Hon Dr Nick Smith MP
National Party Climate Change Spokesman

5 September 2007

Panicky Parker tries to hide climate change failure

It is a sign of desperation that Climate Change Minister David Parker is playing numbers games to hide the Labour’s awful record on emissions, says National Climate Change Spokesman Nick Smith.

“Mr Parker dismissed my statement that coal generation has gone up under Labour, noting that in 2006 it dropped 4.8%. He just forgot to mention that in the preceding six years under Labour, power generated from coal increased 252%. The small drop in 2006 was only because 2005 was an exceptionally dry year in which hydro generation was replaced with coal.

“Mr Parker also refuted that emissions under Labour have been growing faster than Australia. The official UN figures between 2000 and 2005 show New Zealand’s emissions grew by 5.15% as compared to Australia’s of 2.35%.

“Mr Parker attempts to hide the increased emissions under Labour by noting that New Zealand’s per capita emissions are less than those of Australia. This has always been the case and is nothing for which his Government can claim credit.

“Labour’s own policy, international agreements, and the current debate have all been based around percentage changes in nation’s emissions. It is not credible for Labour now to be saying some other measure is appropriate.

“Australia is doing so much better on forestry than New Zealand where they have additional plantings of 400,000 hectares, where we have deforestation of over 40,000 hectares.

“Australia is installing 200,000 new solar water systems each year, whereas New Zealand is installing only 4,000, a rate on a population basis ten times greater than New Zealand.

“Labour must accept the hard truth that its climate change policies are failing, and no amount of jiggery pokery with the figures will change that.”

ENDS

Attached – Greenhouse Gas Emissions (NZ, Australia, US) and Electricity Generated from Coal (PDF)

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