NEWS ON POLICY
AND POLITICS |
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT Sheeting home the costs and benefits of climate change policy IN PARLIAMENT Bills Introduced more... Before Select Committee Bills Reported Back/Awaiting Second Reading more... Bills Passed Second Reading more... Supplementary Order Papers more... Acts Assented more... Regulations more... HEARINGS OF NOTE more... IN CONSULTATION more...
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Sheeting home the costs and benefits of climate change policyDrawing on the precedents offered by the wholesale personal injury awards against tobacco companies and asbestos manufacturers, Greenpeace has served legal notice on 20 New Zealand companies, holding them liable for their contribution to the damage and costs of climate change. Though the legal effect of the move is unclear, the political impact is real, and Greenpeace's actions have raised the ante for corporates already grappling with the possible implications of climate change policies and the practicalities of the forthcoming emissions trading regime. It is not just "big business" that is having to respond to the realpolitik of climate change. The "greening" of the public conscience means that government also needs to be seen to be doing something. Climate change will be a major driver of government activity for the foreseeable future. The introduction of a "cap and trade" scheme for emissions has already been telegraphed as one of the key measures. This will involve setting limits on the level of emissions permitted by a particular sector, and controlling the right to emit through a system of tradable permits. It is an initiative that has cross-party support and it can be fairly assumed that government will pursue a scheme that eventually covers all sectors of the economy and all greenhouse gases. The possibility that different sectors will be phased into the cap and trade scheme at different times has been foreshadowed, subject to considerations such as the maintenance of New Zealand's international competitiveness. Which sectors will have their excess emissions priced first will be one to watch. The Sustainability Council, which recently released a report criticising the government's position on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, has said that agriculture should be the first, not the last sector, to have emissions priced. The government's proposed timeline will see decisions being made by Cabinet on this as well as the reach and shape of any emissions trading scheme in the next two months. Legislation will be introduced into Parliament by October and the new scheme will be up and running by mid 2008. Whilst there may be concerns at the possible haste with which government is proceeding, the economic opportunities of the scheme will be as real as the potential costs. It is an up-side of climate change policies that is reflected also in the announcement last week of six pilot projects to store carbon on DOC land. These will involve the issue of tenders to commercial investors. As with the emissions trading scheme, details are yet to emerge, but the potential is encouraging. But with the green lobby making practised recourse to grass-roots campaigning and hard-won political leverage, it is also clear that while there may be opportunity, corporates also face real if hitherto unanticipated risks from speculative public interest litigation. The action taken by Greenpeace may be doubtful as matters stand today, but the twin variables of judicial activism and public sentiment may well mean some surprises ahead.
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IN PARLIAMENT |
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Bills IntroducedNo new Bills Before Select CommitteeThe Porirua City Council (Pauatahanui Burial Ground) Bill has passed its first reading and been sent to the Local Government and Environment Committee. The Treaty of Waitangi (Removal of Conflict of Interest) Amendment Bill was referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee. The Regulatory Responsibility Bill was referred to the Commerce Committee.
Bills Reported Back / Awaiting Second ReadingAviation Security Legislation Bill Bills Passed Second ReadingManukau City Council (Control of Graffiti) Bill Supplementary Order PapersSOP 121: Criminal Justice Reform Bill Clause 2 of the Bill is also amended to allow this subpart to come into force on the day after the Bill receives the Royal Assent rather than by Order in Council. SOP 122: Criminal Justice Reform Bill SOP 123: Criminal Justice Reform Bill
SOP 125: Criminal Justice Reform Bill
SOP 126: Criminal Justice Reform Bill This SOP ensures that the Sentencing Council is a creature of the judiciary. Clauses 9 and 10 of the Bill have been amended to make the focus of the Council solely the production of sentencing guidelines (relating to sentencing principles and sentencing levels) to enable consistency in practice between different courts and judges. This SOP also makes a change to Part 2 of the Bill. It amends clause 40 to ensure that s21A of the Sentencing Act 2002 recognises that any sentencing guidelines should not be robotically applied during sentencing but instead should be considered alongside the law, the facts of the particular case and other relevant information. The SOP also removes the Sentencing Council from scrutiny under the Official Information Act 1982 and the Public Finance Act 1989, by omitting Schedule 2. Acts AssentedAppropriation (2006/07 Supplementary Estimates) Act 2007 RegulationsTaupo District Trout Fishery Licences, Fees, and Forms Notice 2007 |
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Most select committees have been busy considering Budget 2007/08 Estimates for each portfolio. The Finance and Expenditure select committee will begin its consideration of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Business Taxation, KiwiSaver, and Remedial Matters) Bill this coming week. The Justice and Electoral select committee has heard further evidence on the Evidence Amendment Bill, and has further considered the Property Law Bill and the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill. It will also consider the Treaty of Waitangi (Removal of Conflict of Interest) Amendment Bill this coming week. The Transport and Industrial Relations select committee has further considered the Aviation Security Legislation Bill, the Minimum Wage (Abolition of Age Discrimination) Bill, and the Minimum Wage Remuneration Amendment Bill.
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IN CONSULTATION |
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What's New
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© Russell McVeagh 2005. All rights reserved.