Scare Campaign on ETS
Guy Wellwood ACT Board Member
Wednesday 5 November 2008
For Immediate Release.

“National and Labour have said that if New Zealand does not have an Emissions Trading Scheme in place other countries will punish us in trade”, says Act New Zealand Board Member, Guy Wellwood

“It is a favourite bogeyman of the supporters of ETS including National and its’ Trade Spokesperson former Trade Official Tim Groser”, said Mr Wellwood..

“This is simply not true.”

“They have chosen to overlook the statement of Wade Armstrong, Acting Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs, at a legal seminar in Christchurch in September 2008, that in all bi-lateral and multi-lateral trade negotiations that New Zealand is involved in, Climate Change has not been even mentioned.”

“Trading with our trade competitors Australia, South America, South Africa and China will be actually more difficult. They have not tied their exporters up with the restrictions on agriculture that are contained in the ETS.

Farmers already have to overcome the problem of distance to markets and the trade barriers put up against them by other countries.

The Emissions Trading Scheme will place a crippling burden on the backbone of New Zealand’s agricultural exporters without making a scintilla of difference to the world’s climate.”

“Farmers should not fall for scare tactics.”
“Our trade will not suffer if the ETS is scrapped.”
“Trade will suffer if it is retained.”

“Only the ACT Party wants to scrap the ETS and get New Zealand out of Kyoto.

In my view farmers would be sensible if they gave their party vote to ACT to make sure the ETS is scrapped. “

ENDS

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