Asset sale delay likely
Even John Key is now admitting that the asset sale program is facing a serious legal challenge, and that delays in the sales are likely. Any such delay would have several implications…
Environment
water
Don’t it make you sick?
Old rich man, Don Brash, arch-advocate of private property rights, arguing against the property rights of iwi because they’re Maori. He says we shouldn’t have race-based ownership. No-one’s arguing for that. Iwi are arguing for the contract they signed with the Crown to be honoured. You would think a rightwinger would be the first to support that.
Water ownership – first principles
When you have the legal power to control aspects of how something is used, those are property rights, and when you have the legal power to exclude use of something by someone -for instance, by allocating exclusive usage rights to someone else – that’s ownership. The Crown allocates water rights, ipso facto, the Crown believes it owns the water.
Cute with semantics on water
John Key has been running round repeating that no one owns water. He’s just being cute with semantics. What is the effective difference between owning water, and owning water rights?
Dumb or dissing?
Some of the media reckon that Key slagging off the Waitangi Tribunal was an accident of honesty: he was just stating reality that the Tribunal’s findings aren’t binding, he didn’t realise it would provoke a firestorm of reaction. Others say he knew exactly what he was doing and provoked the firestorm to try to split the opposition to asset sales along racial lines.
Climate Change’s deadly twin
The oceans are doing their best to save us from climate change apparently… but just ending up dooming us in another way.
Key’s fight with Maori no accident
Just 32 hours after Key started running the line that the Government would ignore the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision on the Maori Council water rights claim if it didn’t go his way, the Maori Party reacted. Key is abusing the privilege of his office by trying to pre-empt a judicial body’s decision says Pita Sharples. Tariana Turia says they will talk about their ‘future’ with National.
Buyer beware
Are you keen to buy shares in Mighty River Power with a dividend return of 4% pre-tax? You can beat that in the bank, and paying off debt is a far better use of money. But say you’re still keen. What about the threat of Mighty River losing water rights or having to pay for them – will you buy in with that unresolved? Only nutters would take Key’s offer with that up in the air.
Asset sales fight cont…
As the Sir Graham Latimer and the Maori Council launch their bid to halt asset sales in the Waitangi Tribunal, the grassroots campaign is gathering steam too. This Saturday is to be a National Day of Action.
A permanent dictatorship in Canterbury
NRT on the situation in Canterbury, and the Nats’ contempt for elected democracies.
Reaching Tipping Point
Two major new reports out yesterday (from the UN and in Nature) show the earth is headed for a tipping point: our consumption is unsustainable, and we’re degrading the environment. Soon it will be beyond the point of return.
Sunday reading
A couple of good BBC articles: what have the Romans done for us? and can we have a society that doesn’t depend on us becoming ill with our fatness? And Kim Hill’s excellent interviewee Steve Keen.
A sustainable future
The UN High Level Panel on Global Sustainability has delivered a report about creating a future that’s sustainable economically, socially and environmentally. Our government and political parties should be looking at it and measuring themselves against it.
NoRightTurn: Election choices
I/S looks at two dividing lines between left and right that may help your choice in a month’s time. The first is Afghanistan. Labour has promised to bring the SAS home within 90 days. National won’t commit to withdrawing. The second is water: National wants more subsidies to polluters; Labour and the Greens want businesses to pay for their use of public resources.
Anti-deepsea drilling petition
Containership Rena
The stranding of the Containership Rena on Wednesday morning, occurred in clear fine weather which has persisted for 3 days now. This clear weather is due to deteriorate starting today with a change in wind direction around midday. It is expected that by the middle of the week it will be too late. That before the next calm period the ship will be broken on the reef. What should have been done?
NRT – A permanent dictatorship in Canterbury?
NRT continues to provide excellent coverage on the governance of Canterbury.
Ocean Acidification
We know that our carbon pollution is damaging the climate – making the atmosphere warmer and less stable – but it also makes the sea more acidic. Ocean Acidification means the aquaculture industry could be in big trouble by the middle of the century, not to mention the rest of the fishing industry. But the government blithely ignores the problem.
100% Clueless
When confronted with the scientific evidence on the hollowness of our “100% Pure” slogan John Key, as usual, tried to attack the credibility of the source. Key said “He’s one academic and, like lawyers, I could provide you others who would give a counter view”. Now the source (Dr Mike Joy) has called the PM on his clueless claim.
Our dirty water
John Key didn’t much like being confronted with the facts on our dirty water. He tried to pretend that everything is just fine, when it isn’t. No surprise to find this attitude mimicked in National’s policy on water. They are trying to pretend that they’re doing something when they aren’t.
Our water for sale?
Colin James tips National’s plan for our water: ” a Crown company like that for ultra-fast broadband fibre-laying, capitalised from the proceeds of selldowns of state-owned enterprises and operating in public-private partnerships to get projects under way and then sell them on to farmers. Now where does China fit in that?”
Sounds like one disaster after the other. Decisions after the election of course.
Economists line up on “Robin Hood” tax
1000 economists have written to the G20, about to meet in Washington, and to Bill Gates, asking for a tax on financial transactions known as a Tobin tax after its originator, or a Robin Hood tax as it is known in the US. 4 New Zealanders are among the 1000; Prue Hyman, Stefan Kesting, Peter Conway, and Petrus Simons. Good on them.