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National has unremarkable Cabinet shuffle

by Whaleoil on January 27, 2010

John Key has barely shaken the cards for his Cabinet re-shuffle. Sensibly he has taken Tertiary Education off Anne “The Closer” Tolley, especially now as the Teacher Unions have declared war against National Standards and League Tables. The portfolio has been handed to Steven “Cardinal Richlieu”Joyce, who is fast becoming John Key’s Bill Birch.

The only interesting thing is the preparation Nick “Quota” Smith for political neutering. It isn’t surprising for those who watch politics closely, with his bizarre behaviour at Copnehagen being spoken of in hushed tones. John Key has gone to the Minister who had the only positive result out of the farce of Copenhagen and appointed Tim “Allah” Groser as the  Minister for Climate Change International Negotiations. This is a not to subtle undermining of Nick “Quota” Smith whose time in parliament is likely to come to an ignomious end very shortly.

Which brings me to the topic of Climate  Change.

Now that Copenhagen is dead with China, the US and India saying naff off one has to wonder why we rushed into legislation the ill-conceived ETS. It should immediately be shelved. It is farcical to cripple out productive sectors with taxes that no-one in the rest of the world is ever likely to implement. More to the point it has emerged that Grass Fed cattle are actually better for the environment that grain fed cattle therefore putting our cattle and milk herds in the best position green wise, without doing a single thing.

It is ridiculous to now encumber our productive sector with an ETS. I will go further and suggest it is also ill-conceived to lumber the population with a carbon tax which no doubt that Pinko Farrar will suggest. We need less taxes not more. Ditch the ETS, it was Nick’s idea anyway, so blame him, and resist the urge to put in a carbon tax.

With the so-called science and IPCC shibboleths being destroyed daily, a cautionary wait and see approach would be best, oh and firing Nick “Quota” Smith.

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  • alex Masterley

    Reading the Sydney Morning Herald I see the Australian Labor Government is introducing standards and league tables of sorts over there.
    All Mr Key and Mrs Tolley have to do to neuter the teacher unions is point we are alinging ourselves with Australian standards to avoid educational standards being used as a carrot to make people cross the ditch. And also be pragmatically up front about pinching a good Labor (granted it is Australian) policy.

  • billbarnsley

    Tolley is a fool and totally unsuited to being a minister of the tea trolley let alone education.

    But Stephen Hollow Man Joyce is unelected, he hasn't even been an mp for a year yet. Who elected him? I worry that villains such as him, outed in the book the Hollow Men are now sneaking into government unelected and unaccountable.

    Bill

  • http://www.nightcitytrader.blogspot.com Elijah Lineberry

    The sooner Nick Smith is for the highjump – the better!

    The Herald Sun in Australia has an editorial today which highlights the growing avalanche of scepticism over climate change and the view many folk feel they were conned for years.

    Typical of New Zealand that the moment Australia moves away from idiocy and back to the ‘Adult’ option we go screaming full speed ahead towards the idiocy.

  • http://twitter.com/danvds @danvds

    You're suggesting that the government shelve an idea that is (at least in my lay understanding of it all) is going to get them more tax?
    I wholeheartedly agree that it should be shelved (in fact scrapped all together and thrown out the window) but somehow I can't see them doing it.

    Agreed on the global warming malarkey – I was 19 the first time it snowed in CHCH and I remember the amazement of it all… these days its a regular occurrence, my kids think nothing off it. (the flip side of course is we also have 40+ degree days in summer… but seeing as we're not having summer here this year because of the global warming making it all winter it's not a problem)

  • http://www.kiwiwit.blogspot.com/ Kiwiwit

    Even The Bin Liner (DomPost) ran an opinion piece yesterday saying we shoud put the ETS on hold. Never thought I'd see the day!

  • susan

    What actually did happen re Nick Smith's bizarre behaviour at Copenhagen?

  • inversesquare

    Man O man….Nick Smith…..what an embarrassment!

    That man is yet another reason why I subscribe to the National = Labour (but ever so slightly just a weensy teeny weeny bit different) club.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/peterwn peterwn

    "This is a not to sub­tle under­min­ing of Nick “Quota” Smith whose time in par­lia­ment is likely to come to an ignomious end very shortly."

    I assume this means that Osmose is likely to win in its defamation claim against Nick and the resulting damages will be so high as to force Nick into bankrupcy resulting in the loss of his Parliamentry seat. Bear in mind that the alleged defamation happened 5 years ago.

    However I located a couple of preliminary hearings for this case which I discussed down at Farrar's Troll farm:
    http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2010/01/osmose_v_smith….
    and the preliminary judgments at:
    http://jdo.justice.govt.nz/jdo/GetJudgment/?judgm… (19 December 2006)
    http://jdo.justice.govt.nz/jdo/GetJudgment/?judgm… (3 December 2008)

    What I get out of it is that Nick's statement is nothing out of the ordainary for a matter of this sort.

    The issue as I see it is whether Osmose can succeed in claiming an element of ill-will in Nick's statement (ie to score a cheap political point). If not then Osmose's case against Nick would be dead in the water.

    The judge in one of the preliminary hearings effectively told Osmose to drop the claim against Nick and other 'secondary' defendants.

    I give Osmose a 80 – 85% chance of failure in its claim against Nick, although Osmose may well succeed against Dr Wakeling the first defendant.

    Comparison between Bill Birch and Stephen Joyce. IMO Bill forgot why he was in Parliament – he had become completely 'house trained'. He went along with IRD's proposal for draconian tax penalties – so draconian that Mike Cullen had to tone them down. IMO Bill helped sow the seeds that led to the humiliating 2002 defeat, I doubt Stephen will fall in this trap.

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  • The Gantt Guy

    The one I’m looking for is Rodney Hide for Climate Change and Other Mythology, and bringing Richardson back into the fold for Finance.