National 'buying' Maori votes for emissions plan

Labour leader Phil Goff has accused National of giving preferential treatment to iwi and prejudicing other foresters in a bid to "buy" Maori Party votes for its emissions trading scheme.

The National Party needs Maori Party support to see its changes to the emissions trading scheme through by January 1 and has indicated part of the deal will be special measures for five iwi - including Ngai Tahu and Tainui - whose Treaty settlement lands face significant devaluation under the scheme.

Mr Goff said officials had warned against special deals for iwi interests, but the Government was ignoring that in its "desperate" attempt to secure support from the Maori Party.

"Now we are paying the price that a small group in Parliament is demanding for their support. You can't treat one group who are in the same position as another group differently on the basis of their iwi affiliation. That would be quite wrong and quite unfair."

He said it also risked unravelling the Treaty settlements process, which was based on a "full and final" settlements principle and should not be relitigated.

Climate Change Minister Nick Smith said iwi whose forests were not part of Treaty settlements would be treated in the same way as other foresters. But it was possible the Crown had not fully informed some iwi about the implications of the Kyoto Protocol. It was preferable for the Government to resolve that rather than leave it to the courts or the Waitangi Tribunal.

"The issue here is one of the integrity of the original deal."

He said the Crown had made it clear to Ngai Tahu and the Maori Party that the Treaty settlements were full and final and that the Government needed flexibility to respond to new issues even if they impacted on the value of Maori businesses and assets.

Prime Minister John Key said he was confident National would get the support to get the bill through and it would be less costly to the taxpayer than Labour's scheme.

The select committee considering National's proposals for the emissions trading scheme was unable to agree on its provisions - and details will be hammered out in these negotiations.

The Maori Party has set four conditions, including some protection for iwi forestry interests and for low-income households.

Mr Goff criticised the lack of transparency around negotiations. But Mr Key said Labour's negotiations to secure Green Party support last year had also been done in secrecy.

Mr Goff also questioned Mr Key about Treasury's new estimates that the costs of the scheme to New Zealand would be $110 billion, instead of $50 billion. Mr Key said predicting the costs of the scheme in 2050 was difficult.