Last week's News Circulator
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6/12 - 6/20/2005
1) NEW ZEALAND: ACT OF DESPERATION
SHUT DOWN
2) NEW ZEALAND: PESTS, FISHING AND FOREIGN LANDOWNERS IN
GREENS' FIRING LINE
3) POLAND: GAY PARADE IN WARSAW DESPITE BAN
4) NORTHERN IRELAND: PROTEST AT TREE FELLING
5) CHINA: DELAY OVER ASYLUM BIDS CRITICISED
6) IRELAND: DECISION ON BATHS DEVELOPMENT POSTPONED
7) NEW ZEALAND: GREENS CALL FOR ORANGE ROUGHY BOYCOTT
8) NEW ZEALAND: LEVY NEEDED TO ENCOURAGE RECYCLING OF
COMPUTERS: GREENS
9) GERMANY: ROUNDUP: COURT ORDERS RESUMPTION OF INQUIRY
INTO GERMANY'S FISCHER
10) GERMANY: SCHROEDER COALITION RIFT WIDENS OVER STEM
CELL RESEARCH PROPOSAL
11) GERMANY: GERMANY MAY RETURN TO NUKES
12) GERMANY: SCHROEDER FORMALLY SETS IN MOTION PLAN FOR
EARLY GERMAN ELECTIONS
13) GERMANY: GERMAN MINISTER CONGRATULATES
SCHWARZENEGGER ON PLAN TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING
14) NEW ZEALAND: BEWARE GREENS HOLDING POWER;
CONTENTIOUS LEGISLATION HAS BEEN SHELVED UNTIL AFTER THE ELECTION
15) NEW ZEALAND: JOB CUTS LIKELY IF TRAWLING BANNED
16) NEW ZEALAND: LABOUR LOSES GROUND
17) CANADA: CAMPBELL'S NEW FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENT
IMPRESSES: CABINET I POLITICAL OPPONENTS LAUD RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF
MINISTRY, BUT SAY PROOF OF COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT WILL BE IN
HIS GOVERNMENT'S ACTIONS
18) NEW ZEALAND: SMACKING LAW PROBLEMS
1) New Zealand Press Association; June 12, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: ACT OF DESPERATION SHUT DOWN
Wellington, June 12 - Having a leadership stoush this close to an
election would be an extremely risky event for any political party,
but that was the proposal that emerged from ACT's lower ranks last
week.
Did those desperate members really think Rodney Hide would go quietly?
Did they really believe Ken Shirley could, in a few weeks, drag ACT up
in the polls to the magic 5 percent mark? And didn't they realise that
a bloody caucus coup would almost certainly do more harm than good?
It was a recipe for disaster, swiftly shut down, but the
dissatisfaction with Hide will linger and if ACT disappears from
Parliament he will get the blame.
There has always been a section of ACT's membership, including its
founder Sir Roger Douglas, who don't like Hide's scandal-busting
tactics and believe he should be spreading the word about the party's
policies instead.
Hide argues that his attacks raise ACT's profile and make voters take
notice of it, which they otherwise might not do.
The aborted attempt to get rid of him was symptomatic of the
difficulties facing small parties this year, which can easily turn
into panic.
With Labour and National both holding strong support, the scramble for
votes becomes intense -- particularly for the ones that don't have an
electorate seat to fall back on.
The Green Party is aware of this. It held its annual conference last
weekend, launching the message that its survival is essential to the
formation of a centre-left government after the election.
It will be Rod Donald's fourth campaign as co-leader of the Greens
since the party came to Parliament in 1996.
We're under no illusions,'' he says. It's going to be tough for the
small parties. That's because there is so much focus on Labour and
National.''
However, he believes the focus changes to some extent during the
campaign.
The two main parties tend to hog the headlines when Parliament is
sitting, unless a small party does something sensational.
During recesses the small parties tend to get a bit more exposure, and
during campaigns the media feels obliged to try to be even-handed.''
While ACT has been flatlining below 3 percent in the polls, the Greens
have managed to stay on or just above the 5 percent threshold.
Neither party has an electorate seat, and the Greens aren't even going
to try to win one in this election. ACT is going to try but is likely
to fail. Both must get to 5 percent of the party vote to ensure
survival.
The Greens have an advantage in that they seem less affected by main
party swings than ACT.
National's recovery since Don Brash became leader has dissolved ACT's
vote, and Donald doesn't find that a surprise.
Bill English was a bit of a centrist, he knew complex issues can't be
solved with simplistic solutions,'' says Donald.
As soon as Brash came on the scene with his hard line statements,
ACT's vote started to melt away. And let's face it -- ACT was their
own worst enemy.
They used to call Brash their 10th MP. If their 10th MP becomes leader
of the second largest party in Parliament, it's inevitable that
supporters will desert.''
ACT and the Greens are the natural coalition or support parties for
National and Labour. If ACT goes, National's main partner will have to
be New Zealand First.
For the centre-left, the best survival strategy is a combination of
Labour, the Greens and United Future. But if National wins more seats
than Labour, United will offer its support to National.
These potential combinations will be a feature of the election.
Neither Labour nor National has any apparent chance of gaining enough
of the party vote to rule without a partner or partners.
Even if the gap between National and Labour closes, the mathematics of
MMP boil down to which side is in the lead, rather than which of the
two main parties,'' says Donald.
In simple terms, the message we have to get through is that as long as
Labour plus the Greens is a majority, it doesn't matter if Labour
temporarily falls behind National.
Kiwi voters are getting more sophisticated, I think they understand
that.''
NZ First is another matter. Its leader, Winston Peters, is refusing to
accept the minor party'' tag this election and says its a three-horse
race.
He's talking big -- much bigger than NZ First's current status as
third largest party with 13 MPs. His colleagues are speculating on
what life is going to be like with a 30-member caucus.
NZ First got its current 13 MPs from 10.38 percent of the party vote.
It is currently polling at or above that, and in the NBR poll that
gave National a one point lead over Labour it reached 12 percent.
Peters' pitch for the Grey Power vote seems to be paying off, and
Labour appears to be paying the price.
It's the Rob's Mob vote,'' says Donald, referring to the populist
appeal of former prime minister Sir Robert Muldoon.
I think it's eating into Labour, and Labour is very conscious of
that.''
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2) New Zealand Press Association; June 12, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: PESTS, FISHING AND FOREIGN LANDOWNERS IN GREENS'
FIRING LINE
Wellington, June 12 NZPA - Proposed crackdowns on pests, commercial
fishing, and prospective foreign land owners are included in the Green
Party's conservation policy, launched today.
Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said the party's policy
aimed to widen successive governments' narrow focus on economic
growth.
For too long successive governments have paid lip service to
conservation issues in favour of efforts to boost the economy.''
She said energy generation and agricultural development were
destroying wetlands and rivers, while fishing companies were
accidentally killing thousands of seabirds every year.
Ms Fitzsimons said most Greens' policies were designed to protect the
environment, but its conservation policy specifically included:
* more funding for ground-based pest control;
* tighter biosecurity to prevent new pests entering the country;
* no land sales to foreigners unless they are resident in New Zealand
for six months a year;
* near zero bycatch limits for threatened birds and mammals in
commercial fisheries;
* a review of fishing techniques such as bottom trawling and
long-lining; and
* a public access commissioner to negotiate access across private land
to public conservation areas.
Ms Fitzsimons said more ground-based pest control would eliminate
pests, while reducing conflict over aerial poisoning campaigns.
Setting the bycatch limit to near zero for threatened species would
encourage fishing companies to prevent their death. Once bycatch
limits were exceeded the fishery would be closed for the season, Ms
Fitzsimons said.
The policy was launched at conservation group Forest and Bird's annual
meeting.
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3) PAP News Wire; June 12, 2005
POLAND: GAY PARADE IN WARSAW DESPITE BAN
Warsaw -- Over 2,500 people marched through the streets of Warsaw on
Saturday in the Equality Parade, organised by gay and lesbian
activists, despite of a ban of Warsaw mayor Lech Kaczynski.
The parade attracted gay-rights supporters, journalists and
politicians, including deputy prime minister Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka,
deputy Senate Speaker Kazimierz Kutz, and parliamentarians from
Germany's Green party.
The marchers carried banners, including "A gay is not a
pedophile" and many others condemning Kaczynski's decision to ban
the gathering.
According to many people, the illegal gay parade turned into a
demonstration against what they termed Kaczynski's violation of the
marchers' civil rights.
Young supporters of the League of Polish Families League tried to
disrupt the event, throwing eggs and stones at marchers and shouting
anti-gay slogans. Police detained 20 most aggressive persons.
Deputies from Germany's Green Party criticised Kaczynski for violating
the rights that are binding in the united Europe. "Today the
world is looking at Warsaw, at how it observes human rights,"
head of the Germany's Green Party's parliamentary caucus Volker Beck
said.
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4) Belfast Telegraph; June 13, 2005
NORTHERN IRELAND: PROTEST AT TREE FELLING
by Ashleigh Wallace
A group of residents in Bangor have accused a developer of
"environmental vandalism" after tree cutters moved in to
fell a number of mature trees.
The trees are part of property, including a 19th century unoccupied
farmhouse, in the Beeches area.
It is understood the property was sold on Friday evening to a local
developer. At around 8am on Saturday, neighbours awoke to the sound of
chainsaws cutting off branches.
Residents stood under one of the trees, where birds are nesting, in a
bid to stop it being felled.
Police were forced to remove three people as tensions escalated.
Green Party councillor Brian Wilson and North Down MP Lady Sylvia
Hermon were at the scene.
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5) South China Morning Post; June 15, 2005
CHINA: DELAY OVER ASYLUM BIDS CRITICISED
Nick Squires in Sydney
Australian immigration authorities were yesterday criticised for
taking nearly a year to consider two Chinese defectors' applications
for political asylum.
The opposition Greens party said the delay in processing the
applications of Yuan Hongbing and his assistant, Zhao Jing , might
indicate Canberra is trying to avoid antagonising Beijing.
Professor Yuan is a former law academic at Peking University. He was
jailed for six months in 1994 for supporting pro-democracy activists.
He and Ms Zhao fled to Australia last year after receiving a tip-off
that authorities were about to arrest him again.
"It's quite possible the Australian government is kowtowing to
the Chinese government for trade reasons," said Greens spokesman
Peter Job.
Professor Yuan applied for protection last July and was interviewed by
the Immigration Department in September.
"To date he has heard nothing," Mr Job said. "Ms Zhao
had her case accepted by the Refugee Review Tribunal in December last
year, but is still to be granted a protection visa."
Additional reporting by Reuters
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6) Irish Independent; June 14, 2005
IRELAND: DECISION ON BATHS DEVELOPMENT POSTPONED
by Cormac Murphy
A DECISION on a controversial E140m high-rise redevelopment of Dun
Laoghaire swimming baths has been postponed.
Councillors agreed at a meeting of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County
Council yesterday to put off taking a decision until July.
Cllr Jane Dillon Byrne of Labour said the issue "has motivated
more people in the community than any other topic.
"We realise the importance of this undertaking. Many of us feel
that something has to happen [to the site] because it's
derelict," she said.
Cllr Kealin Ireland of the Green Party said: "The public has to
be involved. A great amount of the people who have spoken about this
have spoken against it."
Members of the 'Save Our Seafront' pressure group, which is opposing
the plan, picketed the council offices yesterday during the meeting.
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7) New Zealand Press Association; June 14, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: GREENS CALL FOR ORANGE ROUGHY BOYCOTT
Wellington, June 14 NZPA - The Green Party is calling on New
Zealanders to boycott orange roughy and deep-sea dory in protest at
what it describes as the clear-felling of undersea forests'' by bottom
trawling.
Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said today fishing companies and
producers would only clean up their act if profits were affected.
While much of the deep sea catch is exported, the effect of having New
Zealanders refuse to purchase these species of fish would make
companies think again about what they are doing,'' she said.
It will send a message to those companies that we don't want our
precious seas destroyed.''
Ms Fitzsimons said orange roughy was a long-lived species and some
fish lived to 150 years.
Most populations are now below 20 percent of their original unfished
size, with one at just 3 percent.''
She said bottom trawling for orange roughy and dory netted an
extensive by-catch and destroyed corals that were more than 500 years
old.
Greenpeace yesterday produced photographic evidence which it said
disproved claims that deep-sea bottom trawling did not damage the
environment.
Greenpeace and Amaltal Fishing have been locked in a battle on and off
the ocean after a confrontation between the Rainbow Warrior and
Amaltal's trawler Ocean Reward in the Tasman Sea last week.
Nelson-based Amaltal filed for an injunction against Greenpeace after
the confrontation, saying activists cut the trawler's nets in an act
of high seas piracy''.
Company director Andrew Talley labelled Greenpeace's statement that
deep-sea bottom trawling was damaging the environment as
unsubstantiated claptrap''.
Greenpeace fired back yesterday, posting photographs on its website
showing Tasman Pacific Company trawler Waipori hauling up a by-catch
of endangered red and black corals near Norfolk Island.
Again and again we have caught the bottom trawling industry red-handed
with the evidence of deep sea destruction in their nets,'' Greenpeace
oceans campaigner Carmen Gravatt said.
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8) New Zealand Press Association; June 14, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: LEVY NEEDED TO ENCOURAGE RECYCLING OF COMPUTERS:
GREENS
Wellington, June 14 NZPA - The Green Party is calling for a levy on
new computers to pay for their eventual recycling.
Green MP Mike Ward said the production of a typical personal computer
used as much fossil fuel, chemicals and water as the production of a
mid-sized car.
Despite that, very few computers were being recycled, he said.
If the ecological impact of the manufacture of a computer is really as
great as that of a car, a levy is needed to ensure that they are being
used as long as possible and that the materials are then recovered.''
Many community enterprises were keen to recycle computers into use for
schools and low income families, but doing so was labour intensive.
A levy would help fund these groups' work and encourage people to hold
on to their computers for longer, Mr Ward said.
A levy would have to be set at a level that provided sufficient
incentive for that to happen.
The measure is included in Mr Ward's Waste-free member's bill, which
is yet to be drawn from the ballot.
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9) Deutsche Presse-Agentur; June 15, 2005
GERMANY: ROUNDUP: COURT ORDERS RESUMPTION OF INQUIRY INTO GERMANY'S
FISCHER
Karlsruhe -- Germany's high court Wednesday delivered a potentially
embarrassing slap at Gerhard Schroeder's faltering centre-left
coalition by ruling that a parliamentary inquiry into Foreign Minister
Joschka Fischer's visa policies must be resumed.
The German Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe upheld a challenge filed
by opposition parties against Schroeder's Social Democrats and
coalition Greens party partners.
The opposition Christian Democrats (CDU-CSU) and Free Democrats (FDP)
had gone to court after the SPD-led commission of inquiry voted to
stop taking evidence and write a report in time for the upcoming
dissolution of the Bundestag and a general election.
Judges agreed, saying the commission must continue the inquiry until
the election, expected in September, is formally called.
That means Fischer and other Foreign Office officials may have to
undergo politically damaging questioning in nationally broadcast
parliamentary hearings during the election campaign.
Another coalition official who may be called upon to testify is
Interior Minister Otto Schily, a Social Democrat. After Wednesday's
ruling was handed down, Schily issued a statement saying he "of
course" would be willing to testify.
"I'm sure I can contribute to clarifying this whole matter,"
Schily said.
Other Social Democrats were clearly taken aback by the court ruling.
"We were totally surprised but we will act in accordance with the
ruling," said Volker Neumann, SPD chairman of the parliamentary
committee.
Opposition conservatives predictably called the high court ruling a
victory for themselves.
"The centre-left coalition has suffered a major defeat,"
said CDU official Eckart von Klaeden in Berlin. "Their disregard
for legal and constitutional standards has been a hallmark of this
case."
Fischer and senior Foreign Office officials are accused of ignoring
large-scale abuse of visa rules, especially in Ukraine, that allowed
criminals and prostitutes to enter western Europe without further
checks.
In a precedent-setting move, the parliamentary panel conducting the
hearings allowed live television coverage of testimony by Fischer. It
was the first time that TV cameras have been allowed into such a
committee hearing.
Speaking before the committee in recent weeks, Fischer said he
"took full responsibility" for irregularities in issuance of
visas abroad, particularly in Eastern Europe.
Under Fischer, Germany in March 2000 radically liberalised the
country's formerly tough policy on granting visas to people many
diplomats feared could be economic migrants.
Diplomats protested the rule, but they carried it out. Under the new
system the number of people claiming to be tourists arriving in
Germany from countries such as Ukraine and Russia sharply increased.
In Ukraine there were 217,000 visa applications in 2000, before the
law came into force, and in 2001 under the new law 330,000 people
applied for German visas, of which just 10 per cent were rejected.
Some of these people were legitimate tourists, but German officials
say many came to work illegally in a country which already has almost
11 per cent unemployment. Many women came from eastern Europe to work
in the booming prostitution sector.
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10) Deutsche Presse-Agentur; June 15, 2005
GERMANY: SCHROEDER COALITION RIFT WIDENS OVER STEM CELL RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
Berlin -- Rifts in lame-duck Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's fragile
centre-left coalition widened Wednesday when Greens party leaders
rejected his call for a relaxation of legislation governing stem cell
research.
"This is another nail in the coffin," said Greens official
Christa Nickels, who hinted that the chancellor is attempting to force
a split in his bid to call an early election in September.
Schroeder's Social-Democrat-led government enacted the restrictive
rules just three years ago at the insistence of the Greens, over
objections from business and scientists.
The current law is also backed by opposition Christian Democrats, many
of whose supporters are pro-life conservatives. The Christian
Democrats control the upper house of the German parliament, ensuring
that any easing of the restrictions would be doomed.
The current law bans the harvesting of stem cells from human embryos
within Germany as well as their import unless these stem from cultures
predating the 2002 legislation.
"There is no support for the chancellor's sudden new change of
heart in parliament, nor even within his own SPD," Nickels said
in a published interview.
Greens Co-Chairwoman Claudia Roth also lashed out against Schroeder's
proposal, as did Greens parliamentary whip Katrin Goering-Eckardt.
"The chancellor can say anything he wants, but there will be no
sudden change of policy on bio-ethics as long as the Greens have
anything to say on the subject," Goering-Eckardt said.
In remarks delivered during a public appearance Tuesday, Schroeder
said the three-year-old law was unfeasible in the longterm.
"I am convinced that, in the face of new findings, we will not be
able to avoid a liberalisation of stem-cell research," Schroeder
said without further elaboration.
It was the latest about-face on cherished SPD-Greens policy matters by
the embattled chancellor, who is fighting an uphill bid to rally
support for his faltering coalition.
Earlier this week Schroeder reversed a long-standing feud with trade
unions to call for wage hikes for union workers. He also announced a
crackdown targeting hedge funds in Germany.
Schroeder has made his policy reversals as his re-election bid has
been hit by dual problems.
On the one hand, his opposition conservative challenger, Angela
Merkel, enjoys much stronger than expected support and is siphoning
off crucial centrist votes.
But on the other hand, a newly founded leftist group of the post- East
German communists and a western German protest group with renegade
former leader of Schroeder's SPD, Oskar Lafontaine, could steal votes
needed on the left.
Schroeder, who last month called for early national elections, badly
trails Merkel in opinion polls with voting, expected to take place
September 18.
Schroeder's SPD-Greens government is currently at 37 per cent,
compared with 51 per cent for Merkel's Christian Democratic alliance (CDU/CSU)
and its Free Democratic (FDP) ally, according to a ZDF TV poll.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a German government official
said it was recognised that Schroeder had few chances of winning a
third term.
"Four pillars of the SPD re-election bid have collapsed,"
said the official.
"Schroeder has lost the media support he enjoyed; he has lost the
left-wingers in his own party; he has failed to deliver jobs; and with
rejection of the European Union constitution by French and Dutch
voters a key part of his foreign policy has been discredited,"
the official said.
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11) THE ELECTRICITY DAILY; June 16, 2005
GERMANY: GERMANY MAY RETURN TO NUKES
Angela Merkel, leader of Germany s Christian Democratic Union (CDU),
said last week that she favors scrapping the current Social Democratic
government s plan to limit nuclear power plants to a 32 year lifespan.
While not entirely a surprise, the statement confirmed the
right-of-center CDU s confidence in moving away from the government s
current policy of de-emphasizing nuclear power. Some observers suggest
that each plant might continue on an additional eight to 15 years, the
Financial Times reported.
It now seems likely that the CDU will win a September campaign against
Chancellor Gerhard Schroder s left-of-center Social Democrats, who
lost badly in a recent state election ( ED, May 31). Merkel s
statement indicates just how far the German Green Party has fallen in
the electorate s eye, and some analysts suggest that the Greens may do
so poorly that they are tossed out of the government. One German
environmental group, DNR, has gone so far as to refer to Merkel as the
nuclear chancellor, Europe Energy reported.
The Social Democrat-Green coalition agreement envisioned the limited
future use of nuclear power and ultimately the dismantling of the
stations. It also said the government would examine treaties with
other countries which serve to promote nuclear energy with the aim of
canceling or adjusting them. However, this could all be cast away in
favor of a more pro-nuclear policy by a CDU government, a development
being watched closely by German utilities RWEand Eon both of which
operate nuclear plants.
Meanwhile, on Monday Eurelectric, the European electricity industry
trade organization, said, The coming decades will be dominated by the
challenge of developing an energy-efficient, low-carbon, energy-secure
and competitive economy. Electricity generated from nuclear power can
help make the low-carbon energy supply a reality, it said. In
addition, market-based instruments should be allowed to play their
proper role in ensuring that social and environmental policy targets
are achieved in a cost-effective and efficient manner, Eurelectric
said. [DS]
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12) Associated Press Worldstream; June 16, 2005
GERMANY: SCHROEDER FORMALLY SETS IN MOTION PLAN FOR EARLY GERMAN
ELECTIONS
BERLIN -- Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder formally set in motion his
proposal for early German elections Thursday as his office notified
parliamentary leaders that he plans to hold a confidence vote July 1.
Chancellery official Rolf Schwanitz informed senior lower house
members of the plan, Green party lawmaker Volker Beck said.
Schroeder aims to engineer a no confidence vote in the lower house,
which would give President Horst Koehler three weeks to decide whether
to dissolve parliament and call new elections. The vote is widely
expected to be held Sept. 18, about a year ahead of schedule.
A similar tactic was used by Schroeder's predecessor, Helmut Kohl, who
forced elections in 1983 by calling a confidence vote in which his own
supporters abstained.
Schroeder, whose coalition of Social Democrats and Greens has a
seven-seat majority, has not specified exactly how he will go about
losing the vote in July.
He is using the maneuver because Germany's post-World War II
constitution does not allow parliament simply to dissolve itself.
Schroeder said last month he would seek early national elections after
his Social Democrats suffered a shattering defeat in the western state
of North Rhine-Westphalia, a stronghold for nearly four decades.
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13) Associated Press Worldstream; June 16, 2005
GERMANY: GERMAN MINISTER CONGRATULATES SCHWARZENEGGER ON PLAN TO
COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING
BERLIN -- Germany's environment minister congratulated California Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday on his plan to reduce the U.S. state's
emissions of greenhouse gases.
Juergen Trittin, a member of Germany's Green party, wrote in a letter
to Schwarzenegger that "California - like Germany - has proved
that a land of automobile lovers also can advance to become a pioneer
of climate protection."
Schwarzenegger, a Republican, presented his plan earlier this month.
It calls for reducing the state's emissions of greenhouse gases to
2000 levels by 2010, 1990 levels by 2020, and 80 percent below 1990
levels by 2050.
"Your plan is ambitious, but I have no doubt that California can
achieve this reduction," Trittin said.
"I would be glad if we could succeed in convincing other states
and countries of the necessity and advantages of climate protection
and in intensifying our cooperation," he added.
Germany and other European nations have been at odds with U.S.
President George W. Bush's administration over the Kyoto accord to
combat climate change, which Bush has refused to sign.
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14) The National Business Review (New Zealand); June 17, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: BEWARE GREENS HOLDING POWER; CONTENTIOUS LEGISLATION
HAS BEEN SHELVED UNTIL AFTER THE ELECTION
by Rob Hosking
There's a bulging "pending" tray awaiting ministers after
the election and the future of the waiting legislation depends a great
deal on whether the Greens are part of the next government.
Labour is putting off a number of major - and deeply politically
sensitive - decisions until after the election, now widely tipped for
September.
An intriguing number of those decisions are in the energy and
conservation area. This makes the battle on the left over whether the
Greens make it back into Parliament even more intense. It also has
deeply disturbing implications for business.
Heading the list is the high-profile, and bitterly fought, upgrade of
the national grid by Transpower, especially in North Waikato. Energy
Minister Trevor Mallard's kick for touch would have done Dan Carter
proud.
There is a hope among landowners the government will opt for putting
the cable underground but the costs of that are just under $10 million
a kilometre - compared with $633,000 for putting it on overhead
pylons.
There has been a similar hoof toward the sidelines over the
lower-profile grid upgrade south of Christchurch. Transpower was to
have begun talks on this in July but has deferred the matter until
October.
An internal Ministry for the Environment minute on the deferral
records that Transpower says the reason is "there is not enough
internal resource to undertake the project in July and that their
engineers nave not explored all solutions yet" - as close to a
Tui "yeah right" billboard as a public service document is
likely to get.
The minute then observes: "It is noted that October falls after
the election."
Other changes on the way - which any Green coalition partner is going
to want a vocal say on - are national policy statements under the
Resource Management Act (RMA). These bland-sounding concepts enable
the government to set out policy priorities that bodies hearing
resource consents have to take into account.
Governments have been able to issue these since the RMA was passed in
1991 but only one - on coastal policy - has ever been issued.
Three are now scheduled for consideration. Two are in the electricity
sphere - one on transmission, which would affect the Transpower grid
upgrade, and one on generation.
The make-up of these policy statements will determine how much the
government can speed up development in those areas.
A further policy statement is due on biosecurity.
The imminence of these issues mean a post-2005 government with the
Green Party as a coalition member could be at odds with itself within
weeks of polling day.
One further item put back until later this year is any extension of
cost recovery for biosecurity measures.
A discussion document proposing much wider biosecurity measures - and
greater industry levies to fund them - was circulated in December. A
decision was due in July but, surprise, surprise, this has been put
back until "later in the year."
SHELVED
Contentious legislation placed out of harm's way until after the
election:
* Transpower's upgrade of the national grid north of Waikato
* Upgrade of the national grid south of Christchurch
* Consideration of three RMA national policy statements
* Cost recovery for biosecurity measures
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15) The Nelson Mail (New Zealand); June 17, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: JOB CUTS LIKELY IF TRAWLING BANNED
by Vanessa Phillips
Ending deep sea trawling would destroy New Zealand's fishing industry
and hit Nelson's economy hard, leading to massive job losses, key
industry figures say.
Orange Roughy Mangagement Company chairman Tom Birdsall said a call by
the Green Party this week for New Zealanders to boycott orange roughy
and deep-sea dory in protest against bottom trawling would have little
effect, because most of that fish was exported.
However, bottom trawling was the New Zealand industry's main method of
catching fish - whether that was done in Tasman Bay or in
international waters - and if it ceased, there would be a significant
effect on the economies of port cities like Nelson, Mr Birdsall said.
There is mounting pressure from environmental groups opposing bottom
trawling, with Greenpeace - in the midst of a controversial campaign
against what it says is a destructive fishing practice - calling for a
United Nations moratorium.
''I suspect that if there was no bottom trawling allowed, there would
be no fishing industry,'' Mr Birdsall said.
He said the industry was already under pressure, with the high cost of
fuel and the high Kiwi dollar hitting it hard.
Port Nelson Fishermen's Association president Darren Guard agreed,
saying 80 percent of the fish caught by Nelson boats was caught by
bottom trawling.
''If you take that away, it's like taking the land from the farmer,''
Mr Guard said. ''It would be catastrophic.''
The fishing industry is Nelson's biggest employer, with 2001 figures
showing it generated $ 250 million for the region from gross domestic
product alone.
But the industry is suffering a downturn. Several boats have been tied
up for months, and one report has predicted that financial pressures
will cost the Nelson industry $ 22 million this year.
Any end to bottom trawling would be a huge blow for Nelson, Mr Guard
said.
He said Nelson would become like a ''shanty town'', with huge job
losses in the fishing industry.
''Every Nelsonian has to ask themselves one question - 'Do I know
anyone in the fishing industry who I'd be quite happy to see lose
their job?'.
''All jobs would be in jeopardy if bottom trawling was banned.''
Mr Guard said Greenpeace presented an ''extreme'' view of the
situation to the public, and all sides needed to talk more before any
suggestion of a moratorium.
Greenpeace says it is not anti-fishing, but that bottom trawling is
destroying the biodiversity of the ocean floor. Many in the fishing
industry reject this, saying the impact is minimal because of the
minute area of ocean trawled.
The Green Party has described the effects of bottom trawling as ''the
clear-felling of undersea forests''.
Co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said fishing companies and producers
would clean up their act only if profits were affected.
''While much of the deep sea catch is exported, the effect of having
New Zealanders refuse to purchase these species of fish would make
companies think again about what they are doing.''
She said bottom trawling for orange roughy and dory netted an
extensive bycatch and destroyed corals that were more than 500 years
old.
Mr Birdsall said the issue was highly emotive, and that while any
production on land or sea had some impact on the environment, it was a
matter of striking a balance.
''We would clearly argue that (opponents) are portraying it in a
certain light that isn't factual.''
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16) The Nelson Mail (New Zealand); June 17, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: LABOUR LOSES GROUND
Another opinion poll has shown Labour's support dropping and the gap
between the two main parties closing. Last night's 3 News TNS poll
showed Labour down five points to 40 percent compared with two months
ago, and National up two points to 36 percent. The 11 point gap has
closed to 4 points. New Zealand First has made another strong showing,
up three points to 11 percent and in a strong position to negotiate a
coalition with either of the main parties. The Green Party moved up
from 3.8 percent to 6 percent, while ACT and United Future both stayed
below 2 percent. The Maori Party's support improved from 1.8 to 2.4
percent.
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17) The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia); June 18, 2005
CANADA: CAMPBELL'S NEW FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENT IMPRESSES: CABINET I
POLITICAL OPPONENTS LAUD RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF MINISTRY, BUT SAY PROOF
OF COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT WILL BE IN HIS GOVERNMENT'S ACTIONS
by Darah Hansen
The B.C. Liberals' often-rocky relationship with provincial
environmentalists appears to have hit smoother seas with Gordon
Campbell's announcement Thursday to re-establish a ministry of
environment, headed by Chilliwack-Kent MLA Barry Penner.
"It's an acknowledgement from this premier that it was
unacceptable to continue without a strong commitment to our natural
heritage," NDP leader Carole James said -- a sentiment echoed by
Green Party leader Adriane Carr and Joe Foy of the Western Canada
Wilderness Committee.
But the praise of critics was tempered by concern that the return of
the ministry is only a symbolic gesture towards environmental and
conservation issues, such as watershed protection and fish farming.
"Whether he's really changed will be in his actions, not his
words," James said of Campbell.
The environment ministry was one of the first ministries to be
dismantled by the Liberals when they took power in 2001. Campbell
created the ministry of water, land and air protection in its place,
but critics said the ministry did little to protect environmental laws
and safeguards, and complained enforcement was weakened when massive
government layoffs took the jobs of front-line workers such as
conservation officers and water quality inspectors.
On Friday, Penner emerged from his first day as a cabinet minister
clutching an armload of binders filled with briefing notes on his new
job and a stated eagerness to get to work.
"We want results and that's what I'm focused on," he said.
Penner, a lawyer and former provincial park ranger, said the move to
resurrect the word "environment" had much to do with public
perception.
"Some members of the public had a difficult time understanding
what the ministry of water, land and air protection was. When you say
ministry of environment, it seems more people are able to relate to
what the purpose of the ministry actually is," Penner said.
But the new title also puts the environment on the government's front
burners, with a beefed up list of responsibilities over and above what
the previous ministry dealt with, said Penner. In particular, the
portfolio will deal specifically with issues of fresh water and ocean
protection, water allocation rights, and drought management
preparedness.
Penner said a promised $20-million commitment to upgrade provincial
park campsites, trails and water systems, as well as a commitment to
hire up to 50 new conservation officers and park rangers, shows the
environment is a top priority.
James said the government still has a long way to go to restore much
of the environmental protection she said was lost in the province over
the past four years. She wants to see more environmental protection in
the field to ensure regulations are being carried out, a moratorium on
fish farms until environmental concerns in the industry are addressed,
and a solid answer on what the Liberals intend to do in the area of
off-shore oil and gas.
"Those are . . . my initial priorities," she said.
Carr said she was pleased to hear of Penner's appointment. As Green
party leader, she said she was impressed with the MLA's vocal stance
against the Sumas Energy 2 proposal, which threatened air quality in
the Fraser Valley.
Foy, too, was supportive of Campbell's choice in ministers, stating in
a press release that Penner "is already familiar with some
pressing conservation issues, such as protection for the spotted owl
and Elk Creek, both of which are literally in the minister's
backyard."
But Carr said the Liberals need to do more to get away from their
"addiction to fossil fuels." She would like to see the
province move more toward renewable energy sources such as wind power.
And with air and water quality among the government's five "great
goals," Carr said more work is needed to protect drinking
watersheds from logging and mining interests.
If Penner could provide that protection, she said, "he would be a
hero in the mind of many people in British Columbia."
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18) Waikato Times (Hamilton, New Zealand); June 18, 2005
NEW ZEALAND: SMACKING LAW PROBLEMS
Principal Family Court Judge Peter Boshier has called for the law on
smacking to be re-examined. In a speech to a Save the Children meeting
in Wellington yesterday, Judge Boshier said Section 59 of the Crimes
Act, which allows parents to use physical discipline if it is
"reasonable in the circumstances", created legal problems.
His comments come a week after Green Party MP Sue Bradford's private
member's bill, which repeals Section 59, was drawn from the ballot.
Labour had not planned to consider the controversial issue until after
the election.
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