Shock horror – a political party ranks itself highest
January 15th, 2007 at 7:28 am by David FarrarIn a political twist never ever seen before, the Green Party has declared it has the best policies for climate change. This is somehow a newsworthy event.
I look forward to similiar coverage being given for ACT announcing it has the best property rights policies, NZ First announcing it has the best immigration policies, National the best tax policies etc.
No tag for this post.
January 15th, 2007 at 7:59 am
And when you get down to it. Just what has the Green Party done, actually done on the issue of climate change. Nothing. They have squawked from the sidelines. They have placed all their political eggs into the Labour Party (who rank second) and have thrown their hands up in horror saying the end is nigh, the end is nigh as we get another day of odd weather. This, in their eyes, makes them the best party for climate change.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Does that mean we can expect to see a lot less of the huge mushroom clouds of bob marley blue smoke emitting into the atmosphere every time the bumbling green loops have a gathering or a conference?
Traders of the ole wild wood weed will be most disappointed with their stance on global warming.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 8:27 am
I was it on the news last night; is this what the Green Party membership consists of ? A motley collection of beatniks and layabouts ?
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 8:50 am
Clearly this “news” item is an indictment of the state of the New Zealand media. A tabloid mentality of taking the press releases of certain political parties and then just publishing them with little or no change, without discussion, analysis or debate. A total lack of media balanced reporting, or, in fact, public interest.
Vote:It is no wonder that the public are turning to blogs for balance.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Appalling ‘journalism’. I’ve never bought that paper and I’m not planning to start.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 9:08 am
Yes I saw that on TV and I hear through the bush telegraph that the delinquent greens are going to address to blue mushroom cloud pollution that lurks over Waiheke Island next year by reverting back to a 60’s tradition that worked well in San Francisco……..lol …….. they will hire a parachuter who will toss free doses of psychedelic drugs to the cavorted crowd.
I hope the party is just about over for the greens.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 9:37 am
It’s outrageous. Like you say, David, it’s not as if National got any coverage for its tax policy or Winston for immigration.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 9:46 am
ACT has policies? I thought its platform was ‘Look at me! I’m Rodney Hide!’
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Free doses of psychedelic drugs?! They’ve got my vote! Oh, wait, that’s right, the drugs are “free” in the sense of paid for by the tax payer, i.e., me. I’ll buy my own drugs, thanks.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 9:57 am
And while we’re there, what has National done about cutting taxes in the last seven years? Also nothing! It’s almost as if there were some sort of invisible force stopping opposition parties from implementing their policies . . .
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 10:11 am
I agree that this “score card” is complete nonsense – What I am curious about is why the media covered it and moreover, why on earth the other parties even dignified it with a response. I am reasonably Green friendly, but this should have been ignored by everyone.
I was it on (sic) the news last night; is this what the Green Party membership consists of ? A motley collection of beatniks and layabouts ?
Well, if you saw it on the news it must be so. I doubt the media would distort things.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 10:24 am
“What I am curious about is why the media covered it and moreover, why on earth the other parties even dignified it with a response.”
Slow news day. It’s not as if there is a war on or anything.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Utterly irrelevant to this tread, but thought I’d ask. I was away for most of Christmas. Did Labour pay back the money it owes while I wasn’t watching? I’m pretty sure they still haven’t paid it back. Have they yet announced when they’ll pay it back? The story kinda disappeared after the waterfront stadium proposal came up to distract everybody (then went away after everyone was sufficiently distracted)…
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 10:36 am
“A motley collection of beatniks and layabouts ?”
Of course, we beatniks and layabouts look at the assembled National Party membership on TV and think “What a fine cross-section of NZ’s upstanding, worthy and productive citizenry!” What? Sure we do! Come on, would I lie to you?
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Perhaps all the Greens hot air could be put to better use in Australia putting out all those bush fires which do more climate damage in a couple of months than NZ does in years…….
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Another casualty of NCEA chemistry?
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Yes David, I was surprised to see it as the lead article on 3 news last night.
But don`t forget it was about climate change.The masses must be ”educated”!
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Rant all you want about the Greens but they have over 7% support in the polls and climate change is getting lots of exposure from the mainstream media. Even John Key has now accepted climate change is a reality and the Nats are remaking themselves blue-green.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Why haven’t the Greens appeared to have done anything? Because everybody else would prefer to stop them from doing anything. If National cared even the slightest about climate change. If any other party cared even the slightest about climate change, they wouldn’t block every attempt the Green party makes to put in place legislation that would make a difference.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Danyl, you know what I mean, but must admit I got 32% for School Cert chemistry!!
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Appalling ‘journalism’. I’ve never bought that paper and I’m not planning to start.
Must be fun to work @ the Herald.
There’s another wonderful piece of ‘journalism’ today about what MPs drive. The article mainly targets John Key who has, shock horror, two vehicles.
I reckon the headline should read – Clark doesn’t know what she drives. I tell ya she’s not going to shore up the male vote with that sort of ignorance.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
ahem “National the best tax policies”
where would these be?
The media also didn’t look at how the greens decided to rank everyone else – I’m not quite sure how “committed to NZ measures being socially just” has anything to do with Climate Change. Anyone?
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Interesting that the Maori party only had one leader on the Greens little cartoon board.
Quite amusing to see overseas the backlash starting against the ‘we’re all doomed’ branch of GW.
Perhaps some rationality might enter the debate in the next year or so. You just never know.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Media release (immediate) 15 January 2007
Green Party Leading Climate Change Debate in Wrong Direction
The Green Party is leading the debate on climate change in completely the wrong direction, according to Owen McShane, chairman of the policy panel of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition.
“We should hardly be surprised that the Green Party ranks itself first in promoting Green Party policies. After all, we would expect the Pope to pronounce the Catholic Church as the leading campaigner for Catholicism.
“The strong focus on climate science and economics over the last couple of decades is now providing dividends in our knowledge and understanding of this most complex and least understood area of science. And, as one would expect, we are at the stage where this increased knowledge is increasing our uncertainty about how the system works, what is going on, and what, if anything, we should – or, indeed, can – do about it.
“Clearly, the Green Party is not keeping up with the work in science or economics. Otherwise it would realise that its ‘T-shirt sloganeering’ approach to climate policy is now totally out of date. The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition would rank all the other parties ahead of the Greens simply because they have not succumbed to unquestioning support of dogma.,” said Mr McShane
“A couple of examples make the point.
“First, the Green Party announcement makes much of the need for action over sea level rising – apparently having been taken in by Al Gore’s movie designed to support his investment fund.
The UN IPCC has taken the latest scientific information to heart and its latest draft recommends reducing the projected sea level rise by 2100 to only some 500 mm or 17 inches. Such a rise will be lost in the ‘noise’ of tectonic plate movement and ongoing erosion and accretion. Many parts of New Zealand will see overall sea level falls over the next 100 years because our tectonic plate movements are raising the coastline at a faster rate. (For general picture, see reference below)
“Second, the Greens demand action over farmyard methane emissions claiming they account for most of our greenhouse gas problems. Actually, water vapour is far and away the major greenhouse gas but we can do nothing about that. Methane is only an issue in New Zealand, compared to countries like Europe, because we have so many cows and so few people. We could solve our methane ‘problem’ by increasing our population to 50 million people. Then the Europeans would have no beef with us.
“Furthermore, for reasons no one understands, atmospheric concentrations of methane in the atmosphere are now falling, and it would be unwise to meddle in the methane system given our ignorance.
“One thing we do know is that New Zealand still has only a tiny percentage of the world’s ruminant population and our ruminants our highly methane-efficient because our stock are of high genetic quality and feed on high quality pasture. A litre of milk produced on an English farm produces far more methane than one produced in New Zealand. Hence, if we reduce methane production in New Zealand by taxes or fines we would actually increase global methane emissions as consumers shifted to less methane-efficient producers for their supplies.
“So I am sorry. The Green Party ranks at the bottom of our list on climate policy because it is so sadly out of touch with the most recent science and economics.
“We do not expect the Greens to abandon their religious convictions regarding the relationship between people and the Earth Mother. But we do suggest that their convictions are an unreliable guide to ranking policy for the nation as a whole,” Mr McShane concluded.
[Reference:
GLOBAL SEA LEVEL RISE SLOWED DOWN DURING SECOND HALF OF 20TH CENTURY
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 34, 4 January 2007
Vote:http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007/2006GL028492.shtml
January 15th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Go Owen Well done Of course the green(reds) will ignore the stats.They are selfish cretins who want to rule our lives and command us Just like the Socialists.Those who wish to be free must continue to fight the religious dogma that seeks to shut down any debate and label anyone who has a counterposition a planet destroyer.Blaming us for climate change is merely an excuse for more tax gathering by politicans and a means to attack motorists by the nutcase loonies.We must fight them on the beaches. We must never surrender.
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Go Owen McShane……We need 10,000 clones of you to re-populate Wellywood and right the left leaning mothership……Na bugger it, just let the fucker sink!
Vote:January 15th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Of course, it seems the Greens have cottoned on to (or stumbled upon) a tenet of political advertising overseas:
When newspaper chief editors are on holiday/basking in the sun/ reading books bring out your big PR guns. The guys in charge at news organisations during this time are generally unskilled in filtering party drivel from real policy, so substance rules over style in late December and early January. This technique is well known overseas. Not so well known in NZ, because we have one bonanza of a holiday in summer and precious little anywhere else, ergo, everyone is on the beach, not watching TV.
Nevertheless, well done the Greens for taking us in a more superficial statements-based-on-news-cycle direction.
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