Earth Equity News

New Zealand Prime Minister's Labor Party Defeated; Center-Right Victors Claim Her Aggressive Climate Agenda Was a Factor. Australian AP, November 9, 2008. "The former New Zealand government's strong policy on climate change was a driving factor behind the Labour party's loss [on Saturday], the federal opposition says. The coalition has also warned the federal government to take note of the election result and introduce a more 'measured' approach to an emissions trading scheme. New Zealand National Party leader John Key will start forming a centre-right government this week after winning Saturday's general election, ending the nine-year reign of Prime Minister Helen Clark. The former government's policy to introduce an emissions trading scheme sooner than other countries around the world was 'clearly' an issue in the New Zealand campaign, opposition spokesman Andrew Robb said. 'There was a political agenda to rush a scheme in by the New Zealand Labour party, Labour government, it's done in a way which will possibly lead to jobs and emissions being exported overseas.' New Zealand had moved too far ahead of the rest of the world, too quickly, he said."