Simon Bridges must have sore balls from straddling the fence over man-made climate change. It has turned my stomach to see National MPs going along with the man-made climate change nonsense. National is supposed to be the practical party and the no-nonsense party. By straddling the climate change issue they are pleasing nobody.
Judith Collins, unlike National leader Simon Bridges, is not at all conflicted about how she will vote. She has stated that she will vote against the Zero Carbon Bill in its present form. In contrast to her decisive declaration, Simon Bridges has said that National’s position on the Bill was that “we have resolved not to resolve it yet.” Instead of opposing the bill Bridges has written to the Prime Minister and James Shaw, offering to work with them to establish an independent, non-political Climate Change Commission.
This kind of fence-straddling from Simon Bridges is dividing the National party along urban and rural lines. If National lose the rural vote by siding with Urban wets over the nonsense that is man-made climate change then they are in for a hiding. They will gain no extra urban vote by dancing to Jacinda Ardern’s Climate change tune. Currently, the National party leadership are all in the urban camp. The sole outlier firmly in the camp of the farmers and the Rural vote is Judith Collins.
The government has agreed to put the 2050 upper methane reduction target at 47 percent even though the Ministry of Primary industry proposed a 33% upper limit. Politik reports that ministry advice was overruled by the PM, who wanted the higher number. 47% is much higher than the 35% target wanted by climate change activists Generation Zero, which shows that our PM is more extreme than even youth activists!
Federated Farmers told the Select Committee that the economic, social and employment repercussions of the 2050 24-47% reduction target for methane were “eye-watering for farmers” and average dairy farmers’ profits could be cut by up to 60% and 12% of dairy farmers would be unable to meet their annual debt obligations by 2040.
Politik
My father-in-law, before he became president of the National party, went on a fact-finding mission to Germany for the party. This was between 1993 and 1996. He came back convinced that National should split into an urban party and a rural party. I think that idea’s time has come, because at the moment a conflicted National is pleasing no one and the farmers need a champion.