Essay by Eric Worrall
Reuters is predicting the possible election of a right wing government on a platform of repealing climate policies which are devastating the countryside.
New Zealand farmers set for right-wing protest vote over climate change policies
By Lucy Craymer
September 27, 20234:49 PM GMT+10 Updated 13 hours agoWELLINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Rural voter anger at New Zealand’s environmental policies to tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions may contribute to a return of right-wing parties to power at an Oct. 14 election, a shift that could diminish the country’s green image.
A flirtation with the New Zealand Labour Party in the 2020 election by rural voters, some for the first time in decades, has ended due to environmental policies such as planting pine forests on grazing land and taxing livestock methane burps.
Warning that livelihoods are at stake, farmers are looking to conservative candidates who will unwind or delay these Labour policies.
…
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-farmers-set-right-wing-protest-vote-over-climate-change-policies-2023-09-27/
I wouldn’t get too excited. What passes for right wing in New Zealand is politically equivalent to a party of moderate democrats in the USA. The new party will possibly even support Net Zero, just at a slower pace.
But I suspect any relief from the green wrecking ball would be welcome, in a New Zealand economy which has seen pretty much every sphere of productive economic activity laid under siege from their current crop of far left greens.
h/t Chris Nisbet – “If you’re a climate change denier at the moment or even a minimalist, I just don’t understand how you can hold that position to be honest.” – The words of NZ opposition leader Christopher Luxon, whom farmers are hoping will roll back damaging climate policies of the current administration.
It definitely looks like the NZ countryside could use a little Un-Winding
Story suggestion:
November 26 marks the 320th anniversary of the Great Storm of 1703, which caused 8000 deaths. At least two other storms from the depths of the chilly Maunder Minimum also took more than 1000 British lives, again largely maritime: the 1692 Winterton Ness Storm and 1694 Strait of Gibraltar Storm.
A colder world is stormier than a warmer one.
Even climategate admits that cold = stormy. I think the jury is still out whether the coming solar minimum will cause a significant drop in temperature, our Willis did an analysis which suggests the evidence is less than clearcut.
Depends upon how deep the minimum might be. It won’t be of Maunder depth or length, nor even probably Dalton, which was also stormy.
https://ageofsail.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/the-christmas-gale-of-1811/
Impacted the Napoleonic Wars.
It will definitely be interesting to watch. I had a short private chat to Dr. Will Happer a week ago when he was in Brisbane, his view if I understood correctly was none of the long term solar irradiance records were much good, because we’ve only had good instruments for a few decades. It’s tough to draw conclusions without good data. So we all still have a lot to learn.
The sunspot record has issues, as often discussed here, and so does the 10Be and 14C cosmogenic isotope record.
And a decade from now it might be reasonable to look down on the poor quality of today’s instruments.
It’s not the instrument’s fault if the scientists put it in a bad location and play around with the numbers.
Evidence? Data?
C’mon Eric! You must realise that for all the current millenium (at least), the only “evidence” needed is entirely manufactured, firmly based on “Policies”!
Otherwise, we “don’t need no steenkin’ evidence!”
And all those historic storms were just Gaia getting her revenge for SUV drivers in first!
Simples!
NOAA is predicting the Sunspot Number to start dropping in 2050, reach single digits in 2031 and zero in 2040 when their forecast ends. That means less solar output and more cosmic rays to make more clouds which together should cool the Earth maybe back to a Little Ice Age temperature. https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/predicted-sunspot-number-and-radio-flux
There is a paper by the solar physicist, Valentina Zharkova, who discovered how two magnetic dynamos at different depths in the Sun give the 11-year sunspot cycle and another cycle of around 400 years. She says that the Sun is going to be cooling enough to lead to a mini-ice age for around 40 years with probable crop failures starting in a few years.
‘Modern Grand Solar Minimum will lead to terrestrial cooling’
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7575229/
The balls would fall off brass monkeys when it was cold in the olden days.
Not just brass monkeys
And when the NZ farms are gone, will the export of frozen chinese produce, (labelled as product of NZ), also stop?
It’s common knowledge now that product of NZ on frozen goods means chinese grown and fertilised, consume at your own peril.
That’s so sad, NZ has some of the most delicious home grown food in the world. Even the gasoline station pizza we ate travelling from Auckland on the way to Rotorua was memorable.
The illusion of a right wing government changing the Climate rules is just that.
This was the same party in government which signed the Kyoto and Paris climate agreements.
They have said the local Zero Carbon Act- which implements Paris- is staying- after all it was a conservative PM who signed it and said that 30% lower by 2030- resigned soon after- as it was a fraud of course.
All that will change is the farmers – a strong support group- will have ‘their carbon’ paid for by taxpayer as it has been for 20 years. Its unbelievable that grass grown farms, largely renewable resource if there ever was one have a carbon output worth counting , but there it is .
Their ‘nitrogen’ is a bigger problem, mainly as the urine has nitrides/nitrates and dairy farming produces a lot at high density farming, beef farming more spread out
And when NZ depends on imported food- watch the obesity rate shoot up.
Completely false. All bullshit not common knowledge.
Exports of farm products usually come with quotas and are required to meet country of origin rules paperwork
I saw something the other day which was labelled PRC , clearly avoiding the word China but wasnt passed off as from elsewhere
Try this…. From NZ.
https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/country-of-origin-labelling
You eat it. If you want to know more google it. If you still believe that NZ produce all their export food then sum the shipments and tell me just how it could all fit into that country. You might also look at the season produce and the shipping dates. Seems that the northern hemisphere growing season has more do with NZ exports than domestic product.
And from here on in, I now treat all of your writing as false, clearly you are just issuing words on the orders of someone above your pay grade.
I wish that this site had a block function so I could purge you from my reading list.
Thats imports to NZ , which has loose country of origin rules.
https://comcom.govt.nz/consumers/product-safety-and-consumer-information-standards/country-of-origin-food-labelling-guidance
You are a liar anyway talking about NZ exports …your exact words were ‘that product of NZ on frozen goods’. The eaxmple you give is imports which are sold in NZ
For exports to major western countries a lot of paperwork
eg
With that in mind, here are 11 standard shipping documents for export that you need to understand in order to be successful.
https://www.shippingsolutions.com/blog/documents-required-for-international-shipping
Im no fan of the chinese trade practices but…
Clearly no conspiracy for your utterances , just unhinged
The policies of the recent PM, Jacinda Ardern, reminded me of all of Justin Trudeau’s worst impulses.
Jacinda was a strange one, that’s for sure – wants more censorship to control gun violence and curb climate skepticism, which she thinks are the same thing. And she’s a significant contender for the UN throne.
Really ? Thats so last century going to UN , they head to Silicon valley now , better money as part of their publicity machines etc
https://cyber.harvard.edu/story/2023-04/jacinda-ardern-joins-berkman-klein-center
“…she’s a significant contender for the UN throne.”
Well as a Kiwi I’m certainly no fan of Jacinda…but it seems to me that that proposal could significantly increase the IQ of both NZ and the UN!
She might actually be dangerous in such a role. Lots of frantic energy but no coherent plan, sometimes such people cause great harm.
As usual, ambition exceeds aptitude.
You’ve seen it so often in your business career, as I and many others here have also.
Wish Trump would see hes not fit for the Job of President.
Now his practices as a real estate developer have been exposed and his business registrations cancelled in New York means curtains for him in that role in that state.
The receivers will pay out the creditors and give any surplus back to Trump minus any court fines and tell him to ‘get the hell out of the Big Apple’
Trump was a terrific president. I hope 2024 sees him get in for the second term that was stolen from him in 2020.
If you think that any other top politician is less corrupt than trump, ive got a bridge to sell you
Under Trump the US enjoyed four years of stability, peace and real rising incomes, especially for ordinary people. How are things going under Biden?
The latest claim is an average family is spending $750 more per month now for basics like food and gasoline, than when Trump was in office.
It’s a bogus lawsuit. This kind of lawsuit is for someone suing another person for harm the first person did to them in some transaction.
Nobody Trump did business with is claiming he harmed them with unfair business practices. Nobody has been injured. And nobody other than the New York Attorney General is suing Trump.
The decision of the judge in the case is one of the more ridiculous I have ever heard. This judge presumes to know the real estate business better than the people who were involved in it and were involved in decided what property was worth.
Trump never forced anyone to buy real estate from him. They did so voluntarily at a price both parties agreed on.
Before banks lend money, they do thorough financial investigations of the person requesting a loan, and they don’t take the person’s word for what the real estate is worth, they get an independet evaluation. Trump encourages independent evaluations.
This case is so far off the wall, it amounts to judicial misconduct. All these people should be sanctioned for twisting the laws into a pretzel because they want so badly to get something on Donald Trump.
We’ll see what the Appeals Courts say about this.
I watched a horse go by the other day and it reminded me of her, both coming and going.
New Zealanders, Aussies, Britts, many Canadians, and a fair fraction of USAsters have become Eloi.
What are you talking about Pat? Everyone knows food comes from supermarkets… 😉
Except these ones have a bitter aftertaste
Transitioning is like Goldilocks. Not too fast and not too slow but just right-
UK to open new oilfield after one of biggest untapped discoveries in UK waters (msn.com)
Naturally politicians are increasingly concerned about their countries’ per capita emissions-
UK Home Secretary launches attack on global migrant challenge | Sky News Australia
Transitioning is certainly getting interesting.
To be honest I was shocked at Suella’s speech, there were distinct signs of intelligence and common sense. And worst of all, dare I say it before I wash my mouth out with soap, honesty?
wont win a beauty contest though..
Braverman has been attacked viciously by The Guardian and the BBC. She must be doing something right.
I could care less how their politics are classified, left, right or something else. Give me someone who can think for themselves. If you can think for yourself you will realize in no time that wind and solar are not suited for the grid. Generate your power with grid friendly options only and our problems are solved.
The problem for the climate changers is they’re politically locked into dumping with unreliables largely because of all the voters with subsidised rooftop solar nowadays. They can’t very well admit they’ve got that wrong and sorry folks the communal grid consumer requires dispatchable power and if you can’t offer that then you can keep the electrons for yourself. Well they could install home batteries but that’s clearly not economic and in any case they’d have no electrons to spare. Without real truth telling the fallacy of composition rolls on to inevitable Greenouts and a real energy crisis.
I wouldn’t get too excited about a National-led government unwinding the climate change nonsense. The National leader, Chris Luxon, says there was ‘no doubt’ that cyclone Gabrielle was the result of climate change…
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/02/15/no-doubt-cyclone-gabrielle-a-result-of-climate-change-luxon/
From the article, Luxon tells us this…
“If you’re a climate change denier at the moment or even a minimalist, I just don’t understand how you can hold that position to be honest.”
And he tells us he’s full on board with net zero by 2050.
This is what we call an improvement on the current bunch here in NZ.
Yuck.
Yes, Luxon is no better then the Greens or Labor on climate change.
In NZ the ACT Party has the only sensible take on the current government’s climate policies:
“Our Government’s climate policies are costly, ineffective, and need to go,” says ACT’s Environment and Climate Change spokesperson Simon Court.
I doubt that there is an ‘effective’ climate policy anywhere in the world. By ‘effective’ I mean a policy that makes the climate ‘better’ in a measurable way.
Yet the ACT party will likely enter a coalition with the Nationals.
https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/9332-nz-national-voting-intention-august-2023
Let’s hope they hang on to their climate policy.
National leader has ruled out killing the Zero Carbon Act
Exactly…he needs to go! No better than Labor.
I wish the farmers in NZ well. As is the case all across the world, the farmers tend to be the ones who are most grounded, excuse the pun. Sadly I also feel the situation in NZ is unlikely to change from the crazy policies of Jacinda Arden and her ilk.NZ is a beautiful country being destroyed by woke.
NZ is a country blessed, able to be completely secure its energy needs with natural resources. Hydro power, thermal power not to mention more coal than they could ever need, despite that good fortune, the government there authorised wind farms on previously unspoiled natural landscapes???
Now that requires a special kind of destructive stupidity, Jacinda and the main political thinkers of the day, were only too ready to provide that core political ingredient.
The Maori tradition of waka building perfected to traverse and explore their world has come to nought, waka now translates as woke.
In a land that gave the world Rutherford, bungee jumping low draft high speed boats to frighten tourists, but only in shallow rock strewn rivers… painted man in grass skirts dancing about telling all comers they want to eat you, now that is a country that deserves better than what the woke left are prepared to offer.
Woke enslavement replacing the previous waka spirit of freedom in the land of the long white cloud, is the end of the journey.
Thanks Jacinda, who could forget you?.
“main political thinkers of the day”
Is that an oxymoron?
Well it could be? Though to think ‘politically’ is not the same as thinking rationally. I would perhaps go as far as describing them as complete morons, rather than oxymoron.
The really extraordinary thing in NZ is the same as the similar phenomenon in the UK. Its the passage from
‘there is a climate crisis/emergency whatever’
to ‘
therefore we must immediately stop (eg) eating beef/raising mutton/heating our houses…’
Without the proponents ever feeling the need to show exactly how this will address the supposed crisis, and by how much.
“ taxing livestock methane burps.”
This unscientific pile of excrement needs to be debunked.
Livestock are part of the carbon cycle, no new carbon is added to the atmosphere.
Uneaten vegetation that is decaying on the ground releases the same amount of Methane as if it is eaten by a cow, if you take the cows away the same amount of methane still goes into the atmosphere.
The outgoing IR frequency that is absorbed by Methane is already fully absorbed by water vapor, adding methane cannot make any difference.
Stupid politicians love this sort of rubbish as it allows them to tax more.
There is some truth in the CO2/ warming theory but also a huge pack of lies.
“a right wing government on a platform of repealing climate policies”
I think the left now defines any government that opposes extreme climate policies as “right wing”- regardless of any and all other policies.
Just as the left defines everyone who disagrees with them as being Nazis. The funny thing is that despite the fact that Nazism is a form of socialism, they also declare that Nazis are right wing.
We’re into very selective whale songlines-
‘Traditional owners’ prevent sea projects from commencing (msn.com)
In New Zealand, a right winger is someone who likes socialism, but wants it’s adoption to be slowed down a little bit.
All wealthy western countries including US have ‘mixed market’ or government-private economies.
Thats the reason they are rich. Bonus fact its the reason China has grown so rich- and economy thats mixed private-government
Want to try countries that have almost entirely private markets systems …the poor countries of Africa would be prime examples . The governments generally run defence and police and not much else, even education thats state funded is minimal. Enjoy
Actually, a really hot topic, especially in Christchurch, is urban planning. Having the city destroyed in an earthquake has been a planner’s dream, so we’ve got “densification” involving endless new apartment blocks with zero parking (who wants nasty cars?), traffic “calming” (who wants to be able to drive around?), empty subsidized buses, and mind-bogglingly expensive cycleways with no-one using them, all steps on the road to Net Zero.