No deal

Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, September 15th, 2009 - 22 comments
Categories: climate change, labour, national - Tags:

Hot Topic has obtained a copy of a draft memorandum of understanding for a meeting on the ETS that was meant to take place today. It shows that Labour was prepared to do more to help compensate polluters for the costs they would have faced while still paying a price for polluting, thereby still incentivising reductions in emissions.

Now, it seems doubtful that National was ever genuine about wanting to form a sustainable agreement between the two major parties. As Charles Chauvel said:

“Negotiations with Nick Smith were (pause) I’m not sure now we had any discussions in good faith. We’d need to be very careful about whether or not we’d have any discussions with them at any time.”

Phil Goff has called National’s behaviour a “major breach of faith”. The old saying’s still true: never trust a Tory.

Labour’s course is clear. They must state that they will not agree to National and the Maori Party’s cop-out ETS and will strengthen it immediately when next in power.

When making investment decisions, polluters would be wise to realise that the subsidies won’t last forever.

22 comments on “No deal ”

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  1. Clarke 1
    15 September 2009 at 11:39 am

    There’s been some commentary that the ETS should not be used as a political football – it’s my fervent hope that Labour will not only use it as a football, but will be prepared to play a hard and aggressive game with it. It’s time to stop the handouts.

  2. Tim Ellis 2
    15 September 2009 at 12:00 pm

    I don’t know what Mr Goff means by breach of faith in negotiations, given that he has leaked the memorandum of understanding. It is a bit rich for Mr Goff to talk about breaches of faith when as Minister of Foreign Affairs he leaked official’s notes on a private meeting between National’s then leader and US politicians. Perhaps he was referring to the breaches of faith in which he leaked to the press gallery the fact that there were other allegations about Dr Worth.

    Mr Goff hasn’t shown that he can be trusted in engaging in proper negotiations with the government. He further doesn’t seem to understand that he’s in opposition. Opposition don’t have, by right, a mandate to dictate to the government what government policy should be. For a man who was a senior minister in a government that made an art form out of only negotiating with parties that were in government (excluding the Greens and the Maori Party throughout 2005-2008), it seems a bit churlish for him to expect to be at the negotiating table over the ETS.

    Labour have every right to suggest that the ETS might be a political football in the future, although to be fair Labour aren’t likely to be in government again anytime soon, so it’s unlikely this will undermine stability in the government’s ETS.

    • lprent 2.1
      15 September 2009 at 12:28 pm

      Yeah, yeah… Done your duty now….

      Now on to more important matters…

    • mickysavage 2.2
      15 September 2009 at 1:00 pm

      Sorry to descend into the pit but Nick Smith started it this morning by saying that Labour dithered in getting back to National and this is why they went with the Maori party.

      My understanding is that this is simply untrue.

      Gird loins waiting for inevitable wingnut onslaught.

    • felix 2.3
      15 September 2009 at 1:02 pm

      What a boring little drunk you are, Ellis.

      • Tim Ellis 2.3.1
        15 September 2009 at 1:06 pm

        What constructive points you make Felix.

        • felix 2.3.1.1
          15 September 2009 at 1:20 pm

          How about you give me something to work with instead of your regular daily cut & paste of “this reflects poorly on Mr Key but lets talk about Goff instead”

          You’re like a comedian from the 80s doing routines about the size of airline food portions.

          “and what about Goff? Have you seen this guy?”

          If you ever, ever decide to say something worth addressing, it’ll be addressed, fisked, pulled apart, boiled in reality and spoon-fed back to you. Your ideas will get the constructive criticism you deeply, psychologically desire.

          Hmm, maybe that’s why you never, ever, offer them up.

          Wimp.

      • Armchair Critic 2.3.2
        15 September 2009 at 1:24 pm

        I stopped reading TE’s comment after “I don’t know what Mr Goff means…” I can hardly think of a worse start to a comment. Seems the rest of it was lacking in any insight, too.

  3. BLiP 3
    15 September 2009 at 12:13 pm

    Classic National Ltd – a short term fix for a long term problem it doesn’t understand, using its obsequious media muppets to sell the lies.

    The funniest thing has been watching G Espiner getting his incompetence handed to him on a plate by no less an intellectual than that towering example of understanding, Paul Henry. Watch here as Espiner spins the Crosby/Textor lies about how the John Key / Maori Party solution is going to save us money and then watch here as he gets his own shit served back up to him – open wide you little fucker!

    And, as much as it pains me to say, good work at the New Zealand Herald today. By whatever fluke, Brian Fallow has managed to get some of the real facts onto the front page!

    • felix 3.1
      15 September 2009 at 1:23 pm

      Jeez, that was embarrassing for the little guy. Imagine being made to look that stupid by such a buffoon.

      Almost feel sorry for him. Almost.

  4. randal 4
    15 September 2009 at 12:39 pm

    no amount of pussyfooting will disguise the fact that natoinal is a party of lead heads. they think civilisation wil be advanced when everyone has a boy wacer car, airconditoning, a hardly davison, trips to europe, all the petrol that money can buy,a speedboat anna sports plane. they dont care about the future as long as theya re riding in the most expensive ride NOW so they can demonstatrate their innate money grubbing capacity to the world at large by displaying their petrol driven toys and gew gaws.

  5. George D 5
    15 September 2009 at 1:38 pm

    $200+ every year from every single New Zealander to farmers, in perpetuity.

  6. Policy Parrot 6
    15 September 2009 at 1:46 pm

    Nick for Nelson?

    You’ve got to be joking in 2011? He’s the guy who almost singlehandedly, sabotaged the ETS. Nick Smith will be responsible for any backlash against exports and tourism, our biggest foreign currency earners.

    More like “Smokestack Smith”.

  7. Ron 7
    15 September 2009 at 2:47 pm

    Look – did Smith lie this moirning on NatRad? If so where is the follow up from the media?
    ther’s an (captcha )- idea for the media.

    • BLiP 7.1
      15 September 2009 at 3:57 pm

      When was that Ron – I’ve had a rummage at that tragedy of a site radionz.co but can’t seem to find it – was it on morning report or something?

  8. outofbed 8
    15 September 2009 at 3:04 pm

    Nick Smith is a serial liar and the only people who call him over it seem to be judges
    he is not a very nice person

  9. Bill 9
    15 September 2009 at 8:26 pm

    Labour wanted to do as little as possible on carbon.
    National wanted to do as little as possible on carbon.
    NZ is doing as little as possible on carbon.

  10. George D 10
    16 September 2009 at 9:58 am

    I’m pretty glad Labour didn’t sign up to it. Word on the street is that the version Labour was going to sign was almost as bad as the Maori Party agreed to.

    We still have a faint hope of getting the climate policies Labour promised us over seven whole years ago.

    “April 2007 Proposed start date for carbon tax.”
    http://www.beehive.govt.nz/node/22885

    We can only think what might have happened, had the Labour Government had some integrity.

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