The former student politicians running the Government have simply ignored the important principle that significant
decisions should be decided collectively by Cabinet, says ACT Leader David Seymour.
"The Cabinet Manual states that significant and controversial issues "must be submitted to Cabinet".
"Without any advice and without talking to those affected, three people have decided the fate of an industry. That is no
way to run a government.
"Just when New Zealanders thought the decision to ban offshore oil and gas exploration couldn’t get worse, it does.
"ACT has already revealed there was no cost-benefit analysis of the decision, no assessment of whether emissions would
fall or if gas prices would rise, and no consultation with industry.
"Now it has been revealed by Stuff that the decision didn’t even go through the normal Cabinet decision-making process.
"I've seen some own goals in my time in politics. This Government is an expert", says Mr Seymour.