I’m starting to wonder if there’s something a bit strange about the food they feed people at Parliament these days. The MPs are all acting up and acting strange. In fact, the last seven days have been downright bizarre when it comes to environmental politics.
I’ve previously blogged about the ambiguous approach of the Maori Party to tackling climate change and wondered which way they’d jump on the emissions trading scheme. A couple of weeks ago it was looking good. Te Tai Tonga MP Rahui Katene spoke out strongly in the media in favour of protecting Papatuanuku and said the Maori Party would only agree to strengthening the emissions trading scheme and said that bringing agriculture into the scheme by 2011 would be a bottom line. But yesterday afternoon, the Maori Party agreed to back the Government in gutting the scheme.
The Party agreed to a range of changes to the existing ETS that will transfer much of the cost of meeting a climate change target from polluters onto taxpayers. Unless the Government increases taxes (very unlikely) people will have to go without public services so that the greenhouse pollution from our biggest polluters is subsidised by the taxpayer. The Business Council for Sustainable Development has slated the scheme as costing taxpayers billions of dollars. What’s worse, because polluters will have little incentive to change their ways, New Zealand’s emissions will go up, not down.
This is mostly a huge sop to Fonterra so that the dairy sector can build lots more industrial dairy farms – that you’ll be subsidising with your taxes. When I was a child there was a series on TV called “Count Homogenised.” Perhaps Bellamy’s has got the MPs addicted to milkshakes.
A friend pointed out to me that while Rahui Katene had spoken in favour of saving the planet, it was Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples who seem to have struck the deal with National. Rumour has it that both Rahui Katene and Hone Harawira have been sidelined within the Maori Party on climate change. If so, that’s a pity.
Then there was Labour’s truly bizarre display in Parliament last week over National’s changes to the Resource Management Act. Labour MPs opposed a number of the reforms in passionate speeches, and then voted for them.
Two MPs do emerge from the week with credit. Firstly, I’ll giveJeanette Fitszimons credit for taking informed, principled stands on both the emissions trading scheme and the changes to the Resource Management Act. Secondly, I’ll give Charles Chauvel credit for taking a principled approach to his negotiations with National on the scheme. It may have cost him a deal with National, and politics is often about making deals that get things done, but sometimes principle is more important than the deal.