Amended emissions scheme 'could be law by December'

Maori Party co-leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples. File photo / Mark Mitchell.

The Maori Party has come to the Government's aid to get a new emissions trading scheme (ETS) in place.

An agreement between National and the Maori Party means a law reviving and amending an ETS could be passed by December, Climate Change Minister Nick Smith said today.

Both Smith and Maori Party co-leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples said that the agreement would reduce the cost to households and the impact on jobs.

The new ETS would feature a fixed price of carbon units for polluters, a transitional phase and easier rules for international trade exposed businesses.

There would also be incentives to plant forests.

Smith the impact on electricity and petrol prices would be halved to 1c per kilowatt hour for electricity and 3.5 cents per litre of petrol.

The agreement reflected the Maori Party's concerns over the impact on low income households and the effects on fishing, forestry and agriculture.

Further work would be done on expanding energy efficiency assistance to low income people, afforestation and other issues.

"New Zealand's response to climate change policy risked falling behind without the support of the Maori Party," Smith said.

Legislation would be introduced next week with the objective of passing the law by the time of the next major climate change conference in Copenhagen in December.

National has been negotiating with Labour to form a grand coalition on an ETS, but the agreement with the Maori Party means it will no longer require Labour's support.

"We will be continuing to work with Labour and other parties to try and build as wide a consensus as possible in this important policy area," said Smith.

The Maori Party co-leaders said they had made gains for people on low incomes and iwi with major interests in forestry, farming and fisheries.

"As a result of the negotiations, the Maori Party will support forthcoming legislation through to select committee," the release said.

"We argued that the ETS must not disproportionately affect whanau vulnerable to increased living costs and iwi, so we're pleased to have made some gains on these fronts," the co-leaders said.

"At the end of the day we believe all iwi as well as other New Zealanders must take up every opportunity to think and live differently, to live sustainably."

National met with Labour last week as it tried to find a compromise over the existing ETS, which was put on hold after the election.

Prime Minister John Key said last week he still believed that agreement between the two largest parties was the most stable long term option.

Smith said features of the revised ETS were:

* Revised entry dates of July 1, 2010, for transport, energy and industrial sectors and January 1, 2015, for agriculture;

* A transitional phase until January 1, 2013, with a 50 per cent obligation and $25 fixed price option for the transport, energy and industrial sectors.

* A phase out of industry support aligned with trading partners;

* Incentives for afforestation; and

* More transitional support for the fishing industry.

The Maori Party said in the press release that some of the key features of the agreement were:

* A specific proposal to enhance the Government's energy efficiency assistance (including home heating and insulation) for low income households.

* Treaty clause in the legislation to ensure Crown's obligations to its Treaty partner are not compromised by the ETS.

* Recognition that iwi have issues with respect to deforestation provisions and their specific Treaty settlements where they have unknowingly been disadvantaged; and

* A commitment from Government to work with iwi and the Maori Party to find solutions for iwi with forests returned in Treaty settlements pre-ETS.

- NZPA