Category: Economic Issues
What is new is that the Coalition Government has decided to tax the Methane on its way around this natural, been-there-forever, cycle. It sounds more like a blatant tax grab than an honest attempt to deal with climate change.
It appears that the Prime Minister was planning to push ahead with a September election, until Winston Peters threatened to bring down the Government unless the election was delayed. It was this threat that forced the Prime Minister to put fairness above political self-interest.
As we look to the election, a major question on the mind of most voters is which government will best manage New Zealand out of the current crisis – one led by Labour or National.
Scaremongering is, of course, not uncommon, but what is surprising is how blind societies are to recognising when fear is being used as a tool for political persuasion.
Looking forward, strengthening the welfare system to ensure the unemployed take on available jobs must be a Government priority – as must growing the economy.
With the PM pitching for a second term on the basis of her track record of managing the virus crisis, let’s do a quick stocktake on how the two main parties have responded to pandemics - National the swine flu in 2009, and Labour Covid-19,
Is New Zealand’s Covid-19 track record really the envy of the world? And did Ms Ardern’s Captain’s Calls improve or worsen the outcome? With Parliament suspended during the crisis, the Prime Minister adroitly leveraged her celebrity status and thespian talent.
Minister Parker’s claim that the changes he introduced represent a “significant milestone in reforming the RMA that would reduce complexity, increase certainty … and makes significant improvements to environmental outcomes” is a gross misrepresentation - an absurdity that is patently untrue.
Consenting processes are already slow enough and councils are hardly well positioned to assess the carbon effects of anything. Consultants providing climate impact assessments may do well, but it won’t help New Zealand’s net emissions where those emissions are already covered under the ETS.
So, there we have it – an evidence-based narrative indicating New Zealand could have managed the virus by sticking with the Ministry of Health’s advice to stay at Level 2. Like Australia, we could have pulled through without needing an “ineffective” lockdown that has wrecked the economy and created devastating consequences for so many New Zealanders.
Loading ...
