McGovernment
This increasingly ramshackle government continues to astound. They’ve basically done nothing in a year when the country has been dealing with the worst economic crisis in decades. When they have tried to tackle big issues, the result has been incompetent policy produced entirely for political reasons – framed as moderate while paying off big business. Take Treasury’s view of National’s Emissions Trading Scheme:
Adequacy statement
A Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) was prepared for these proposals, and independently reviewed by Treasury’s Regulatory Impact Analysis Team (RIAT). RIAT has formed the view that the level and quality of analysis presented is not commensurate with the significance of the proposals, which represent major design changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme, and that the RIS does not provide an adequate basis for informed decision-making. Some key risks identified by RIAT include (but are not limited to) the following:
- there is no clear analytical basis for the proposal to align some key design elements of the New Zealand ETS with those in the currently proposed Australian Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). For example, there is no discussion of the overall suitability or benefits of applying these elements to New Zealand’s unique emissions profile and industrial structures:
- there is no discussion of the risks of harmonising with an overseas scheme that has not yet been finalised or agreed and may yet be subject to significant revision. Such risks may include the potential impacts on business certainty and investment decisions, and the overall credibility, sustainability and effectiveness of the NZ ETS:
- there is no information on the implied transition path for firms over the medium-to-long term, particularly given that the proposal is for a temporary period of greater assistance coupled with an ambitious long-term emissions reduction target. Without this, it is hard to assess whether it is likely that the design changes will allow for a smoother transition for business.
So, Treasury’s not even getting to the point of saying ‘hey, sweet policy’ or ‘man, this sucks’. They’re just saying ‘what is this rubbish? You can’t seriously be planning on making sweeping changes to the biggest economic policy since GST without even thinking it through first’.
It’s McGovernment: crap that’s bad for you, makes profits for big foreign business, and is served to you by a clown.