Nats 7/10 Labour 5/10

Audrey Young gives Labour 5/10 as it fights to bury the third-term blues.

And Paula Oliver gives National 7/10 as it treads carefully to grasp the prize.

ETS will pass?

Federated Farmers met the Green Party this morning in a last ditch bid to delay legislation for the Emissions Trading Scheme until after the election.

The farmers called the bill a “high-risk proposal” and said it would jeopardise the New Zealand economy. They also claimed it would have little effect on climate change.

Federated Farmers president Don Nicolson said the issue was too important to rush.

“Our simple message to those MPs considering their options is ‘don’t rush’. As a nation we have more to lose than to gain by getting this wrong.”

They are right but I suspect their plea fell on deaf ears as Paula Oliver and Vernon Small  both think Labour has the numbers with support from the Greens and New Zealand First to pass the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Both quote Helen Clark as saying the bill is ” poised for passage” as soon as there is a majority.

That exposes the Greens appeal to the public to guide them for the sham it is. It also raises the question: what concessions has Labour had to make to get the support?

The Greens may not have played hard ball – though given the downward trend of their support in recent polls they should have.

However, New Zealand First must have exerted considerable pressure when, as The Hive  so eloquently points out, the party would be signing a suicide pact because of the thousands of jobs that would be lost in its Bay of Plenty heartland.

None of the parties has learnt from the mistakes made in steam rolling the Electoral FInance Act through in the face of widespread concerns. The only hope lies in National’s intention to change the ETS if it’s leading the next government.

In the meantime we’ll be leading the world with a scheme which sabotages our economy without making any positive difference to the environment.

Update: Inquiring Mind sums it up:

The Greens demonstrate that when it matters they are simply Labour’s per chicken to be plucked and thrown aside. A vote for Green is just another vote for Labour, they contribute little and gain no real benefits for anyone. Further, they are not Green they are just another left wing socialist group rolling over after having their payoff in some minor concessions.

NZ First simply pay back Labour for keeping Winston out of trouble.