Labour should keep trying for ETS "grand coalition"

There is no doubt that National's Climate Change response and ETS policy in particular is bad news for New Zealand.  It shifts the cost of pollution off the polluters and onto all New Zealanders who will be paying more taxes to subsidize polluters.  It creates little incentive for polluters to develop technological or system change to reduce emission and little incentive to plant trees.  It is therefore bad news for New Zealand's environment and our reputation in the world.

Which is why it is so important for Labour to keep trying to reach out to National to develop a "grand coalition" consensus on the ETS.  Yes that will mean both Labour and National have to compromise.  Yes National deliberately strung Labour along in bad faith.  But that doesn't mean Labour shouldn't keep putting the national interest front and centre.  Business and industry need certainty and New Zealand needs action.

The alternative is an ETS policy that changes massively from one Government to the next.  Because one thing is certain, if National maintains its current polluter subsidy policy Labour must propose much bolder initiatives for when it becomes the Government to catch us up.

Comments

[Idiot/Savant]

The alternative is an ETS policy that changes massively from one Government to the next. Because one thing is certain, if National maintains its current polluter subsidy policy Labour must propose much bolder initiatives for when it becomes the Government to catch us up.

And why would that be a Bad Thing?

[Tony Milne]

Bad if the policy changes dramatically from one government to the next and we waste years (which the previous Gov was guilty of as well as this one) re-debating what to do. We need action on climate change.

I suspect it is the inevitable outcome though. I think National is too scared of their big polluting backers to do anything that will actually take us forward. But how long will we have to wait for a Labour-Green Government to implement more dramatic changes and will it be too late?

[tim barclay]

The trouble is no one is interested in the Labour Party politically. You think people still want to come and see you and hear from you, pay obeisance to you. But they don't. It might suit National to talk to you or it might prefer to treat you like you treated National over the Electoral Finance Act. Maybe National for political reasons wants clear blue water between you and National on this issue, crush you politically over it and force you to change.

[Swimmer]

That title made me laugh. Labour have tried, I don't think it's going to happen.