ACT deletes climate change policy from their website
ACT has removed their climate change policy from their website – reportedly on the same day leader David Seymour launched a blistering attack on the Green Party’s environmental record. ….The 2008 policy, which claimed New Zealand was not warming and pledged to withdraw the country from the Kyoto Protocol, was unavailable on the ACT Party’s website as of Friday evening.
“New Zealand is not warming,” the Policy Paper said “If it were to warm moderately, we would likely benefit in terms of land-based production, human health and reduced heating bills. Arguments that we would lose from sea-level rise or more extreme events are unproven conjectures.”
Links to the policy are still catalogued by Google and a cached version is available. A user on Reddit said that the policy was available on the website as late as Friday morning, but this claim could not be independently verified.
Seymour released a scathing attack on the Green Party on Friday, stating they did “bugger all for the environment”. Reached by telephone on Saturday morning, Seymour did not confirm or deny the deletion of the policy. David Seymour responded “The thing about websites is that you can always say that something was or wasn’t on a website at some point in the past,”….And added “It’s the easiest thing in the world to claim and impossible to prove.”
Seymour called later to confirm that the policy had been on the website’s server but not actively linked to for “a long time – at least two years.”. He emphasized that his party was focusing on the 2017 election, not the past. He suspected that media were being tipped off about the deletion by someone in the Green Party, “who have been underperforming at representing NZ on the environment. …. Saying “I know which election I’m focusing on. If they want to focus on another one they are welcome to.”
The ACT Party are holding their annual conference at Orakei Bay this weekend, and a focus on the environment is suspected. Seymour said the party had never denied the existence of climate change. He described himself as a “luke-warmer. Saying that “I believe it is real, and a portion of it is manmade, but I question the extent to which it is dangerous,” he then said “Since the industrial revolution we’ve increased the concentration of C02 by about 100 part per million. No question about that.”
In the first page of the deleted policy paper:- He called for a more scientific and mature discussion of the issue. Saying “I think it is time for a slightly more intelligent debate. Otherwise its a bit like being back in the playground – ‘Are you are a denier or are you a good person? It’s all a bit puerile.” And – “It’s actually a scientific debate – and quite a complex one.”
Stuff
David Seymour launches attack on Greens, says they’re ‘doing bugger all for the environment’
ACT leader David Seymour is talking up his green credentials, and trashing the Greens. . Photo: DAVID WHITE / FAIRFAX NZ
ACT leader David Seymour is readying to fire shots across the Green Party bow, accusing them of “socialist economics” and neglecting the environment. He said they also “just really piss me off”. The rank and file behind the single-MP party will gather at Auckland’s exclusive Orakei Bay this weekend for their annual conference, which is expected to carry a heavy environmental theme. It’s understood Seymour will announce an environmental policy, geared around private enterprise playing a greater role in conservation.
It’s unclear exactly what that will include, but is expected to centre on Government incentives to increase private environmental custodianship, and moves to better define ownership. Seymour was keen to boost the party’s environmental credentials, saying they had gone under-reported in the past.
And he took issue with the “hypocrisy of the Greens”, monopolizing environmental issues. “They have squatted on this piece of political real estate, while doing bugger all for the environment and often doing things that are counter-productive, because they don’t understand markets.
“They annoy me enormously, and I just think it’s wrong because I actually do care about the environment and I think it’s an important part of being a New Zealander,” he said. “What you’ve got is a group of people who are actually running a completely separate agenda which is socialist-economics, and neglecting [the environment]. “The reality is they just piss me off.”
He cited a bill by Green MP Gareth Hughes last year, which sought to regulate the buy-back rate that electricity retailers charged people selling solar power back into the grid. “If his bill had succeeded then you would have ended up with retailers saying we don’t want to be in business, and if you’d set it too low then people considering installing solar panels would have said the returns aren’t as good as they could be
“It’s one little example of a supposedly environmental party, with a supposedly environmental policy which if it had succeeded, would have actually reduced the uptake of solar one way or another, and increased emissions from the New Zealand electricity industry.”.. Green Party co-leader James Shaw declined to comment, but a Green party spokesperson said Seymour’s gestures appeared token. .. ACT seems to be claiming some kind of road to Damascus epiphany that the environment is worth saving.
“David could start by supporting our call for a moratorium on further dairy conversions on the Waikato River to help make it swimmable again.”.. Seymour’s keynote address would focus heavily on what he calls the four Ps of free-market environmentalism – private initiative, property rights, pricing and prosperity. ACT members looking to flash their green side will also be able to book a ride in a Tesla S – an electric powered sports car that can outpace most high-performance sports vehicles.
Others lined up to speak at the conference would cover child poverty, the Government’s position on superannuation and victim support.
– Stuff
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/77288879/david-seymour-launches-attack-on-greens-says-theyre-doing-bugger-all-for-the-environment
Nick Kearney ACT Climate Policy 2008
In 2008, the ACT Party’s climate policy, supported by candidates like Nick Kearney (who stood for the party in the North Shore electorate that year), was rooted in climate skepticism and opposition to government intervention in the economy.
2008 ACT Climate Policy Highlights:-
Climate Skepticism: The party’s official 2008 policy paper explicitly stated that “New Zealand is not warming”. It argued that moderate warming would likely benefit New Zealand through increased land productivity and reduced heating bills. Opposition to Kyoto Protocol: ACT pledged to withdraw New Zealand from the Kyoto Protocol, describing the arguments for sea-level rise and extreme weather events as “unproven conjectures”.
Opposition to the ETS: ACT was a vocal critic of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) introduced by the Labour government in September 2008. To protest the legislation, the party famously performed street theatre featuring a “witch” whipping a “farmer” who was dragging a large cheque made out to Russia for $5 billion, representing the cost to taxpayers.
Alternative Energy: Rather than carbon mitigation, the party argued for investment in “proper alternatives” such as nuclear power, while dismissing renewable energy like wind and solar as unachievable and unnecessary for cutting emissions. Nick Kearney’s Role in 2008:- Candidate Stance: As the ACT candidate for North Shore in 2008, Kearney adhered to the party’s platform of fiscal conservatism and limited regulation.
Review of ETS: Following the 2008 election, ACT entered a confidence-and-supply agreement with the National Party. A key condition of this deal was a formal review of the Emissions Trading Scheme, which ultimately led to the significant watering down of the scheme in 2009 (e.g., the “two-for-one” deal where emitters only paid for half their emissions).
NOTE: The 2 for one deal ‘ NZ the biggest Climate Cheats in the World’. Buying cheap Russian & Ukraine Carbon Units knowing they were fraudulent. Contid to do so whilst they were kept for profiting for a future date. (2 Gareth Morgan Reports)
Controversy: In 2010, it was revealed that Kearney, then an ACT Board Member, had been involved in sharing sensitive government papers regarding the ETS with political activists to encourage public opposition. By 2016, the ACT Party removed the specific “New Zealand is not warming” language from its website, shifting its focus toward the economic inefficiency of domestic targets relative to global emissions.
NICK KEARNEY’S STANCE:
Prioritization: In 2025 local body election surveys, Kearney rated climate change action a 7 out of 10 in importance for decision-making. Core Beliefs: As a candidate for Christchurch City Council, he emphasized protecting the environment as a priority, alongside tackling rising rates and improving service delivery. Economic Focus: Historically, Kearney has critiqued policies that he believes harm small investors, such as previous government attempts to remove rental tax write-offs, reflecting ACT’s broader economic-first approach to regulation.
ACT Party’s 2026 Climate Policies: As part of the current coalition government, ACT has successfully pushed for significant revisions to New Zealand’s climate legal framework.
Weakening International Alignment: ACT advocates for “taking back control” by removing requirements for the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to align with international targets under the Paris Agreement. The party argues that Paris is “broken” and that New Zealand should be prepared to walk away if reforms aren’t achieved.
Legislative Changes (2025–2026):-
Zero Carbon Act: ACT has long sought to repeal or significantly weaken the Zero Carbon Act and the Climate Change Commission.
Methane Targets The government is introducing legislation to weaken the 2050 biogenic methane target from the original 24–47% reduction to a less ambitious 14–24%.
Carbon Neutral Government: The deadline for government organizations to achieve carbon neutrality was shifted from 2025 to 2050.
Agricultural Emissions: ACT firmly opposes emissions pricing for agriculture, arguing it would gut rural New Zealand for no global environmental gain.
Infrastructure over Mitigation: ACT proposes shifting focus from “wasting billions” on mitigation to building resilient infrastructure (stormwater, bridges, ports) capable of handling extreme weather events.
Energy Policy: The party supports lifting bans on offshore gas exploration and treating coal mining as any other mining to ensure energy reliability.
ACT Climate Change Policy (2008)
Goal: That no New Zealand government will ever impose needless and unjustified taxation or regulation on its citizens in a misguided attempt to reduce global warming or become a world leader in carbon neutrality.
Background
- The Labour Government is determined that New Zealand will lead the world in the race to carbon neutrality even though nothing New Zealand could do, including disappearing off the face of the planet, would have any impact on global climate.
- New Zealand is not warming. There is no warming trend since 1970 and the slight warming trend since 1950 is not statistically significant.
- If it were to warm moderately, we would likely benefit in terms of land-based production, human health and reduced heating bills. Arguments that we would lose from sea-level rise or more extreme events are unproven conjectures.
- Policies to reduce emissions in New Zealand could not conceivably reduce global warming, even if warming were globally harmful.
- The Government ratified the Kyoto Protocol in advance of Australia for short-term political gain without the benefit of any supporting analysis from Treasury. New Zealand can expect to pay billions of dollars to foreign governments like Russia, for carbon credits to offset their emissions.
- Now the government wants to force us all to pay more for fuel and electricity beyond 2012.
- Treasury’s analysis of the Emissions Trading Scheme made no case that its benefits would exceed the costs. The scheme lends itself to corrupt allocations of permits and seedy MMP negotiations were necessary to ram it through parliament.
- It is reckless to distort the New Zealand economy in the cause of an ineffectual Protocol that expires in 2012 and won’t be rolled forward because its 1990 targets are unacceptable to China and the United States.
- The NZ Institute of Economic Research states in their 2008 study “The Impact of the Proposed Emissions Trading Scheme” that:
- Dairy land values will fall by 40%
- Beef and sheep land values will fall by 23%
- Annual household incomes will fall by $3,000
- The average hourly rate will fall by $2.30
- Annually 22,000 new jobs will be lost
- Only ACT opposes Labour in seeking to force New Zealanders to pay much more for energy and electricity.
- ACT believes that New Zealand can play a responsible role in the international community while keeping its powder dry. In particular, it should not move faster than Australia or the United States.
PRINCIPLES
Freedom – People should be free to live and work how they choose, including making their own decisions as to what light bulbs to use, unless there is clear scientific evidence that their actions are damaging the environment, or unless they are harming others
Put New Zealanders needs first – Until there is clear scientific evidence that we should do otherwise, energy policy should be primarily concerned with affordability and stability of supply.
Proceed with caution – The precautionary principle works both ways. „Green Business‟ opportunities which address non-existent problems and needs are not “business opportunities” but a massive risk and likely to destroy wealth on a massive scale
Do not make needless rods for our own backs – The government is globally unique including methane gas (produced by ruminants) in calculating our Kyoto commitments. This is extreme, contrary to all other member countries and should be amended
Distinguish between real pollutants and carbon dioxide – carbon dioxide is a vital and necessary greenhouse gas crucial for plant growth and human survival
Make decisions based on sound science – not on blind belief or ideology which is increasingly divorced from reason
A commonsense approach to Climate Change would recognize that:-
- There is no point destroying our economy in pursuit of „carbon neutrality‟ if carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are not driving global warming.
- Any carbon trading scheme is prone to fraud – and indeed invites fraud
POLICY DETAIL
- ACT will repeal the Emissions Trading Scheme and withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol
- Major investments in infrastructure will not depend on the anti-global warming hypothesis for their economic viability. (Hydro power and geothermal power stands on its own feet.)
- Reform the Resource Management Act and Local Government Act to be neutral on climate change and „sustainability‟ (often a code word for anti-global warming).
- Reform Transport legislation to make transport serve efficiency and mobility rather than „sustainability‟ unless a real issue of sustainability can be identified
- Ensure that government agencies and advisors acknowledge any conflicts of interest.
If you believe that New Zealanders should not be taxed on the basis of unproven global warming theories, then give ACT your Party vote, for better informed policy on climate change
Authorized by Nick Kearney – 137 Beach Haven Rd Auckland
Act – The Guts To Do What’s Rights
file:///C:/Users/bette/Downloads/actclimatechange%20(3).pdf (2 Pages )
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