Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

The previous Labour government banned until 2018 the building of new fossil-fuelled power
stations to provide baseload electricity. This closed off the option of burning more fossil fuels
to generate electricity, and gave further impetus to the development of renewable resources.
We will re-impose such a ban.
Labour will ban the building of new baseload fossil-fuelled power stations until at
least 2018.
An obvious alternative for new baseload electricity generation is geothermal generation,
which is expanding rapidly. Geothermal generation increased 21% between 2009 and 2010.
This reflected both the economics of geothermal and the measures taken to facilitate its
expansion by the previous Labour government.
Emissions Trading Scheme
The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme introduced by Labour in 2008 was, by
international standards, advanced. It included all six greenhouse gases covered by the
Kyoto Protocol and was to encompass every sector of the economy. The ETS charged
polluters for increases in emissions and rewarded those who cut emissions.
Labour is committed to achieving a lasting consensus among New Zealand‟s main political
parties on an ETS. We have consistently tried to work with the National Party to reach
common ground. But we aren‟t prepared to compromise our fundamental principles to do so.
Labour will seek to link with trading partners, notably Australia, which are committing to
responsible long-term reductions in carbon emissions. And we will get advice from periodic
independent reviews provided for in the ETS legislation.
National amended Labour‟s 2008 ETS, increasing the taxpayers‟ bill for New Zealand‟s
greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated $50-110 billion (to 2050) and letting polluters off
the hook at the cost of taxpayers. These amendments included putting a price cap on
carbon, halving the amount of emissions units that must be bought or surrendered, and
deferring the inclusion of agriculture to 2015.
Most of the „free‟ allocation of emission units would go to agriculture, with its emissions being
subsidised by other sectors of the economy and by taxpayers. Even then, National is
equivocating on the essential inclusion of agriculture despite it being the country‟s largest
greenhouse gas emitter (47% of the total).
Labour is committed to bringing agriculture into the ETS on 1 January 2013. The initial „free‟
allocation to agriculture will be 90% of the sector‟s 2005 emissions.
Labour will ensure the effective implementation of the ETS, and strengthen it by
bringing agriculture in on 1 January 2013.
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