KEY POINTS:
Business groups are backing the National Party's call for climate change legislation to be delayed,saying more time is needed to "get it right".
National's leader, John Key, said on Sunday his party still supported the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) which is at the heart of the legislation, but its rushed design and the timetable for it to be passed by Parliament were reckless and unnecessary.
The legislation has been fiercely criticised during select committee hearings, but the Government intends enacting it before the end of the year.
It had expected National to vote for it, and Mr Key's withdrawal of support for the timetable means it will have to negotiate with minor parties for a majority.
Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce said yesterday the changes proposed were so significant that there was a need to start again.
"We should be working more closely with other countries to design an effective policy, not rushing ahead on our own," said the chamber's chief executive, Charles Finney.
"The legislation has been rushed and more work needs to be done to get it right."
The Greenhouse Policy Coalition's chief executive, Catherine Beard, said the vast majority of businesses would welcome Mr Key's new position.
"Taxpayers have a lot to lose from an emissions trading scheme that results in the productive sectors of the economy taking a price hit in advance of our trading competitors," she said.
Climate Change Minister David Parker said any delay could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars because New Zealand would not meet its Kyoto Protocol obligations.
National's climate change spokesman, Nick Smith, said the legislation was "an unsustainable quick fix" that was being rushed for political purposes.
- NZPA
