Instead of rabbiting on about stupid stuff like Planet Key, Labour and the Greens should be holding David Carter’s feet to the fire. He has been touting figures about loss to farmers incomes from the One Plan decision that has no correlation to reality, and making him justify something that is clearly wrong will make entertaining viewing.
Any half decent opposition MP should be able to have blood spilt when a minister makes statements that like Carter has, and when Ministry staff go on the record saying stuff that is obviously wrong.
The scenarios resulting in 22 per cent to 43 per cent cuts to profit were “extreme” and “actually bear little similarity to the One Plan”, Richard Gordon said. The scenario most similar to the One Plan would have an impact on profitability of less than 1 per cent.
He received a response from the ministry’s director of resource policy, Mike Jebsen, who said the scenario mentioned in the memos was “in our view most closely matched the Environment Court direction”.
Asked about Landcare’s email yesterday, Mr Jebsen said the 22 to 43 per cent figures were the best indication of likely impact.
In September, the court, having heard from five economists from Fonterra, Horticulture NZ, Fish & Game and two from Horizons, concluded the effect on farmers would be an average of 5 per cent of annual expenses.
This is a pretty easy play. The people that authored the report are saying the Ministry doesn’t know the difference between their arsehole and elbow, yet the ministry still justify it.
An aspiring opposition leader like Grant Robertson needs to deliver some heads, and David Carter’s head has been served up on a platter by his ministry.
Question Time should be interesting on the 27th, unless Grant bottles it like he did his leadership coup.
