken outside to be leaned on in private.
    http://blog.greens.org.nz/2009/11/25/a-clyde-dam-moment/

  8. outofbed 8
    25 November 2009 at 11:34 am

    Shit I agree with Rodney Hide

  9. outofbed 9
    25 November 2009 at 11:37 am

    Te Ururoa Flavell just said they won’t vote against it

  10. grumpy 10
    25 November 2009 at 11:41 am

    Good news on all fronts really.

    The Left don’t want it, nor do the Right. And….we won’t need to pay out heaps of money to iwi.

    Copenhagen is a dead duck anyway, the “undisputed science” argument has collapsed. The future for an ETS is much different this week than it was a few weeks ago.

    • snoozer 10.1
      25 November 2009 at 11:51 am

      do tell, what part of the stolen emails shows that climate change isn’t real?

      some quotes perhaps like ‘greenhouse gases don’t cause radiative forcing, lolz’ or ‘turns out we’re not emitting any carbon dioxide after all, suckas’

    • lprent 10.2
      25 November 2009 at 1:02 pm

      Ah no. Just have a few dick head CCDs doing what they have always done. Everyone else pretty much ignoring it. Me, I’m just playing with the food, like a cat plays with a mouse.

  11. Draco T Bastard 11
    25 November 2009 at 11:42 am

    I really do hope the Maori Party stick to principle rather than the Dirty Deal that they had going.

  12. toad 12
    25 November 2009 at 11:50 am

    Looks like its for real – they’re not responding to phone calls.

    NBR was told Minister for Maori Affairs Pita Sharples’ press secretary was on leave and co-leader Tariana Turia’s press secretary’s phone was otherwise engaged.

    • toad 12.1
      25 November 2009 at 12:02 pm

      Then, again:

      The National Executive of the Maori Party has confirmed that no meeting has been organised or authorised of the National Council to discuss the decision of the Maori Party to support the Emissions Trading Scheme.

  13. toad 13
    25 November 2009 at 11:55 am

    …a senior party source said…

    “Many Maori Party supporters are threatening to leave the party, as the real issues behind this legislation are becoming known by the wider public.

    Haere mai koutou ki te Pati Kakariki.

  14. Daveo 14
    25 November 2009 at 11:59 am

    This just in (typo theirs):

    Maori Party – Ourt Word Is Our Bond
    Press Release by Maori Party at 11:48 am, 25 Nov 2009

    The National Executive of the Maori Party has confirmed that
    no meeting has been organised or authorised of the National
    Council to discuss the decision of the Maori Party to
    support the Emissions Trading Scheme.

    Te Orohi Paul, Co-vice President, and speaking for the
    National Executive; said “The Maori Party is a party of
    integrity. It keeps its word and we will not welch on
    promises already made in good faith”.

    “We have had discussions at the last two National Council
    hui about the ETS, and have received a great deal of
    information from the parliamentary wing of the party, to
    inform us as a National Council”.

    “The mischievous making from unknown individuals, whilst
    sensational, will not change our resolve and distract us
    from the important work in hand”.

    ENDS

    Whatever’s happening, it’s becoming increasingly clear that there are some major splits and divisions in the Maori Party. At some point this contradiction is going to come to a head in spectacular fashion.

    • gobsmacked 14.1
      25 November 2009 at 12:04 pm

      The Maori Party is a party of integrity. It keeps its word

      Hone’s in, Hone’s out … In, Out, In, Out, shake it all about

    • Draco T Bastard 14.2
      25 November 2009 at 12:15 pm

      Well, the MP certainly have a different definition of integrity than pretty much everyone else then.

      EDIT:
      Pretty sure this will spell the end of the MP actually. They’re proving themselves untrustworthy to the majority of their supporters.

  15. snoozer 15
    25 November 2009 at 12:07 pm

    “it keeps its word” – that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day.

  16. Bored 16
    25 November 2009 at 12:12 pm

    In Churchill’s terms now is the “hour of crisis’. It’s pretty obvious to anybody with half a brain that to commit to a lasting solution to the ETS means a consensus is required across all political parties. This requires that John Key stands up and acts like a statesman, and leads a non party based discussion and vote by the whole of the house. Goff needs to invite him to do so and support him through this.

  17. tc 17
    25 November 2009 at 12:13 pm

    Remove Hone from the picture, dangle the MP re-entry card carrot for him, but keep his block vote was a sly tactic.

    MP must surely realise that Turei/Sharples aren’t fit to lead them if it’s come to this so time to run a book on who sits next to the ineffective Sharples with a limo and nice office next term…..oh assuming they form part of a coalition that is.

  18. gobsmacked 18
    25 November 2009 at 12:38 pm

    The tragedy is, the Maori Party have broken a basic rule of Politics 101: use up your political capital on your own priorities. Not digging some other party out of a hole.

    The Maori Party was always going to face flak if it wanted to advance its goals, especially from “mainstream” middle NZ. But what have they achieved? A flag?

    The Foreshore & Seabed has been reviewed and consulted and discussed and no law has changed. Nothing will happen until well into 2010. Will the Maori Party hold together until then?

  19. prism 19
    25 November 2009 at 1:47 pm

    Someone out there recognises that the ETS agreement concerning forestry possibilities for Maori is too narrow – ties them to growing trees when there could be more business opportunities in other businesses. They need to reneg on the present deal and get it sorted to be appropriate for them, the whiteside have done it often enough. Big business is getting advantages, why shouldn’t they.

  20. greenfly 20
    25 November 2009 at 3:19 pm

    Jeeze tc! It’s TURIA and Sharples, not Turei/Sharples.
    Wrong party. Metiria Turei is the Green’s co-leader.
    Tariana Turia is the one having her stomach stapled and her mana destroyed.

  21. gobsmacked 21
    25 November 2009 at 4:30 pm

    Bring Back Doug!

    11.23 am, Doug sagely informs us it’s a non-story. “Not reported in any other News source.”

    Heh. Best call since John McCain picked Sarah Palin.

Links to post

The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.