Heh, heh, heh! Tribes accepted carbon credits as payment and those credits have slumped in value -- so the tribes are threatening a $600-million treaty claim, and will take their case to the United Nations in a bid to get the government to revalue the credits. Greedy iwi, global warming stupidity, frequently it appears the chickens come home to roost.
This is how the story has unfolded over the past few weeks. The Iwi Leadership Forum told Prime Minister John Key at Waitangi on February 5, 2014, that it is about to implement a "climate change escalation strategy" which includes a treaty claim for $600-million over the lost value of carbon forestry, according to carbon market newsletter Carbon News.
A week later, the Government appeared to be ignoring an ultimatum from Maori to fix carbon prices or face the consequences. Meanwhile, tribes claimed to have the support of at least two major political parties (no prizes for guessing which parties these may be).
These frustrated individuals say they will pull no punches when it meets with a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change committee in Wellington on Thursday.
A bullying, threatening strategy by tribal leaders less than five years ago over the Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Act 2009 gave Ngai Tahu and four other tribes the right to carbon credits for forestry on more than 35,000 hectares of Crown conservation land for 70 years. A tribal negotiator said the deal was worth $2-billion, but Climate Change Minister Nick Smith said the total was less than $70-million to $120-million.
The National Party government wanted the Maori Party’s five votes to pass the Climate Change Response Bill so the carbon credits for tribes was a quid pro quo to get the bill over the line.
At that time the price of carbon was forecast to be $25 a tonne. But the cost of carbon credits fell to just 14 cents a tonne a year ago, with more current prices difficult to find because they exist on websites that require a login.
The Emissions Trading Scheme, which mirrored schemes overseas, intended to put a price on carbon to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. But carbon prices collapsed, partly because of an economic crisis in Europe, and partly because of changes in New Zealand to keep the New Zealand economy competitive.
The push to reduce emissions is based on the theory that man-made emissions are heating up the climate and hastening the end of the world. Unfortunately, the evidence does not fit the theory since even the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has conceded that there has been no warming for 20 years. Moreover, CO2 emissions have increased in that time without causing any warming.
So, if you sold your house, would you accept carbon credits as payment? Me neither. It appears those tribal leaders had failed to do due diligence on carbon credits and the shaky “science” that they are based upon. Look and what they did then – and look at what they are doing now.
Sources
1. Carbon News. http://www.carbonnews.co.nz/story.asp?storyID=7439
2. Carbon News. http://www.carbonnews.co.nz/story.asp?storyID=7456
3. Carbon News. http://www.carbonnews.co.nz/story.asp?storyID=7475
4. “Smith plays down $2-billion ETS windfall for Maori”, The Dominion Post, November 23, 2009
5. Carbon credit price meltdown, Stuff, February 3, 2013. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/8252659/Carbon-credit-price-meltdown
10 comments:
what we claimed and took yesterday, is yesterday, we want this today, pay here, and tomorrow is another day,
Oh Dear, How Sad ! That our Indigenous Brothers have lost so much money on carbon credits.
Welcome Iwi to the real world, the one in which we non-Maori have been living while you have successfully Blackmailed your way to prosperity using the "Ethnic Emotive Claim Process".
These Election Year tactics are evident for all to see. Now we can judge just what Political Party has the intestinal fortitude to stand up and say "Enough is Enough".
Take it to the United Nations; and remember that neither money or goodwill grows on trees, native or otherwise.
Brian
Ah yes, but wait and see the Labor Greens, would be if could be government, will give anything these greedy black mailers want. Fact is we (the real people of NZ) will never stop paying as the treaty gravy train rolls on full steam ahead.
I have read this article with a tear in my eye. How sad it's it that the greed of people see's them investing or taking as payment a fictitious "thing" that was invented to make the inventors rich. So funny!!!! Now they want to bully the government to put it right. The reason for the tear is because the government lacks the guts to tell them to go away and once again the Honest Taxpayers of NZ will foot the bill.
Well Said Brian, Most thinking Kiwi's have had enough of this Racist Rubbish,
Part Maori should study the history of the Treaty(not the new twisted Version)their ancestors signed the treaty so the British Constabulary would protect them from the minority Maurading tribes from murdering them and eating them.
Get over it Part -Maori and become kiwi's,your privileges are Racist.eg Trainee Part Maori Doctors have to get only 50% pass mark, European 80% in some subjects.Part Maori Quota's for police recruits.
19% tax for Maori Trusts.I could go on and on.
Unbelievable !!! But as soon as anyone exposes the facts about Part Maori privileges they are called right wing Racists.
Wake up Kiwi's the apathy scares me.
Greg
Tribalism" has swept NZ with the headquarters at the 'te papa' museum. Devoted to spreading Marxist propaganda about New Zealand history. Far from 'te papa' being "our place" it is 'their place', where twisted, bigoted and ever-hateful Maori pseudo-historians, alongside a gang of gutless, sell-out race traitors, have a field day putting the boot into non-Maori New Zealanders. Making up New Zealand history as they go these 'pretend scholars' promote their garbage and prop up their careers using large sums of public monies....TREASON has and is being committed by the politicians of OUR COUNTRY...
maori arent to blame for all this carry on. they are merely taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them.it is our predominantly white middle class parlement that implements the legislation which makes this all possible.what nz is desperately in need of is a leader with balls to say this has to stop.sadly i dont see any on the horizon.
when are our leaders going to realise that maori are not indigenous, even they know that. so all monies paid to them in so called wrongs, are wrong. further, the british brought about this fiasco, why are they not paying the bills.
GEM
Please be aware realise that some Maori have sold out their sovereignty for ToW settlements that only keep us tied to a slave system of "haves" and "have nots". Where as there are some of us that would rather have independent governance and sovereignty as guaranteed under the NZ Confederation of Chiefs, Declaration of Independence 1835 British Crown law and later confirmed in the Maori version of the Treaty of Waitangi and then in the NZ Constitution Some of you as the Treaty partner might want to consider living under Maori governance and Pakeha governance in true partnership and not under corporate governance which is what we have now under both NZ govt and Maori trusts and incorporations. Corporate rule will privatise everything for sale and profit for the few, including such natural resources that we consider to be our rights. Foreshore and seabed is prime example, Labour govt and National repealed the law to corporatise these assets and now we've got a law that breaches Maori sovereignty over the foreshore and seabed and a deluge of 35 year mining permits for foreign corporations virtually giving them ownership of the seabed. No consultation with Maori. Te Whanau Apanui have been the only tribe who have been able to assert their sovereignty to stop sea bed oil exploration hence the latest changes to the law to stop protests against oil companies.
"Once were" investors. Grabbed carbon credits like a magpie on a milk bottle top. Dropped in value. Bugger. Stick the stupid government for compensation. Typical!
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