Truth hurts as Hodgson lashes out

National’s Forestry spokesman, Brian Connell, says Pete Hodgson’s embarrassing concession over Kyoto liabilities should serve as a lesson to him that honesty is always the best policy.

“On Monday, the Minister said: ‘The President of the Forest Owners Association is wrong to assert that forest owners face liabilities for cutting down trees and not replanting’.

“The Minister had obviously forgotten about the carbon tax that Labour is imposing on pre-1990 forests if the 10% deforestation cap is breached – something Kiwis will find substantially harder to forget when it hits them directly in the pocket every time they fill up their car or pay their electricity bill,” says Mr Connell.

“Then, in a rare bout of honesty yesterday, the Minister came clean on what he really thinks when he said ‘… taxpayers should not subsidise forest owners’ Kyoto liability if they choose to cut down at a rate higher than ten percent”.

“Hallelujah, the truth comes out.

“Up until now the Minister has always said carbon emissions are the Government’s liability, now all of a sudden they’re the forest owners’.

“The Government will nationalise their credits but it won’t take responsibility for higher rates of deforestation that are inspired by this ridiculous cap.

“The Minister’s open disdain for forestry owners, evident when he said: ‘We simply don’t believe them’, must be sending shivers down the spine of Forestry Minister Jim Anderton.

“I can assure forest owners now that this is not the attitude a National Government will take,” Mr Connell says.

“If the Government is so certain that forestry owners have got it wrong, and that the 10% cap won’t be breached, why have it in the first place?”

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