Timing Of Farm Entry To ETS Features In Talks
February 9th, 2009
Agriculture Minister, David Carter, has met his Aust counterpart for the first time in a meet and greet with Tony Burke, the former union official who now presides over farm policy. Burke has been drawn into the defence of the Rudd Govt’s climate change regime, which opponents charge will damage Aust’s economy and make farmers less competitive. Under current Australian Govt policy, agriculture won’t be drawn into the scheme until 2015, while in NZ, agricultural gases are to be included in the Emissions Trading Scheme from Jan. 1, 2013.
Working smarter. Carter says climate change is an area where the two nations “can work far faster and smarter.” The key question, according to Carter, is how quickly Aust removes grandfathering of emissions, with little detail made public to date. For NZ, there may be an opportunity to be more in step with Aust now the Emissions Trading Scheme has been referred to a new select committee for review.
Relationship building crucial. Carter says a major part of his trip is building relationships. Burke was the first overseas minister to make contact when Carter gained the agriculture portfolio, calling from Rome to congratulate him. The two ministers had the opportunity to compare notes on drought management, thrown into stark relief by figures this month showing inflows to Aust’s Murray-Darling Basin river system were at near-record lows in January. The river system helps irrigate almost half of the nation’s farms. Meanwhile, progress on South Island water storage projects is awaiting completion of the Canterbury Strategic Water Study in June. Carter has offered to have MAF staff seconded to help complete the review, which has been accepted by Environment Canterbury and other stakeholders.
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