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AUCKLAND - The Green Party has given a scathing assessment of other parties' climate change policies, saying while Labour is the best of the bunch the country is being led by a Government "too frightened to do what needs to be done".
Green Party co-leader Russel (crct) Norman
released the "scorecard" at the party's third annual State of the Planet Speech on Waiheke Island today.
Mr Norman said people lived in a time crying out for leaders who had the courage to face up to the "incredible challenges" confronting the world today.
"But instead we find ourselves led, at best, by those like our government that is too frightened to do what needs to be done."
Mr Norman said the country needed the courage to face up to the "truly unsustainable nature of our economy and society and the courage to change our ways".
"In New Zealand our so-called sustainably managed fisheries have collapsed such as the orange roughy and the hoki."
Mr Norman also spoke of the floods which had hit many regions over the past several years, saying " we can expect more of, as climate change progresses".
No political opponent was beyond reproach in the speech with Mr Norman saying the market system could not be expected to internalise the cost of carbon emissions if a price was not put on it.
"The carbon pollution charge was meant to do this but (Finance Minister) Michael Cullen and Treasury sank it in December 2005 with the credit being given to (NZ First leader) Winston Peters and (United Future leader) Peter Dunne as part of the post-election deal.
"The truth is that Treasury had already written the paper sinking the carbon pollution charge and Labour went along with it. National was cheering from the sidelines."
Mr Norman said the country needed a government which had the courage to say to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that it must change if it stood in the way of measures to combat climate change.
"Instead we have a government that bends over backwards to accommodate the WTO."
Mr Norman said the Government's proposal to give out one billion dollars in company tax cuts did not give any consideration to linking them to green tax changes.
"We could use the tax system to provide incentives for increased fuel efficiency in car fleets or the conversion of engines to the use of biofuel and other measures to reduce greenhouse emissions.
"This is a great opportunity missed, the trouble is that it's a Dunne deal."
The scorecard rated the Government as "timid" not "evil" and being "meek".
Labour seemed to be using the resources of government to develop some draft policy but it still lacked urgency, the scorecard said.
The Maori Party recognised the "solution to climate change is not just about changing energy sources but also about changing our consumption behaviour".
The party had a big picture understanding but little explicit policy at this stage.
The National Party was given credit from emerging from the "climate change denial swamp".
National still had a tendency to be destructive rather than constructive in its approach.
It did not have a lot of its own ideas beyond its yet-to-be-defined emissions trading scheme and giving carbon credits to foresters, the scorecard said.
New Zealand First thought planting trees was sufficient and had consistently opposed the carbon pollution charge.
ACT hardly warranted a mention the scorecard found, with the party denying the importance and reality of climate change.
United Future "finally pulled its policy together" last year but its ideas were "unoriginal" and did not move the discussion forward.
The Greens did not escape ranking on the scorecard but surprisingly did not score 100 per cent.
"We have been leading the debate but we don't have all the answers," Mr Norman said.
The only party which was not ranked was Jim Anderton's Progressive Party.
- NZPA