dispatch from St Johnnysburg
David Farrar
David Farrar: For whom the ETS tolls
Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) legislation was before both the New Zealand and Australian Parliaments this last fortnight.
National will be greatly relieved its amendments to New Zealand’s ETS have been passed into law. National was getting hammered on both flanks. The left were complaining that the changes will not do enough to reduce emissions, will reward polluters, and will increase debt. The right ranged from skepticism (especially with the many unanswered questions arising from the stolen climate change e-mails) about the need to have an ETS at all, calls for agriculture to be exempt, to opposition to the deal with the Maori Party.
So it has been quite a torrid time for National, who had days and days of negative headlines. Finally they got the changes passed into law, with some medium to heavy political bruising as the cost.
However painful those bruises might be, they pail into insignificance with the crippling wounds the ETS legislation has inflicted on the Australian Liberal Party. Despite only being the Opposition, not the Government, the ETS legislation resulted in a move to their fourth party leader in just two years.
It took Australian Labor seven and a half years to go through four leaders in opposition, and even National took seven years to rotate through its last four leaders.
Kevin Rudd has a clear majority in the Australian House of Representatives with 83 Labor MPs out of 150. However Labor has only 32 MPs in the 76 member Senate, meaning he needs seven more votes to pass the ETS. Even if the Greens were willing to vote for it, their five seats would still leave him two short.
Malcolm Turnbull did not want to position the Liberal Party as climate change skeptics. He struck a deal with Kevin Rudd to support the ETS legislation if certain changes were agreed to. He won a vote in his Caucus for the changes, but his party split under him, with half his Shadow Cabinet resigning. He then lost the party leadership by one vote to Tony Abbott.
Opinion varies on Tony Abbott. One commentator labeled him the Liberal Party’s answer to Mark Latham. That is not a compliment. Abbott is a pugilist – both literally and politically. He will give Kevin Rudd a much tougher time in the House, but he may not threaten him so much in the polls. The phrase “Prime Minister Tony Abbott” comes as naturally to an Australian journalist as “Prime Minister Trevor Mallard” would come to a New Zealand journalist. They’re both hard men in politics, but Labour more sensibly have Mallard in a Vladimir Putin type role where he runs things behinds the scenes, rather than become the public face of the party.
The ETS legislation got voted down this week in the Australian Senate. It will go back for another vote in early February. If it fails to pass then, it is almost inevitable Kevin Rudd will call a double dissolution (that means the entire Senate, not just half of it) election, which will be a de facto referendum on the ETS.
While it is difficult to imagine that Tony Abbott could win such an election, it would pose a fascinating dilemma for NZ National if Abbott did. There would be great pressure on New Zealand to delay or further amend its ETS, if Australia abandoned having one. After working so hard to get the genie into the box, it would be a political nightmare to have the issue flair up all over again.
So it poses the question. If Australia does go to the polls early next year to an ETS triggered election, will John Key be quietly hoping for Labor’s Kevin Rudd to win?
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Of course Key would want
Of course Key would want Rudd to win. Key is Labour.
Key in Drag
Key is Clark in drag OMG.
One World Government Agenda
Once again New Zealand is ruled by the forces of the special interest group.
Please pay particular heed to Lord Monckton and his research on the farce of Copenhagen and what they really are passing through under the guise of climate change.
Please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stij8sUybx0
Cui posit audire audite!
ETS scam
Key does indeed seem to be Clark in drag OMG
he seems to be ignoring the growing body of evidence that the whole climate change/global warming concept is a giant scam promoted by those who benefit.Clark & Gore spring to mind.
also of great concern is the news that the UN will be requiring contributions from "developed nations". NZ falls into this category & thus an additional tax will fall on unsuspecting NZ taxpayers
and the UN person controlling this aspect is guess who? Helen Clark
if we thought that socialist/communist had gone, think again!
I would like Key to spell out the strings he has with Clark.perhaps that is why his policies show such a marked similarity to hers?
What a ridiculous post from
What a ridiculous post from Farrar. With the leaked emails his 'talents' would be better put to use showing why some Aussie politicians saw the light of day in this awful scandal and waste of resources.
Protecting Key and his 'silenced' members of parliament is not what good journalists do.
Where are the ethics when a network of warming scientists was created that distorted science and deceived the world?
Results have been manipulated by a group of ‘warming’ scientists with fudged statistics
Sceptical scientists given the boot
To prevent transparent scrutiny release of data was blocked
Data files deleted
Reporters skillfully hoodwinked
Papers from sceptics’ suppressed
Errors in their “own” (the warming scientists) work deliberately hidden
How illuminating that these scientists acknowledged to each other (but not to the world) that the planet is “NOT” warming as their hypothesis predicted, when as far back as 2001 it has been cooling.
The preeminent young astrophysicist Professor Nir Shaviv from Israel says he’s not surprised at all by “Climategate,” whether it’s the revelation that data was destroyed to prevent checking, or evidence that sceptics were blocked from publication:”
“The hysteria surrounding the concept of ‘global warming’ will fade over the years… People will see that the apocalyptic forecasts are not coming true. Today there is no fingerprint attesting that carbon dioxide emission causes a rise in temperature.”
Professor Nir Shaviv own explanation for the warming that stopped in 2001 - the effect on cosmic rays on cloud formation. http://www.sciencebits.com/CosmicRaysClimate.
With the continual lack of sunshine and cold conditions being experienced over the past three months it is timely to take the time to read about “cosmic rays climate and hopefully hoodwinked journalists will open their eyes, ears and minds and start reporting the disgraceful leaked emails.
We sure as hellWhen the leaked emails of Brash were revealed, the public was continually bombarded and made aware.
I talk to people and they haven't a clue as to what I am talking about.
Why the cover up now.?
OOPS "We sure as hell heard
OOPS
"We sure as hell heard about the leaked emails of Brash when they were revealed, the public was continually bombarded and made aware."
Thank you NBR
Thank you NBR for allowing intelligent people to convey the corruption behind global warming.
I have cancelled my Heral subscription due to it's politically corrupt reporting
Pale in the Pail
It's "Pale" not "Pail"
Pale in the Pail
It's "Pale" not "Pail"
farrar - HOW IS THE SYSTEMIC
farrar - HOW IS THE SYSTEMIC BREAKDOWN OF NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY FASCINATING?
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ENDORSE FRAUD, POLITICAL CRIME AND CORRUPTION
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE BATTING FOR A PLACE IN THE WORLDS BIGGEST CORRUPT HIEST INTO WORLD GOVERNMENTING
David Farrar lacks any touch
David Farrar lacks any touch with reality and lost in his own idiom.
Clearly an imbecile. Poor form for the NBR to have someone with such a significant deficiency in cognitive capacity taint their world.
Is Farrar getting a bung from Nick Smith too?
The ETS is a political
The ETS is a political disease.
It is foisted on its unsuspecting host - the general public - by politicians hell-bent on increasing their power over us, and on improving their prospects of one day upgrading to an altogether more luxurious trough at the UN.
The ET$ may not be the main issue here.
We can speculate the reason as to why Rudd, Key and Co are in such a hurry to sign up (and cede each nation's sovereignty on our behalf at Copenhagen to a UN governed body) to an ETS in spite of the recent damning email evidence.
My guess is that the issue has nothing to do with climate but more to do with propping up an ailing financial system. Carbon credits created and issued will be another form of currency traded and needed by Wall Street to sustain the terminal derivatives market. It will prove to be an exercise in futility but make a few private bank owners very, very wealthy in the process.
That then begs the worrying question - just what is the scale of our respective countries' exposure to the derivatives market? Are we faced with the dilemma of being damned if we do, damned if we don't with the ETS tax being the least of the damned?
With an ETS and Copenhagen agreement should the draft not be seriously amended, taxpayers around the world will have no choice but to foot the bill for Wall Street derivative (read gambling debt) run up by those who, given the woeful velvet glove treatment so far, will unquestioningly do the same again with impunity.
Global Warming.
I have come to the conclusion that the NBR is a gutless wonder when comes to this subject. You are too scared to upset the AGW religious nutters who may cancell their subscriptions. If you have to rely on people with such poor intellect to make money, you are in big trouble.
Global warming.
I have come to the conclusion NBR is to scared to upset AGW religious nutters when come to this subject. If you have to rely on people of such poor intellect to make money, you are in big trouble.
CONCEDO
I totally agree with rexo on this one. I never saw it in relation to derivatives but highly probable outcome to keep the dirty bankers alive.
Flare with Flair
In this column's context, it is "flare" -- not "flair".
Aussie MPs have brains
The problem with National MPs is that they are too scared to challenge the status quo. Why is the sudden release of dirty linen hidden by IPCC scientists not causing National to pause and reflect on the foundational basis for their ETS?
I'm waiting for someone with common sense to stand up and say to Nick Smith and John Key, "We need to postpone this ETS for 1 year until the situation is clearer". And for the majority of caucus to agree.
Who will be that MP?
Of course Key would want
Of course Key would want Labor to win.
Key's National is far closer to Rudd's Labor than Abbott's Liberals.
Robbing Peter to pay Wall St.
Valueless derivatives are just one of a herd of elephants in the room. Another is the US Treasury Bond, of which China has a major holding. If any large holder such as China or Japan decides to sell a significant portion then funds will be needed to repay their investment, so putting it mildly there must have been a lot of tap-dancing happening in Beijing when Obama visited recently.
In a nutshell, more currency (the promise to pay through taxpayer labour) is required to keep this enormous Wall Street Ponzi scheme going, and what better way than to hoodwink the taxpayer into thinking they're parting with their readies for a good cause. My concern and suspicion regards the levels to which NZ and Oz are currently exposed to toxic debt..
Emisions Trading Scam (TAX)
For those who believe that New Zealand should not move before Australia on the ETS, there has been a further development which will make ACT’s spokesperson on Climate Change, John Boscawen’s meeting this Monday even more interesting!
A special guest speaker at the meeting will be Richard Treadgold, convenor of the Climate Conversation Group. Richard collated the recently released paper “Are we feeling warmer yet?” from a combined research project undertaken by members of the Climate Conversation Group and the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition.
Richard will present the findings of the research project and explain why, since New Zealand’s warming comes entirely from the adjustments, they are concerned that the figures have been published without mentioning the adjustments and that they have been used repeatedly to influence national policy.
He will also reveal their latest discovery of a contradiction between this official NIWA graph of the past and official predictions for the future.
PUBLIC MEETING
John Boscawen, ACT’s spokesperson on Climate Change, invites you to a Public Meeting to discuss the Emissions Trading Scheme.
New Zealanders will all be poorer. Power, petrol and food
will all go up in price.
Come and find out;
• Why the ETS will see many low and middle income families struggle
• Why many feel the scientific consensus is crumbling and dispute the fact that the
science is settled
• Why it will be more difficult for our export businesses and farmers to compete
• Why ACT’s offer to support National in delaying Labour’s ETS was ignored
Where: Royal Akarana Yacht Club,
10 Tamaki Drive, Okahu Bay, Auckland
When: Monday 7 December, 7.30 pm
For more information
email karen.bridgman@parliament.govt.nz
or call 09 531 5531
Sally's comprehension
Sally needs to redo remedial English if she thinks this column was "protecting Key". I mean seriously can you not read?
I wrote about how National had been damaged by the ETS, how they had a torrid time of it, how what has happened in Australia could be a nightmare for National, and how things are so bad, John Key might be secretly hoping Labor win the Australian election.
And Sally somehow reads this as protecting Key. My God. Go back to school.
what an disgusting post
what an disgusting post Farrar. I am shocked like many.
Do you believe that the farmers and those Key/English/Smith will impoverished and implicated with this fraud and deceit will find this fascinating??????????????????????????????
sally is correct. you have a long history in protecting whomever is in power
why don't you do yourself (and us) a favour and have the guts to move away from political brown nosing and stand up and call these criminals out - instead of insulting those question but, economically and socially implicated by your protection of this fraud (and bias).
go on farrar have some guts.
ets a scam
et bugger off home and take ya mates with ya.Ets a scam johnny.goddam aliens,klingons on the starboard bow johnny.
Gary Morgan says:
Gary Morgan says:
“Today’s telephone Morgan Poll taken after Tony Abbott became the new Opposition Leader on Tuesday shows strong support for a reinvigorated Liberal Party (39.5%) which is now just behind the ALP (41%) on Primary vote. The combined Coalition vote (43%) is now in front of the ALP for the first time since the 2007 Election.
“The decisive action taken by Abbott in rejecting the passing of the Rudd Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) in the Senate immediately after being elected Opposition Leader is evidence that Abbott will be taking a firmer line in opposing the Rudd Government than either of his predecessors — Malcolm Turnbull or Brendan Nelson.
ETS = Tax on developed
ETS = Tax on developed nations to impoverish them, with the funds going to developing nations (the rate of Chinese and Indian expansion will have them overtaking us in GDP stakes in less than 25 years), is an absolute con.
Why can't the mainstream media see this is communism by stealth? Why should NZ surrender sovereignty to the corruption that is the UN and it's aspiration for a world government?
The election following the the writing of the first $3b cheque will be interesting indeed, How much of a tax realignment have the workers in NZ had to forego, what services have had to be culled all for the sake of making the unelected few in the UN more powerful?
WAKE UP KEY AND USE COPENHAGEN AS A STAND FOR NZ SOVEREIGNTY. Tell them to gtfo and stick their ETS up their liberal proverbials
Barmy Paul
Paul says I have a long history of protecting whoever is in power.
Can someone go check out the weather in the dimension he resides in and let me know what it is like.D
yes David. it's been
yes David. it's been confirmed as getting colder.
Except its a dimension where folk tend not need to model and manipulate in order to portray something that doesn't exist
its a dimension where folk are not frightened of the truth.
its a dimension called reality
again. do you think the people implicated by this scam find it fascinating?
now r u going to remain in cookoo land deflecting the truth that frightens you or are you going to step up and call out this fraud?
Temperature
Barmy Paul ignores my challenge to his claim I have a long history of protecting people in power. He now swaps topics and claims it has been confirmed as getting colder. He is wrong. I can post data series if he wants.
david. you seem to deflect a
david. you seem to deflect a lot which suggests the title of 'barmy' is a sense of reflected inward insecurity.
I didn't want to dredge up your history as that is also a deflection of the real issue (or the challenge as you put it) yet a point made in support of someone who dared to question you...and to highlight just how many people have been lured into this deceit - including you clearly.
Yet David - i WAS formerly one of them lured.
the real issue is/are the implications to new zealand over this fraud.
Howevver, the challenge is yours david.
you need to ask yourself if are you brave enough to investigate the fact or are you basing your views on second hand, tin pot, cooked data - for that is all you'll be able to post.
again david for what it's worth - i was taken in and a huge advocate of climate change. however, once you locate the fact in all of this you'll see just how dirty, dark and corrupt the whole thing is. all you have to do is start with the people who are cooking it and 'selling it' - not exactly beacons of honesty david.
the next challenge then david is getting over ones' pride to admit adoration of a false allegory. trust me - one that's done - the truth is a comfortable place to be.
And yes. it is getting colder and the seas are not rising.
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