Four theories put forward for Mr Sutton's RMA outburst.
Media Release
Hon Simon Upton
19 November 1999
Four theories put forward for Mr Sutton's RMA outburst.
Environment Minister Simon Upton today responded swiftly to a sudden outburst on the RMA by Labour's Agriculture
spokesman, Jim Sutton. "It was like some atavistic eruption from the past".
At least four theories have been advanced:
1. Mr Sutton's outburst is indeed a subtle way of registering a cry of anguish that Labour should have handed
environmental policy to Dianne Yates, whose knowledge of the Resource Management Act is minimal and who's experience of
living is limited to the university common room.
2. Mr Sutton's outburst is an attempt to draw attention away from Labour's absurd policy of funding community groups to
take objections to the Environment Court. This would pour kerosene onto the fire of litigation and delay, and has been
widely condemned by interest groups such as Federated Farmers.
3. Mr Sutton's outburst is a smokescreen to hide the fact that it is generally left-wing fanatics on councils who are
responsible for the nuttier rules that some of them have promulgated. These Labour councillors are practising on local
ratepayers what they intend to carry further into Parliament.
4. Like some prize bull, Mr Sutton is ritually paraded by the Labour Party in provincial centres as its sole link with
grass roots values. This theory links to theory one above - he would never be allowed near environmental policy in a
Labour government.
Simon Upton welcomes further theories to explain this eruption from a clearly troubled Opposition member, who has
already lost his battles on the West Coast Accord and is clearly in a minority of one in the Labour Caucus when it comes
to environmental regulation.
ENDS