One of his most talked-about initiatives was how our state-owned enterprises could be leveraged to lift our country’s economic performance in partnership with the private sector. He proposed this as an alternative to John Key’s plan to sell them off after the election — a plan that lacks any kind of vision for a mixed economy that retains New Zealand ownership.

Click the arrow thing to listen…

Click to play

If you’re having problems with our Flash player, try this alternative site. This podcast series is now available on iTunes.

The interesting thing to me is not so much the validity or not of NZBCSD’s research but the internal criticism it immediately drew.

The NZBCSD is a membership driven lobby group like any other, so it’s no surprise that some of its members with a less than carbon friendly reputation, such as Holcim, Shell, Fonterra and Solid Energy are not entirely enamoured with the report. It’s interesting that NZBCSD has held together a relatively unified approach on the proposed legislation up until now when you looks at its extremely diverse membership.  It suggests the business community is not as uniformly opposed to climate friendly legislation as same have painted it.

Fran O’Sullivan is calling it a rushed report that promises too much.  The National Party is calling it a cynical bid by government-owned Meridian Energy and Mighty River Power companies to influence MPs’ votes.

Jeanette however has welcomed the report and noted it shows the weakness in the reports produced by the biggest polluters, namely that they have ignored the massive economic opportunities an emissions trading scheme creates:

In particular, it shows the failings of other reports, such as from NZIER, which assume no-one takes advantage of new business opportunities and the economy does not change

However, we should not pass any old sort of [emissions trading scheme]. The current scheme is unfair and not very effective.

What we are left with is reports arguing there will be some winners and reports arguing there will be some losers from an emissions trading scheme.  The key issues are making sure the takes effect quickly enough to address the urgent danger we face, making sure that the winners are ordinary New Zealanders trying to be more climate friendly and sustainable, rather than big polluters.

He then goes on to have a crack at the Renewable Preference, claiming that there are no renewables that can take the place of thermal generation. Clearly he hasn’t been reading his mail, because Mighty River Power are about to commission a geothermal power station starting next month with a further new development coming on stream in just over a year. Last time I checked, geothermal was both renewable and baseload.

He has asked the Commerce Commission to investigate Meridian. I hope they do. If the CarboNZero programme is a fraud, we would all like to know. If not, Nick had better prepare to withdraw and apologise. He has impugned the reputation of two of New Zealand’s most respected companies. It is just ridiculous enough a claim that we cannot blame it on poor research, but rather self-aggrandisement.

Metiria Turei: Is the Minister concerned that Meridian has suppressed a report that it commissioned from Landcare Research entitled Calculating Biodiversity Offsets for the Mokihinui Hydro Proposal, which basically states that there is no way that Meridian can mitigate the destructive effects of the dam on the river, the biodiversity loss, and the elimination of native species?

Hon STEVE CHADWICK: I am aware of the reports that Meridian commissioned, and that it did commission that research. However, I have not seen that research, so it is inappropriate for me to comment, at this stage…

Metiria Turei: Does the Minister agree that the protected wilderness rivers are not renewable, that species in decline are not recoverable, as her Government continues to destroy their habitat, and that New Zealanders who appreciate the outdoors and our unique native species-

Rt Hon Winston Peters: That’s not right!

Metiria Turei: – even ones like that member – will not accept large hydro dams like that proposed on the MÅ?kihinui River?

Hon STEVE CHADWICK: I agree that the Mokihinui is a river gorge ecosystem of regional and national importance. The department is preparing an assessment of the specific values and the impact of that river.

The report that Metiria uncovered says:

Several major management actions that would be required to offset the residual impacts on biodiversity appear unattainable, reflecting the high biodiversity value of the impacted area, [and] the absence of realistic alternative riverine systems that could be restored to offset the significant residual biodiversity loss.

Does the Department of Conservation plan to submit on the resource consent applications for Meridian Energy Limited’s Mokihinui Hydro Proposal; if so, will the Department be advocating for the protection of the river?

You can watch parliament questions and answers at 2pm on streaming video or listen on Radio NZ’s streaming audio.

I’m told that Metiria is one of the people in that pictured raft below.

Metiria said last week:

This river is quintessentially wild and ecologically special – the type of river that captures the imagination of New Zealanders. It is sacrilege to destroy this gorge and ecosystems.

This hydro dam will require Meridian to flood the Mokihinui Gorge, which is home to endangered bats, kiwi, snails, kaka and whio. It will also prevent many fish from swimming out to sea to breed. 12 of those fish species are natives, and four of them are endangered. And, of particular interest to Metiria and Russel are the long fin eels.

Long fin eels live for about 100 years if they are allowed. They swim all the way from their river in New Zealand to deep sea trenches off the coast in Tonga where they breed. The children then make their way slowly back to the same river from where their parents came.

The Ministry of Fisheries has no available estimates of the current biomass of long fin eels. It says

[T]here are no stock assessments, or reliable data or time series on which to base specific recommendations on catch levels.

Given the biology of eels, there is a high risk that the current exploitation levels for longfin eels in particular, coupled with past and present anthropogenic impacts, are not sustainable.

The West Coast Regional Council has given notice that it is considering resource consent for this dam and is accepting public submissions until April 23.

Forest and Bird opposes the dam and points out that the Department of Conservation rates the Mokihinui River as the seventh most important river in New Zealand because of its natural heritage values.

You can join Forest and Bird’s campaign to oppose the dam and find a great deal of resources on how to make a simple submission to the Regional Council opposing the dam on their website.