Boscawen John: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Boscawen John: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 24 March 2010. Volume:661;Page:9769. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
JOHN BOSCAWEN (ACT) 
: 
 I rise this afternoon on behalf of all New Zealanders: farmers business people employers and families. On 1 July—in just over 3 months—this Government will force upon the people of New Zealand an experiment a grand new experiment unlike anything launched anywhere else in the world. [ 
Interruption 
] It is not surprising that there is so much banter and discussion in this House. All of the political parties in this House bar the ACT Party have been part of this huge fraud this emissions trading scheme tax that starts on 1 July. 
Why is the ACT Party is alone in opposing this tax? From 1 July we can expect an immediate increase of 5 percent in electricity and 4 percent in petrol and we can expect those increases to be doubled on 1 January 2013. The increased costs of electricity and petrol will flow through the whole economy. They will flow through the costs of everything—food housing and clothing—everything. Just a fortnight ago Alan Bollard the Governor of the Reserve Bank confirmed to the Finance and Expenditure Committee that his latest estimates for inflation take into account a 5 percent increase in electricity prices and a 4c per litre increase in petrol costs as forecast by Treasury last November. Our families will pay our businesses will pay and our farmers will pay. 
What makes this such a tragedy is that our emissions trading scheme tax goes further than similar taxes in any other country in the world. I say again that we are conducting an experiment unlike any other country in the world. We will be the first country to tax our farmers—that is right. Our farmers have enough to compete with in an unevenly trade-balanced world but we are the first country in the world to tax our farmers. 
Just last November the Prime Minister proudly told the Federated Farmers national executive that agriculture would not be coming into the emissions trading scheme until 2015. He said that we would not be taxing methane from animals until 2015. Farmers might have felt some sense of comfort from that. Well they should not have done because if we take average dairy farms we see that no less than three-quarters of the tax that farmers will pay will come as a consequence of their use of electricity and petrol and through the emissions of dairy processing factories. Although it is all very well for the Prime Minister to tell farmers that they will not have to pay for the cost of their animals’ methane until 2015 farmers will be paying from 1 July this year. If any farmers are listening to this debate this afternoon they might be surprised to find out that they are paying from 1 July but it is a fact. It is a fact. Of the average $10000 cost for dairy farmers no less than three-quarters of what they will pay relates to petrol electricity and the cost of emissions. 
I ask why we are doing this to ourselves. Our three major trading partners are Australia China and the United States. I ask what our three major trading partners are doing. Are they taxing their people or increasing the price of electricity for their citizens? No they are not. The ACT Party stands alone in opposing this move. It is not surprising that the House has fallen into silence because other members should be ashamed. 
I ask why we are conducting this experiment. It is not too late to change. Overnight—12 hours ago—President Sarkozy of France announced that France is abandoning its intention to introduce a carbon tax. Why is that? It is because the French people have risen up in protest. Finally they can see that France would be foolish to tax its people when other countries in Europe are not doing that. If Nicolas Sarkozy can show leadership and abandon the French carbon tax as he has done in the past 24 hours then I call upon the Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key to show the same leadership and show the people of New Zealand that things have changed in the last 5 months. 
This House was told time and time again last year that we would not lead the world; we were to be a fast follower and our emissions trading scheme tax was to be based on that in Australia. What has happened is that there is no Australian emissions trading scheme tax. There is no United States emissions trading scheme tax and there is no such tax in China. Why do we allow the power generators to earn hidden profits and why do we tax our people this way? 
I seek leave to table a study done by Meat and Wool dated 17 February 2010 that shows that the price for the average dairy and beef farmer will be about $10000 and that it will commence on 1 July this year. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
JOHN BOSCAWEN 
: I seek leave to table a letter from the Gisborne Chamber of Commerce to the Prime Minister; Anne Tolley the MP for East Coast; the Minister for Climate Change Issues Nick Smith; and Tim Groser on the impact of the emissions trading scheme on the Gisborne region. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
JOHN BOSCAWEN 
: I seek leave to table a document from Neil and Esther Henderson third-generation farmers in Gisborne outlining the cost of the emissions trading scheme on their beef farm and stating that it will make it uneconomic. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Was this a letter published in any public medium such as a newspaper? 
JOHN BOSCAWEN 
: No it is a private letter. It is a statement from Neil and Esther Henderson outlining the impact on their family. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
JOHN BOSCAWEN 
: I seek leave to table an extract from the online Paris  
Le Monde 
 newspaper of yesterday’s date in which France announced its intentions to abandon carbon taxes. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
JOHN BOSCAWEN 
: Finally I seek leave to table the English transcription from the French press association outlining France’s announcement that it will be abandoning carbon taxes. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
JOHN BOSCAWEN 
: Thank you.