By Celsias Team
Posted on July 1, 2010. Listed in:
On the eve of the ETS launch, Green Party climate change spokesperson Russel Norman shared many a thought on the ETS, among them - concerns about the Government backing out of renewable energy goals and inappropriate public transport infrastructure.
The Green Party says the John Key Government has failed to provide climate-friendly choices to help households avoid the higher costs that could result from the ETS.
“The point of a price on carbon is to encourage consumers to make purchases that won’t contribute to climate change, but the Government needs to ensure that those options are provided,” says Norman.
He maintains that Government policies in transport, electricity and energy efficiency undermined the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by limiting climate-friendly choices to consumers.
“The New Zealand Transport Agency recently introduced a new policy that has resulted in bus and train fare hikes, making it harder for commuters to reduce car use.
“In addition, John Key’s Government has wasted tax payer money on pet motorways, rather than investing in smart, climate-friendly options like better buses and trains, or improving walking and cycling.
“This means many people still have little choice but to take the car to work, even though petrol will be more expensive.”
Norman expresses concern at the Government's decision to abandon the goal of making the New Zealand electricity system 90 percent renewable by 2025 — a goal that the Electricity Commission found was very affordable . This Norman says, will make it harder for consumers to choose low carbon electricity and as a result will see them paying more for electricity.
“This Government has no policy supporting energy efficiency. They repealed mandatory fuel efficiency standards on new cars and have failed to move towards mandatory home energy ratings.
“The easiest way for consumers to reduce their power and fuel bills under the ETS is to switch to more energy efficient transport, homes and appliances. But the Government is failing to ensure that these options are provided,” he says.
He isn’t entirely critical however. He offers a small reprise when it comes to the implementation of the Government’s home insulation scheme last year, though he’s quick to say that it is “ the only forward-looking policy” by the government.
Image: Flickr - e-magic
A bulletin to people living in New Zealand.The standard of living in this country has plumeted inside a generation. Regardless of which political parties have been in power,countless laws have been passed on their respective watches that have sold the “working class” down the creek.This must be brought to an end for the sake of present and future generations. To continue with voting, having your say,making submissions and complaining on talk backs thinking these activities bring about significant changes to living standards,is delusional.Such efforts do not stop laws being passed that actually lower living standards. If anything, democratic practices have encouraged the law writers to plough on virtually unhindered.
Subsequently the question arises; Is there an instrument that when utilized will force the self declared sovereign of New Zealand (parliament by parliament) to subject itself to the will of the people?The answer of course is “yes”. The instrument to use is called Civil Resistance.
Civil Resistance lives when that which is considered detrimental to living standards,by the people of a nation, is resisted in a civil and lawful manner so as to change or remove the source of detriment. Change for the good of New Zealanders does not reside in political parties or their promises.One of the options pegged to Civil Resistance,used to effect change, is the temporal asphixiation of the economy.
Fortunately there exists in New Zealand an achilles’ heel, a weakness to which Civil Resistance asphixiation can be directed regularly by only a handful of people. That achilles’ is the Tradeables Sector because the Tradeables Sector in N.Zed is heavily reliant on road transport to access shipping. A targeted Civil Resistance operation could stop the flow of road transport to shipping at strategic locations just about anywhere in New Zealand, effectively choking the economy’s blood supply. That’s a cardio vascular problem any government would give its immediate attention to. Upon Civil Resistance eventually achieving its first measurable success, a long overdue New Zealand precedent would be established. A precedent easily upheld through repetition.
The following example includes some strategic N.Zed road locations to which Civil Resistance could be applied, why they are strategic, and a practical example of Civil Resistance in operation.
1 The Locations: (a) State Highway 1 two kilometers south of Picton. (b) The Hundalee Gorge, crossing the Okaria Stream thirty five kilometers south of Kaikoura. (c) The road tunnel between Port Lyttelton and Christchurch.All three are Tradeable Sector transport routes in the South Island leading to Ports.
2 Why Strategic : All three locations are very narrow with no road “shoulders” for maneuvering and, upon being blocked, taking another road to the required sea Port is either impossible or a very long detour. Shipping runs to the clock.
3 Example of Civil Resistance: If just 20 cars in a row were to simultaneously break down on each side of the mentioned strategic road types, millions of dollars worth of Tradeable Sector goods would stop flowing within hours. Fortunately cars do not need permits to breakdown on N.Zed roads, 365 days a year.
Anything at all that New Zealanders consider detrimental to living standards or do not wish to have enforced upon themselves by the governing executive could be resisted civilly and stopped.Previously written laws could also be repealed. For example, ACC Levies or the scourge of G.S.T. put on a Civil Resistance operations list. Health care (or lack there of) , education costs, fuel tax, electricity providers, the price of locally grown food,laws enabling multi national companies to walk off with our resources while we pay full market price, (as will be the case in all oil and mineral finds), hit hard and repetitively with co-ordinated Civil Resistance pressure. The minimum wage at $40.00 an hour would still be a joke in comparison to the cost of living’s ascent over the past 35 years. Targeted use of Civil Resistance needs to be brought to bear on the laws empowering the likes of the above mentioned subject matter if significant change is to be achieved. Civil Resistance’s possibilities and it’s power to bring about such change are literally endless provided the economy is effectively choked momentarily.
If they that govern will not set in place a ratified constitution by which parliament becomes serviant to the people, who are the nations sovereign, then it is the people’s duty to operate legal and civil actions of resistance against government rulings which are, by common consensus, not in the interest of the people. Civil Resistance is one such action.
Dear New Zealanders, please put this beautiful land, under the long white cloud, into your own hands once and for all.
Written in July 2010